Leveraging Agency of Thought for Post Traumatic Growth | Jeannine Coulter | TEDxUCSanDiego

Core Idea & Philosophy - The core idea revolves around the power of individual agency in shaping one's life through thoughts and perceptions, echoing sentiments from Marcus Aurelius, William Shakespeare, and Victor Frankl [3][4][6] - The ability to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances is a fundamental human freedom, even in the most dire situations [6] - Events themselves are neutral; individuals assign positive or negative connotations based on their perceptions [5] Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) - PTG involves transforming trauma into positive growth through a structured process identified by Calhoun and Tedeski [9] - The PTG process consists of five key components: disruption of a core belief, emotional regulation, disclosure, service, and rewriting one's narrative [10][16][21][24][26] - Emotional regulation, such as meditation, helps restore the nervous system and facilitates mindful awareness [16][17] - Disclosure, or sharing one's story, aids in processing traumatic events and rewiring the brain [21] - Service, or helping others, reframes trauma by providing a new context and meaning [24][25] - Rewriting one's narrative leads to greater personal strength, appreciation for life, spiritual growth, new possibilities, and stronger relationships [26][27] Practical Application & Technique - Individuals can consciously find advantages in adversity in real-time, rather than waiting to reflect on it later [28] - A journaling technique can train the brain to identify the good in challenging events by logging disappointments, lessons learned, and advantages gained over time [29][30]