I am irrevocably changed by my divorce. For the better.

Don’t get me wrong – I am not an advocate of divorce as a way to bring about “happiness,” as it is typically defined in our culture. In fact, going through my divorce was like walking through fire and having the outer layer of my skin burned off. It was no quick fix, and it hurt like the dickens. I am, however, acutely aware ….

Louis J. Alloro, M.Ed., MAPP is a consultant to schools in the area of character education. He has an intriguing perspective on making leadership come alive in organizations. I wanted him to share some of his thoughts on PPND this month. JY
“Luckily, I was busy working for most […]

By Ryan M. Niemiec

Ten days ago, about 300 people attended the international 2008 Meaning Conference in Toronto, Canada July 24-27, 2008. The main conference theme was “Living well and dying well: New frontiers of positive psychology, therapy and spiritual care.”
Meaning = having prosocial goals.
Meaning = finding ways to make sense of losses.
[…]

Germs and colds aren’t the only things we spread in the workplace. Our emotions, both positive and negative, are just as contagious. Have you ever walked into a meeting and felt so much tension that you became tense, too? Conversely, have you ever walked into someone’s office and felt so much openness that you started to feel more open and welcoming as well? This spreading of emotions from one person to the next is what psychologists call Social Contagion Theory.

Motivation makes a tremendous difference to performance and satisfaction. We want to be more motivated to do the things we know we ought to do, like exercise. We want our children to be motivated to learn. We want our teammates and employees to be motivated to do quality work. And so […]

Show me the trunk of your car. Hand me your luggage. Step back. I’ll find a way to fit it all in. I’m a good packer.
No car, no mini-van, no SUV scares me. I can squeeze anything in no matter the vehicle. You can call my trunk-packing a sort of strength; I can do it […]

By George Vaillant

If we are to find meaning in life, we must pay as much mind to our limbic “hearts” as to our neocortical cognitions. … To see meaning as due to purpose, values, self-esteem and efficacy is to judge the brain book by its cover. Positive emotions, not cognitions, are the engines that drive meaning. The positive emotions that create meaning are love, compassion, hope, awe, gratitude, trust and joy.

Nearly all of us have had the sudden awareness that while we have been driving along, sometimes for many miles, we have not been paying attention. How did I get here? It does not just happen on the interstate in the form of highway hypnosis but also when driving through our neighborhoods or on our […]