The "Arrangiarsi" Mindset

We all know what the Italian philosophy of the arte d’arrangiarsi is, the characteristic bel paese approach to overcoming obstacles with the determination to get by, no matter what. That means when faced with adversity you find a way to go around it, take another route, or plough through it and somehow push yourself to move on. Life is about moving on, isn’t it? But did you know how this confident mindset of arrangiarsi actually contributes to psychological resiliency? There is a theory called “broaden and build”. It starts with the premise that negative (defeatist) and positive (can-do) emotions compliment and balance each other. Often, we have a full repertoire of negative emotions at the ready--emotions of sadness, distress, negativity, etc--- and we neglect to exercise the positive emotions that can balance our state of mind. Those positive emotions would include joy, contentment, and interest. We must make using these positive mental muscles more frequently if we want to be able to get by no matter what life hands us. Like anything else, the more you use them, the better they will work to help give us the mental resiliency we need to be able to bounce back from adversity. Being able to easily summon up positive emotions helps us actually regulate negative experiences. Which one of us hasn’t faced some kind of difficulty in ’08? I urge you to practice the confident mindset of arrangiarsi each and every day. It’s like putting money in the bank when you need it.