Last 29 April 2021, the “Mother of Positive Psychology”, Dr. Ellen Langer of Harvard University spent an enriching time with the students of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) as she shared her expertise in a webinar entitled “Mindfulness and the Power of Possibility,” hosted by the Psychology Society of the Quezon City Campus.
Through a few interactive activities, Dr. Langer began by showing how “virtually” all people can be mindless “almost all the time.” She also underscored that mindlessness costs “our health, happiness, and general effectiveness.” “No matter what we are doing, we are doing it mindlessly or mindfully,” she explained, “and the consequences of doing one or the other are enormous.” “Most of our suffering—personal, interpersonal, professional, global—is the direct or indirect effect of mindlessness,” she noted in her presentation.
The esteemed academic defined mindfulness as “the very simple process of noticing new things” that puts one “in the present.” Then, on the visibility of mindfulness, she explained her points through some studies she conducted.
Dr. Langer also pointed out that there are “roadblocks to our mindfulness,” and one of those is “the fear of mistakes.” “People are mindful because they are afraid to make mistakes,” she said. “Because of the fear of making mistakes, you do it the same way each time to just get by. It turns out that we are not taking advantage of what we could be in these situations. Mistakes, actually, in one context may be successes in another.”
Such also led to a discussion on stress. “Stress is not a function of events; stress is the function of views we take of events,” Dr. Langer said. “If you open up the view, understand what the advantages are to that potential stressor stress goes away; that mistakes opportunities and then they become essentially less scary.” She also tackled stress in the time of pandemic due to uncertainty and mindful optimism versus defensive pessimism.
On the psychology of possibility, Dr. Langer said, “We need to free ourselves from the mindsets and the limits they place on us,” underlining possibility beyond the things and situations known for a fact. She also talked about possibility, mind/body unity theory and health.
Viewers eagerly sent their questions and engaged in a meaningful exchange with the distinguished professor. Topics such as “toxic positivity”, “mind over matter”, religion, and vigilance in relation to mindfulness were part of the conversation.
