In their new book, Smart Strengths, positive psychologists and educators John Yeager, Sherri Fisher, and Dave Shearon offer a framework for helping students use their strengths. This book takes fresh research and boils it down into practical, ready-to-apply processes. I know that educators and parents will want to read it and keep it on hand as a valuable resource to return to many times over the years.

We can merge Positive Psychology and Positive Physical Activity to establish Positive Exercise Prescriptions (PEP) for flourishing individuals and communities. People can reach for healthier, happier, and richer lives by moving well, reducing the grave risks of inactivity. Let’s seek harmonious passion in moving well.

Although sports mean different things to different people, most theorists and enthusiasts would agree that physical activity and sport participation can be intrinsically valuable. We learn the joy of movement and the challenge of …

Martial Virtues by Charles Hackney, PhD, is an obvious gift for anyone who practices the martial arts.  Anyone in a high-conflict profession can relate to it – lawyers, for example.  For all of us, however, the …

Parents and teachers are the major educators of children, for ill or for good. Whether it is through modeling, the feast of dialogue, or the handling of consequences, young people pick …

Carl, 14, can text with his cellphone in his pocket and keep up with friends on Facebook. However, he won’t look adults in the eye even though he insists he’s ‘a man’. … As children have become healthier and our society has become more complex, the age of puberty has fallen while the age of psychosocial maturity has risen.

What are the foundations that help people awaken their dreams to make them a reality? Unfortunately, wishing has become magical thinking for so many people who have high expectations, but haven’t developed a strong will to develop a vision and a plan, and subsequently, are not able to cash in on the rewards of their aspirations.

What separates people who achieve lofty goals from people who procrastinate with even simple things? Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide is the best and most comprehensive resource I have come across on this topic.

There’s less than six weeks to go before the 1^st Cohort finishes the first-ever European Masters degree in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of East London, UK, under the inspirational leadership of Dr Ilona Boniwell. It’s been an interesting journey. … At the start, in February 07, I expected that the “destination” would reveal itself at some point along the way. Here we are, with the final dissertation deadline in sight, and I’m still questioning: What did I do all this for?

Four billion people watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, significantly more than watched any other recent TV program. Perhaps the Olympic Games have an inexplicable magic such that even people like my mother who do not follow sports closely are unable to take their eyes off the TV broadcast. Why do we so strongly appreciate the Olympic Games? I propose three sources for our appreciation of the beauty of the Olympic Games.