One of my fascinations with positive psychology is the existence of its many paradoxes. So as soon as I came across this new research report Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away, my eyes lit up. The researchers explored the widely-held belief that experiencing the best things in life undermines your ability to enjoy life’s little pleasures.

To further elaborate on why the riches are not equivalent to happiness, I adopt the approach used by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, of looking at happiness as moment-to-moment experience instead of general well-being or flourishing. When we break down happiness into moment-to-moment experience, riches do not necessarily make people happier. Why not?

Dear Student,
Don’t worry when people tell you it will be hard to find a job. What the doom-and-gloom folks don’t understand is that they have something as contagious as the H1N1 virus– anxiety. Like the flu, they are probably “carriers” without even realizing it. You can innoculate yourself.

So you have some extra cash in your pocket. Do you spend it on the latest gizmo or on going to a restaurant with friends? How does your choice affect your happiness?
Money as …

There has been a widespread discussion on whether or not positive psychology is effective from a business perspective. There are strong links between positive psychology and organizational performance, many captured in work in the field of Positive Organizational Behavior (POB). Here I summarize a longer, recently published paper.

Last Saturday, 24 January 2009, Claremont Graduate University hosted a conference titled Applying the Science of Positive Psychology to Improve Society. The moderator, Stewart Donaldson, posed two questions: What works in positive social sciences? How can we influence social change for the betterment of society? This article covers the morning sessions on the foundations of positive psychology.

Several years ago, my mother gave me The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist, and it is one of the best gifts I’ve received. In the book, Lynn presents a candid, genuinely transformative treatise about the meaning and impact of our relationship to money.

At the end of 2008, Daniel Goleman published another paper with Richard Boyatzis about Social Intelligence (SI) and Leadership. They define social intelligence as ‘a set of interpersonal competencies built on specific neural circuits (and related endocrine systems) that inspire others to be effective.’ SI may rock the fields leadership and management, just as Emotional Intelligence did 10 years ago.

Did you know that the average American puts on 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? And how much do you figure the average Holiday shopper has spent per year for the past 10 years? Try $961! We are observing epidemics in obesity, inactivity, and indebtedness. But here’s the good news.

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 …