Love: Conclusions And Hope
So, How can the Psychology of Love Help Me Have a Better Day?
You can define love as an action and challenge ourselves to “serve one another in love.”
You can experience love as an emotion, no matter what our life or intimate relationship status.
And lastly, we can focus on hope. Knowing that what we focus on grows, we can look for ways to have a positive impact, both internally and externally.
The psychology of hope brings up an important question in Psychology. Why do we look backwards? Why is it important to tell our stories, what makes that a powerful healing source? Why does therapy work?
When we look back for the purpose of justifying our behaviors or emotions, pointing out how others have wronged us, being the victims of their behaviors, we reinforce the brain in doing what it is already good at doing… having a negative bias and our negative cycle strengthens. BUT when we look back with curiosity, empathy, and the strength needed to be vulnerable, then we can be truly honest with ourselves and the situation and then have the potential to grow and learn… we get better.
Honest curiosity in releasing our narrative + a relaxed body+ hope= growth and healing.
Love is hindered by focusing on how “the other” has wronged me, is at fault, how I am the victim of the circumstances, or the opposite, am justified in my resentment. Our negative brain bias latches on at an extremely high rate to negative information, which leads us to expect negative results (the opposite of hope.) Anxiety and tight muscles contribute to our negative brains and bodies being emotionally, physically, and spiritually present.
Above all else, you are to serve one another in love. Your present moments can be a gift, an investment, to your future. You can influence your personal experiences and emotional expressions of this thing we call love!
