When my daughter, Lauren, chose her college, she picked-up on an aspect that didn’t jump out at me. I guess I was the only one surprised at how that played-out four years later and it made me curious: how does a college foster a service culture that stands out to a high school student?

The countdown of the top 10 positive psychology films of 2009 is about to begin. These are films that both appeal to a wide audience and have important messages. Many are perfect for use in …

Is there any substance and meaning behind the choice of who wins an Academy Award? In an analysis of 1,132 films, Simonton found that the Oscars do matter; they provide meaningful information about creativity and …

I want to travel to Pandora, the fictional planet depicted in Avatar.  I saw James Cameron’s newest film that has rocked box offices since its release in December on I-MAX 3-D and have since …

I visited Maui, a breath-taking beautiful island where I experienced multiple moments of awe, elevation, spirituality, and connection with all things larger than myself. Stepping outside urbanization and its demands stimulated my strengths of open-mindedness, appreciation of beauty and capacity to love. Today, I am more motivated than ever to be respectful of the environment through the dozens of everyday choices that we know about, and should never fail to make.

Barbara Fredrickson shared an intervention called positive portfolio during the first Positive Psychology World Congress last month in Philadelphia. I came home inspired to start my own portfolio. In her book “Positivity”, Fredrickson identified ten …

Last week I saw (from the first row, and in 3-D) Disney Pixar’s Up , an animated film about life, adventure, and friendship. The film certainly pulled on my heart strings in a very “other-people-matter” positive-psychology way. The film also speaks to this month’s theme of fun and play. [...]

While walking to join a few friends yesterday evening at dusk, I passed through a lush green park in the center of Philadelphia. I was lost in my own head, contemplating the many interesting topics presented at the First World Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). As I stepped softly through the grass in the approaching darkness of the evening sky, a light suddenly caught my eye. Waist-level beside me, hovering in the summer air, was a firefly.

Today marks the 40th annual celebration of Earth Day in the United States. It is a good opportunity to tie together a few positive psychology themes with Mother Nature. We must learn to be good stewards of the environment and take care of the natural world around us so future generations may reap the same benefits.

In 1845, Thoreau went to live for three months in the woods near Walden Pond. When asked why, he responded, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived… I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”