33voices interviews Prof Timothy D. Wilson,Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology Unisersity of Virgina.
We are the stories we tell ourselves
A few weeks ago, a close friend introduced me to the W. Clement Stone concept of the ‘Inverse Paranoid’. While I’m an eternal optimist and a big fan of positive psychology, I hadn’t looked at the world from such a lens. My friend explained that while a paranoid believes that everyone is conspiring against him or her, an ‘Inverse Paranoid’ believes that the world is actually conspiring to make him successful and happy. That simple mind-shift seems to be a common threat with the world’s elite. Instead of believing that the world is plotting to do them harm; they choose to believe that the world is aligning to do them good. Part of life is dealing with issues and challenges that can easily distract us and be viewed as negative; yet instead of reflexly seeing those difficulties in a bitter and angry way; we can elect to see the power in what they could be – something that is meant to enrich, empower or advance you in some way. This is the power of reframing and illustrates the central message of world-renowned psychologist and University of Virginia Professor, Timothy Wilson. In his latest book – Redirect, Professor wilson shows you how slightly editing the story you tell yourself can create lasting change in your life. Here’s his approach…..