As a professor and best-selling author Jordan Peterson explains, “The world is full of bitterness and malevolence, and the barrier to bitterness and malevolence is a low-resolution grand narrative.”
What does he mean by a low-resolution grand narrative? He means that bitterness and malevolence can be countered with a belief – a narrative that A doesn’t require immense detailing and explanation (hence “low-resolution”) and B is grand enough to stand up to tide and time.
Peterson explains that religion has played this role in people’s lives for thousands of years. Nietzsche wrote “God is dead, and we have killed him,” because he suspected that the lack of this grand narrative would result in chaos, bitterness, and malevolence.
Without a low-resolution grand narrative, all one has is reason and science which are difficult mental tools to use for defending self against deeply emotional trauma, because reason and science are sorts of non-emotional.
1. Being Grateful
Of all the positive emotions, one of the most resilient is gratefulness. Spending more time being grateful for what you have is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Be grateful for the sun, be grateful for your home, be grateful of the opportunities you have because you live in the United States and not Libya, be grateful to flowers for their beauty, birds for their songs, and trees for their shade. Be grateful that you can sleep soundly every night without worrying about raiders coming in and destroying your village.
There really is a lot to be thankful for, in your everyday life, one only has to take a step back and look at things in a broader context. Here are some tips to help you spend more time being grateful.
- Before you go to sleep, take 10 deep breaths and say out loud 10 things you’re thankful for in your life. For a more peaceful sleep always sleep on a comfortable bed, you can easily buy an ultra-smooth and comfy bedding set from bedding Inn.
- After you wake up to say 1 thing you’re thankful to have the opportunity to do that day.
- Occasionally try to remind yourself that family, friends, nature, opportunity, food, isn’t always a given throughout humanity – even if they are a given in your own life.
- Put post-it notes around places in your house you frequent, reminding you to be thankful for what you have.
2. Changing of the Guard
Studies have shown that people who spend more time being grateful for what they have are at a much smaller risk of things like acute work stress, panic attacks, anxiety, night terrors, and more. People who have serve anxiety and depression issues can use the Herbspro promo code to purchase anxiety or sleep support supplements.
People who spend time being thankful begin to feel different about certain things. For instance, studies have shown that their capacity for empathy increases, especially towards entities far away and removed from their lives like refugees or endangered animal species.
It’s also been shown that people who spend time actively being grateful for what they have become less-worried about collecting material possessions and are less-quick to anger even in situations like road rage.
3. Anger –Bitterness – Indignation – The Enemies of Gratefulness
As Peterson says, a low-resolution grand narrative is the best defense against the emotional trauma of life. Peterson would suggest that low-resolution grand narrative would take the form of a doctrine of taking on as much responsibility as you can bear and speaking the truth.
There are otherwise two, of defending yourself from anger and bitterness that doesn’t involve answering one of the toughest questions a human could be asked to solve. Here are some ways in which thankful people defend themselves against anger, indignation, and bitterness.
- The control of one’s breathing helps to slow down the heart rate and inhibit the production of adrenaline and cortisol.
- Meditation has been shown in countless studies to improve mental clarity and reduce stress – even if done just 5 minutes a day.
- Getting out into green spaces like a park or garden has been shown to reduce anxiety and increase the euphoric feeling one gets during exercise.
- Exercising outside in the sun helps in the production of tryptophan and dopamine more than exercising indoors. You’ll be thankful for the extra tryptophan at night as it helps you sleep deeper.
Having a well-developed sense of gratefulness to what you have as well as a low-resolution grand narrative will set you apart in a world of bitterness and disappointment, as well as setting you apart from your friends as the unflappable rock of cheeriness and empathy.
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