Sometimes I feel like I have this life-thing all figured out. The roof leaks: no problem. The dog pees on the Christmas presents: primo-fodder for our holiday letter! But then there are other days … I catch a glimpse of cockroaches scurrying away as I crack open the cabinet doors, and it DOES bother me. I stress about them all day.

We form habits of thought around stories, and each time we retell them the old way, we reinforce the habit. The ruts get deeper and harder to get out of. But what if …

How does happiness work in the body?
Ever fantasize about duplicating yourself? Like when you want to go to your kid’s little league game and be at an important business meeting at the same time? Imagine …

Well-being: A Dirty Word?
As an ex-financial controller, I can imagine the furious activity that must be taking place in the finance departments of businesses around the globe as they try to put together realistic budgets …

As I am sure you have, I recently witnessed a heated argument between two neighbors who disagree over the Presidential campaign. If your relations with people supporting the opposing view have been more difficult as of late, please pay attention! … Studies of everyday reasoning show that people tend to make their decisions instinctively and then try to find evidence to support their point of view.

I live in New York City. Perhaps because it is the financial capital of the world, anxiety about the economy is everywhere. In Starbucks people sit grimly reading the Wall Street Journal and the patois overheard is about Lehman Brothers, AIG and bailouts. With every lurching move of the Dow, you can feel the collective panic or collective sighs of relief. In this environment how can positive psychology help?

The movie Groundhog Day, in addition to eliciting positive emotions in the viewer, is a fantastic visual display of the character strength of gratitude. Films, which intrinsically revolve around the study and exploration of character, are a terrific medium for a journey through the VIA character strengths. A new book published this summer, Positive Psychology at the Movies: Using Films to Build Virtues and Character Strengths, by psychologists Ryan M. Niemiec and Danny Wedding perfectly lays the landscape for this wonderful journey of positive psychology in film.

Fear and panic are not great external forces; they are powerful internal ones, generated deep in the brain. George Valliant notes, “negative emotions are often crucial for survival—but only in time present. The positive emotions are more expansive and help us to broaden and build.”

Following last year’s great success in Australia, the 2nd Conference on Happiness & Its Causes was held in London, UK, October 9-10, 2008. The conference aimed to probe into the underlying causes of happiness and well-being for us as individuals, at our workplaces, and in our community as a whole. As suggested by the motto of the conference, Tools & Techniques for a Happier Life, the conference shed some light on how to travel there.

At first glance there seems to be little in divorce that is sparkling and fragrant. Hopes and dreams are crashing and burning, the financial future is uncertain, and angry words are often flung in an effort to protect tender hearts. But if you can only lift your eyes above the immediacy of the moment, you might be able to recognize that the brushfire that is currently destroying many aspects of your life is clearing the path for new growth.