I briefly mentioned the paradox of emotional well-being in aging in a recent post. Once again, the paradox refers to the fact that despite what happens to our physical and cognitive abilities as we get older, we tend to be more positive and experience significantly fewer mood swings. Think about it for a moment. As we get older, we aren't able to do all the things that we could physically do when we were younger. We aren't as mentally sharp as we once were - just think about how many times you forget something that you were going to say, and when you finally get the chance to say it, it's lost forever! Our social networks get smaller. We may experience the death of a parent, a spouse, or a close friend. Our health tends to get worse. And yet...studies consistently show that we are more positive than we were younger.
I also have mentioned the Harvard scientist and author Arthur Brooks in the past (see, for example, "The mathematics of happiness", "Are you happy?", and "All shall be well"). Dr. Brooks studies happiness, specifically, what makes us happy! I signed for a free online class by Dr. Brooks through the platform EdX, and one of our "assignments" was to take a test called the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Dr. Brooks has a free version of the test, though it requires you to enter your name and e-mail in order to get the results. I've talked about the PANAS test before in a previous post, "Are you happy?" I was curious to see if my scores changed compared to when I last took the test earlier this year. They haven't, which is a good sign for the test (and for me). I still score as a very positive person. My positive score was a 38 (50 is the highest), and my negative score was a 13. Based on that score, Dr. Brooks would classify me as a Cheerleader, i.e. someone with a high positive affect and a low negative affect.
As with all things, there are advantages and disadvantages to being a Cheerleader. If I were to be 100% honest, I don't necessarily see myself as a Cheerleader, but I do consider myself a positive person. According to my profile, I tend to be optimistic about the future, a good motivator, and a reliable source of happiness for friends and family. Okay, I agree with the optimistic part, but I'm not sure about the rest.
My profile also suggests that I am so buoyed by my positivity, that I am often highly averse to bad news. I may try to explain away or ignore bad results. I may give rosy advise to friends in need, rather than deliver the hard truths. I may be less sensitive to others who are experiencing distress. Okay, there's probably some truth in there as well, but I honestly don't feel like I have a problem being straight with people and delivering the truth, even when it may be uncomfortable.
Dr. Brooks does make an important point, "Remember, no affect profile is better than another. You are not rigidly bound to the best and worst qualities of your profile. The point is to know yourself. Now that you know your strengths, act on them with purpose. And now that you know your weaknesses, keep an eye out for your pitfalls."
Hopefully I don't receive a lot of spam messages in my email inbox as a result! That's not very cheerleader like, is it? Overall, I found taking the PANAS to be a useful exercise, and I would highly recommend it.
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