Audio Optimism: Easter Reflections and the Gift of Rebirth

Dr. Russ and Jackie discuss Twitter coming to Detroit, their Easter plans, and the real optimism and hope that comes from receiving the gift paid at the Cross.

Click here to listen in.

How was your Easter? What was optimistic or hopeful about it for you?

Peaks and Valleys of Daily Optimism are the Same Around the World: So Says Twitter Study

By Dr. Russ

Monday is Dr, Russ Busster Day, and I have prepared some pessimism Bussting Bussters for your total enjoyment based on a new study of Twitter.

According to a new scientific study, to appear in the journal Science, two Cornell University sociologists have found that emotional highs and lows occur at about the same time everyday around the world.  Here is what they found:

• The peak positive mood occurs twice a day: in the morning, around breakfast time (6-9am) and early evening, after dinner.
• The deepest valley in mood occurred in the late afternoon around 4pm.
• The pattern on weekend days was the same, just shifted about two hours later.
• People’s overall moods were lowest at the beginning of the week, rose later, peaking toward the weekend.
• The study was based on Twitter messages posted by more than two million people in 84 countries.

This study really focused on the moment-to-moment mood shifts across the day.  Previous studies using social media data bases have looked at much broader time bands.  The researchers had technology that looked for positive emotion words like "awesome" and "agree," and for negative emotional words like "annoy" and "afraid."

The researchers conclude that this data supports a circadian, or bio-rhythm, explanation of our moment-to-moment ups and downs in mood.   It may be true that blood sugar peaks with breakfast and dinner and is likely at its lowest in the late afternoon. 

However, I find myself at odds with the bio-rhythm hypothesis because it takes away my control of my optimism.  A Harvard psychologist takes issue with the findings because he says: "How do we know people are reflecting their own internal state versus what they want to project to the world?"  As a regular twitter user, I have never found that the tweeters are caring much about what others want to hear.  If they did, they wouldn’t tweet the inane, “Hey, I just finished a tuna sandwich while walking in Central Park.”

Here is my alternative, purely cognitive psychology interpretation of the data:

• In the morning people are full of the hope of a new day and thus tweet a positive message.
• By late afternoon, reality sets in as they realize they will not accomplish all they had hoped for that day.
• In the evening, mood becomes elevated as they leave the day behind and say, “Tomorrow is another day.”

I am sure a little blood sugar burst helps with any of these thoughts, but I think my cognitive explanation fits the data just as well any bio-rhythmn one.  Further, my cognitive analysis suggests these are learned behaviors taught in families cross culturally.

 Bussters Based on the Twitter Study

1. Science supports that optimism and pessimism is lived in the moment and (according to my interpretation of the study) is learned, can continue to be learned, and is not fixed by biology.
2. Turns out my 6^th grade teacher had it right when she said we should do the hard work in AM and save some of the more fun enjoyable stuff like music, art and PE for the afternoon.  Use that AM boost of optimism to its full advantage by planning to work on the most difficult tasks of the day early on.
3. When that afternoon valley occurs: 1) don’t make more of it than it is; do not let it lead to discouragement.  2) Just normalize the feeling, and reflect on how much you were able to accomplish.  3) If you got stuck and frustrated, be thankful you are figuring out some problems and roadblocks you need to overcome.
4. Do put the day behind you when you say: “Tomorrow is another day.”  Then get a good night’s sleep.

{Reference: The information about the "Twitter Study" was taken from the New York Times National Fiday, September 30, 2011 edition article entitled: "Study of Twitter Messages Tracks When We Are :) by Benedict Carey, p. A16}

Tweet for Jesus

By Dr. Russ,

Today is Palm Sunday.  It was a springtime Sunday in about the year 30 A.D.  The holy city of Jerusalem was crowded with Pilgrims who had come for the annual Passover celebration.  And, Jesus made his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem to an expectant and excited crowd who had heard about the many recent miracles he had performed.  He was being called the Messiah.

The Jewish religion will celebrate Passover in 2011 beginning at sunset tomorrow, Monday, April 18 and the celebration will run through April 25.  The Christian holy week begins today, one day sooner, April 17 and ends with Easter on April 24.  Both celebrations celebrate freedom.  The Jews are celebrating freedom from Egyptian rule and slavery, and Christians, freedom from sin through the redemption by God’s sacrifice of his only begotten son for all of mankind.

Both the story of Passover and of Holy Week are GOOD NEWS stories steeped in the optimism of belief in a better life to come.  As Jesus entered the city on a donkey, symbolizing peace, both Jews and Gentiles alike were shouting out:

• Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace on Earth and Glory in Highest Heaven! Luke 19:36

The Pharisees asked Jesus to muzzle and rebuke these followers proclaiming Him as King.

Jesus replied:

• If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers. Luke 19:40

I got to thinking and reflecting upon the image of "stones cheering" and realized that the Middle East has been rampant with “stones” of a modern day kind sending out both cries for help and cheers.  These "modern day stones" are inanimate objects called cell phones that have been cheering and crying out on Twitter; letting the whole world know of the GOOD NEWS of the new rebellion for democracy.

Taking the idea of Twitter one step further, I came up with the idea to:

TWEET FOR JESUS

That’s right let’s start sending out 140 character messages that convey the GOOD NEWS and OPTIMISM of Holy Week to all of your Twitter followers.  Here are a few examples of possible Tweets you could send.

• Miracles performed by Messiah: Two blind men were made to see by his touch alone.
• Crowd spreads garments and tree branches on road in front of Messiah riding on donkey into Jerusalem.
• People are shouting: “Praise God for the son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
• Everyone in Jerusalem is asking who is this and they have been told it is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.
• Prophet Jesus turns over tables in the Temple and declares His Temple will be called a house of prayer not a den of thieves.
• Jesus stumps priests when they admit to not knowing whether John’s authority to Baptize came from heaven or was merely human. 

The written word of the Bible makes it easy to make up 140 character messages that reflect the theme of Tweet for Jesus during Holy Week.  The writing is very succinct and many versus can be quoted directly, pared down, or paraphrased to fit the format. 

I call upon you during HOLY WEEK to: “Tweet for Jesus.”  Not on Twitter? Then Facebook or email some GOOD NEWS and OPTIMISTIC messages for Him this week.  Just go to one of the four Gospels and turn to the section that gives an account of Holy Week, and you will find ample material to tweet and re-tweet!



Do You Have any Allies for Optimism?

By Dr. Russ,

Are you looking for an ally in optimism?

Wouldn’t it be cool if you had three to five people that you could contact anytime to get help finding a moment of optimism?  I am going to call such a group: Allies for Optimism.  What would be the criteria for an ally in optimism?

What purpose does an Ally in Optimism group serve?

1. A reliable and positive source for renewal of optimism as needed in any moment, day, week, or month.
2. A source for instant or nearly immediate help to get out of any moment of pessimism.
3. A place to share and discuss reactions to a Moment-to-Moment post.
4. A place to discuss the meaning and interpretation of a Moment-to-Moment post.
5. A place to share a key quote, news story, article, book, page or chapter in a book, other blog post or internet site that is a source of positive motivation and inspiration for an optimistic view of a troubling or difficult circumstance of life.

Benefits of an Allies in Optimism Group

1. Instant help with a pessimistic problem.
2. Improved optimism skill and stamina
3. If you have the following key thought every day when you get up or throughout the day, “What can I be doing today to try to help my Allies get more optimism in their day?” you will immediately experience more optimism. Even just thinking about how to help others with their optimism automatically improves your optimism. 

 Necessary Criteria for an Allies in Optimism Group

1. Each ally is looking for someone to help him/her maintain optimism on a day to day basis.
2. Even though an Ally may have many minor to major pessimistic moments during a day, each Ally believes that having an optimistic view is the key to a more positive life, happiness, health and satisfaction, and goal accomplishment.
3. To form your group, consider professional colleagues, coworkers, friends, family, or relatives.
4. Make sure each person in the group has a strong personal trust link to at least one other Ally in the group.  For example: a group of five might be formed in the following manner.  Person A knows Person B well and invites him to be an Ally.  Person B accepts and says he knows someone that Person A does not know or knows slightly, who he (Person B), thinks would be a good Ally, and with concurrence of A, invites C to join the group.  A and C find they have a mutual friend in Person D, and Person D invites his best friend E.  In this group, everyone has one link who is a trusted colleague, friend or family member.  Of course it would be possible to have a group in which everyone knows each other well to start with. 

Key Steps to Make Your Allies for Optimism Group Work Effectively and Efficiently Day to Day

1. Use any and all modes of communication especially email and social media, including Twitter and Facebook.  I am thinking email would be the most common and used form of communication.  But, I would love to hear about any and all creative uses of social media for this purpose.
2. Old style face-to-face and phone conversations may and can play a role in your group’s communication.
3. Read the Moment-to-Moment blog daily or at least every other day.
4. Go through the past posts of the blog and bookmark your favorites; share them with your group members.
5. Share something optimistic from the blog, the news, or other source three to four times a week if not daily.  
6. Ask for help with your optimism often and without hesitation.  For example a quick Tweet to @name, @othername, @otherothername saying: “Need optimism. Got criticized by boss and feeling bummed.”

What Dr. Russ Buss Will do for You?

1. Communicate confidentially with an identified liaison of each Allied group to give general suggestions, operational, and group support. 
2. Share general and non-personally-identifiable on-goings of the different groups.  For example, “One group meets biweekly for lunch to discuss optimism.”
3. Seek periodic updates from the group liaison about topics, frequency of contact, mode of contact, etc. from the liaison.
4. Be available for questions via email to help with any problems in optimism that the group members are experiencing.
5. Maintain strict confidentiality regarding identification of any group, group member or liaison.
6. Will invite groups to submit guest blogs on how they are finding and supporting each other’s optimism.
7. Provide help to anyone who wants to form a group.

 How to get started?

 Just email Dr. Russ and let him know either you:

1. Are starting an Allies in Optimism group
2. You have formed a group and are the liaison
3. You want to form a group but have questions and need help, or
4. You want Dr. Russ to place you in a group.

 Email me at: drruss@drrussbuss.com



Optimism from the "Underheard" and Easily & Oft Forgotten

By Dr. Russ

What happens when you give four homeless men a cell phone with unlimited text, e-mail, and Twitter capabilities for one month?  This is a story of life transforming optimism made possible by a simple communication tool that allowed four down and out men to reach out and connect with the rest of humanity.

My first thought was they might just go sell the phone to someone for some drug money.  Wow! What a pessimistic thought for an optimist.  But, instead something amazing happened that renews my (and I hope your!) belief in the power that interconnectivity and communication has to create transforming optimism in someone’s life.

Danny, Derrick, Carlos and Albert didn’t sell their gift.  Instead they began Tweeting to the world about their experience of being homeless on the streets of New York.  Guess what?  People began tweeting back.  And, what is really cool is that Tweets have a way of spreading virally as they are re-tweeted, bounce off Facebook and Linked-In.

Pretty soon, lots of people are interested in what these four homeless guys are up to.  Just the ability to be heard, to share their story was transforming enough, but on top of that some folks went above and beyond to help them.  

Derrick: Steve Smith, a NY Giants football player, called him and sent him a ticket to a game, and to a fundraiser for the NYC Rescue Mission in his name.  To cap it off, Derrick received an offer of a job interview.

Albert: $200.00 worth of transit tickets was paid leaving, him with no more legal stumbling blocks to “pulling himself up by his bootstraps.”

Danny:  He found his daughter and was reunited with her after 11 years apart through social media.  He also found someone interested in writing down his life story.

Carlos: He was offered office space and $30.00 metro card so he could ride to instead of walk the 2.5 miles to the NYC library every day.

This story of these four homeless men reaffirms that being optimistic is fundamentally about having a sense of meaning in life.  A profound sense of meaning is derived from the simple act of being heard and acknowledged as a member of the human race.  Once again, I and reminded that meaning in life does not come from having a fortune, a mansion, a cabin cruiser, or a prestigious job or career. 

When these men started texting and Tweeting, they found out that there were others who did care about their stories and plight, and they felt validated.  Each cell phone represented a seed of optimism that was watered and nourished with texts and tweets to and from others until the seed grew and bloomed in the form of a transformed life.

Go forth and validate someone today by simply listening to their story and responding with empathy, understanding and caring.