photo credit: nikoretro

What looms large in your mind’s eye?  Is it really as big and threatening as it seems?  Or has something in your life magnified your negative perception of the situation?

Have you ever been cruising through your day when suddenly you morph into Eeyore, Disney’s affectionately animated and sad-eyed, flop-eared donkey who mopes: “A mostly sunny day, to some, can look a lot like partly gray.”

I have.  And, when that happens, IF I notice the shift, I feel angry, helpless, not in control, puzzled, and, frankly, hijacked by circumstances.  How did I get here?  What knocked me so low so suddenly???

Back in February, when Southern California was experiencing some of its stereotypical but rare, perfect weather, a spectacular photo and its headline caught my eye: “Snow makes our mountains look bigger, closer.”  Gary Robbins, science writer & editor for the Orange County Register, wrote:

The storms that recently cycled through Southern California dropped a lot of snow. And fresh snow reflects more sunlight than older snow, highlighting the features of the mountains…

Do Fresh Adversities Distort Our Mood More Than Older Ones?

A couple of fancy-schmancy academic terms can help us answer that question: “the recency effect” and “the halo effect” both tell us, in their own way, that “recent experiences will be remembered best.”  Want a better definition?

Recency Effect: This is the principle that the most recently presented items or experiences will most likely be remembered best.

Halo Effect: An effect whereby the perception of positive qualities in one thing or part gives rise to the perception of similar qualities in related things or in the whole.

Yeah, it seems self-evident, but if you’ve not ever thought about it, you could think that despite this week’s box office flop, everyone will remember all your other great performances. Not so. Sales people quickly learn that the best position is last-to-propose because, assuming you make a good impression, the recency effect will garner you a stronger position in the client’s memory.

The Fresh Snow Effect

Anyway, all this set me to wondering: when I suddenly shift from usually upbeat, steadfast Ellie into an Eeyore-like mope: What “fresh snow” has blanketed my life, highlighting the magnitude and proximity of my real or imagined troubles – my mountains if you will?  And how do I bounceback from this negativity?

(So now I’ve made history – a new “effect” has been named!   Aren’t we impressed… )

Back to the Fresh Snow Effect: I’m convinced that two concurrent things make the distortion of magnitude and proximity occur:

1. Some adversity happens.
2. AND I talk mean to myself about it.

PattiAnn, in her recent post Play It Again, Sam reached a similar conclusion, commenting that we often make a habit of talking mean to ourselves and that, instead of reacting to the vicissitudes of our lives and our own self-talk, we should “choose our mood.”  Makes sense to me.

So the Next Time Eeyore Shows Up in My Stead…

My plan for working through my future shape-shifts from Ellie to Eeyore goes like this:
I will notice what has happened in the near-past and then challenge my negative thoughts and, most importantly, I will find something positive to say to myself.  Guess I need to polish up my favorite mantras (see Snap Out of It) so they’re ready when I need them:

• Here & now, I can deal with this.
• I can get on with it.
• I can deal with this.
• This too will pass.
• It’s only a bump in the road.
• It’s all small stuff.
• Go with the flow.

And here are a few new ones –

• Look again at all those good solutions you’ve been visualizing.
• Focus on your Best Case Scenarios.
• Do it NOW!

Seems like a good place to start when Eeyore wants to morph in.

How about you?  What looms large in your mind’s eye?  Is it really as big and threatening as it seems?

Or, just as the snow made the mountains seem larger and closer, has something in your life magnified your negative perception of the situation?

And how do you bounceback from the sudden shift?