Comments on: Hard Work No Fun, But Choice and Friendship Are

By: Denise Quinlan

Denise Quinlan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:54:23 +0000

Dave,
thanks for those links! I’m onto it…right after I do a few other things on my list….
As a former procrastination gold-medallist I agree with you. If I can connect with why I want to do something – and it has meaning for me, then I can get stuck in. But even so, sometimes we just have to grind it out, and get on to the next thing we really enjoy.

Cheers
Denise

By: Denise Quinlan

Denise Quinlan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:51:31 +0000

Sarah,
apologies – I had replied but somehow it hasn’t appeared.
I am not qualified to discuss bi-polar. There are therapists who incorporate positive psychology and strengths-based practices into their work. You should approach one of these people with your question.

All the best,
Denise

By: Denise Quinlan

Denise Quinlan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:48:49 +0000

Hi Amanda,
I think I replied to you and a couple of other posts last week but failed to click the right button.. agh! So here we go again.
Yes, I agree with you that we can find ourselves displaying a strength e.g. self-regulation or persistence, which we normally don’t display when we are using it in the service of another strengths, e.g. for love or kindness, or when the job at hand is meaningful.

I think this is a key to learning to develop our ‘lesser strengths’. What do I really care about that I coudl practice a lesser strength on? And, which of my top strengths might help me do it?

Virginia,
I love your comment about getting more energy by taking a step class. Exercise has been proven to help depression and well-being. You’re reminding me that I’ve been stuck at my computer too much lately and could definitely do with a well-being boost from physical exercise!

Annie,
I think Amanda’s comment might help you. Thinking about why you’re doing something, what you value about it, and what purpose it will serve can all help you connect to wanting to do something, and maintain that motivation.

Cheers
Denise

By: annie

annie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:03:43 +0000

Denise,

Like Kendra said a while back, I feel like I get so anxious about how difficult my work is going to be that I put it off and let my anxiety build. I am a college student and can definitely say that when I do finish a paper or something I have been working on I feel awesome, but I am beginning to become so overwhelmed due to work I have put off that I don’t even know what to do anymore. Do you have any tips on how I can stay determined and keep at whatever it is I’m doing with a positive attitude?

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:38:03 +0000

Ms. Quinlan,

I really enjoyed your article and discussion. As a college student I can relate to making short term sacrifices for long term goals/ happiness. I was curious on your thoughts of how the SDT relates to the peak end theory and overall happiness?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:57:17 +0000

Dave, I like the way you think.

By: Dave Shearon

Dave Shearon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:09:36 +0000

Don’t know if this will be accessible to those who aren’t Wall Street Journal subscribers, but this column details the author’s test of three popular productivity management systems: Getting Things Done (GTD), the Pomodoro Technique, and Franklin Covey’s Focus method. http://bit.ly/3KiQnI

As a lawyer and, therefore, a “trained” procrastinator, I have been interested in the change in my attraction to the idea of productivity since completing MAPP. Basically, both the idea of setting goals and ways of better getting the work done to reach them struck me as offputting until just recently. Most of my work seemed to be “just one more damn thing.” Now, as I have found my orientation changing more to being “pulled into the future” (Marty Selgiman’s phrase), I also find my desire to be more productive going up. Even hard and not intrinsically rewarding tasks seem more attractive as I am more able to see them in a big picture view of my life moving in directions I desire in a different domains.

By: Jarrod Gadd

Jarrod Gadd — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:49:18 +0000

Denise,
I found this article to be very true to myself particularly because I am a procrastinator. I get a great relief from the stress that lifts when a project of difficult task has been completed. Even at times when I do find the material that I am faced with to be interesting it still somehow manages to become monotonous. Maybe those of us who procrastinate are not lazy but are more thrill seekers in a different sense. Putting off as much as we can til the last minute only to finish them all to get the collective feeling of completion and happiness that your article speaks of.

By: Virginia Jones

Virginia Jones — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:20:51 +0000

I have to admit that at times I am the epitome of a lazy college student. This semester I have been taking a step aerobics class and I cannot even explain the difference it has made. Not only do feel 100 times better, I rarely catch myself in a bad mood. Do you recommend other things that my friends and I can do to stay in shape and increase our positive energy?

By: Sarah Hanley

Sarah Hanley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:06:48 +0000

Denise,
I was wondering how do you think short-term and long-term happiness apply to someone who is say bi-polar where their mood is constantly changing? Do you think satisfying one’s need for happiness can some how balance the mood swings of someone who is bi-polar?

Sarah