End preoccupation with past, says Aussie clinical psychologist, it’s gone. ‘Act positive.’: Keith Kennett
“Why let go of yesterday? Because yesterday has already let go of you.” — Steve Maraboli, Clinical psychology, you might think, is all about closure, coming to terms with yesterday and resolving the past. But internationally-recognised clinical psychologist Dr Keith F Kennett can’t understand this unnecessary preoccupation with time gone by. “By focusing on yesterday, we are only going backwards, which can yield nothing fruitful,” he says. Author of Action Intelligence and founder of the Academy of the Power of Positive Action, he neither likes to dwell on the past, nor on negative things. He sums up his mantra thus, “If you give attention for the right reasons, you get the right results and vice versa.” The power of positive action isn’t some wishy-washy concept or wishful thinking, but one he has tested in schools and on his patients with remarkable results. He quips, “Why would I want to harp on yesterday which in effect might have destroyed me?” So, instead of asking negative questions like “when was the last time you hit your hubby with a rolling pin or when did he push you down on the bed”, he focuses on the affirmative: “How often do you tell him/her that he/she is wonderful?” Focusing on the wondrous aspects of human nature, he believes, will make people become exactly that. But that doesn’t mean he thinks words alone can usher in a miracle. Rather, as he quotes Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and Mahatma Gandhi in the same breath, action is what defines his psychology and isn’t just the title of his book. If Welch said, “You never think your way into action, you act your way into new ways of thinking”, Gandhi’s quote — “You may never know what results come from your action but if you do nothing, there will be no results” — he repeats time and again. A former executive director of the International Council of Psychologists, Keith’s own postulate goes thus: Action elicits passion and creates vision. From IQ to EQ to his own derivative, he thinks action intelligence is the only intelligence that counts. He arrived at his theory of positive action from Skinner’s behavioural analysis, from his experience of teaching for decades and his years and years of practice. “When I see people (read patients), I tell them I can’t cure people’s behaviour.” But yes, he can certainly add to their happiness quotient and thus change their behaviour. So simple, rather simplistic. Sure he agrees there are bad things and terrorists too are out in this world who are too conditioned to change easily. Ultimately, however, the Australian, who has worked in China, India and will be going for a project to North America this year, avers, “Forget ethnic background, forget religion, the most fundamental thing the world over is family, the core of every society. We can create a better world by nurturing this core, especially by cherishing our children.” His job as an educator anyway is to minimise misbehaviour and maximise the strengths. Alas, the negative world that we live in feeds on negativity. Thus, he notes with dismay, “While being a bully can land you on prime time TV, being a do-gooder rarely would.” The positivist that he is, he can only see the pluses in India, a land which he visits frequently, and which he calls a remarkable country. Not because of its karma doctrine or its mysticism, but for its plurality and diversity. “Who would have thought that a Sikh could be the prime minister of this country? Only Indians must realise how lucky they are.” And to the government, he advises, “Do not have grandiose plans, which after 20 years are still a plan. For, small things done are better than great things planned.” To the world at large, which is living on tenterhooks, stressed out, he says, “We can’t live without stress. Stress isn’t such a bad thing. There is good stress for instance that leads to outstanding performance. It is the stress that comes from non-performance that people must learn to deal with.” While people in the fast and furious lane must spend enough time calming themselves down, he is ready to show them the way. Not by taking them to blind alleys of yesterday, but the bright and sparkling today and tomorrow. nonikasingh1@rediffmail.com, ‘Source: Article
