you know sometimes being unhappy at work can actually MOTIVATE you to find a job where your skills and talents fit and you will be valued for your contributions – that’s what i’m learning! =-)

your site is SO awesome – thanks for creating it!!

Feeling grumpy is good for you

In a bad mood? Don’t worry – according to research, it’s good for you.

An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly.

In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.

While cheerfulness fosters creativity, gloominess breeds attentiveness and careful thinking, Professor Joe Forgas told Australian Science Magazine.

‘Eeyore days’

The University of New South Wales researcher says a grumpy person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain “promotes information processing strategies”. Negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world
Professor Joe Forgas

He asked volunteers to watch different films and dwell on positive or negative events in their life, designed to put them in either a good or bad mood.

Next he asked them to take part in a series of tasks, including judging the truth of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events.

Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly – they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.

Professor Forgas said: “Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world.”

The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a “mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style”.

His earlier work shows the weather has a similar impact on us – wet, dreary days sharpened memory, while bright sunny spells make people forgetful.

I think one of the problems in simply saying ‘Be Happy!’, is in the way it is said. Saying just that without ‘Real Caring’ like Roxie says, makes it insensitive and therefore more irritating. And people who show you Real Care do not need to say ‘Be Happy!’ ever. They spread happiness without saying it!

The phrase ‘Be Happy’ itself gives us a very important clue about what it is, which we often miss. We ‘be’ happy we never ‘do it’ like it were some work. So, it is not like we have a switch that can be turned on and off! And sometimes the pain that precedes it is important to let us know that there maybe something we need to sort out before we feel that bliss. And when we are happy it does not mean we would be grinning from ear to ear either, like Sam said! :)

I love this blog! :)

The ones that really do brighten your day at work are those genuinely caring types, who would give you a hand, or a word of sympathy, make a bit of pleasant conversation, or just listen for a minute with interest to how you’re really doing! That’s what makes people happier, Real Caring!