What if friends, somewhat new to positive psychology, asked you what’s going on in the field? Perhaps they are just curious, or perhaps they want to include topics from positive psychology in classes (college, high school, Sunday school, business) and need to feel confidently grounded in the relevant research. Where would you send them? After …
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AllBook ReviewHappiness ExercisesHealthRelationshipsTaking Action
Smarts and Stamina – A Book Review
I have been anticipating Marie-Josée Shaar and Kathryn Britton’s new book: Smarts and Stamina: The Busy Person’s Guide to Optimal Health and Performance for several months now and it is better even than I had anticipated.
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Dr. Tali Sharot just released her book, The Optimism Bias; A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. The optimism bias is the inclination to overestimate the likelihood of encountering positive events in the future and to underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events. The book is a neuroscientist’s contribution to an increased understanding of the …
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AllAweGratitudeHome and FamilyHopeIn-the-NewsLoveOptimismPositive EmotionRelationshipsSpirituality
Oprah’s Last Class
For twenty years my dear friend Ann and I have been watching the Oprah Winfrey show, so it seemed appropriate that we watch Oprah’s last show together. Through the power of storytelling and television, Oprah brought to life many lessons taught by positive psychologists around the world. She used her final show to share her …
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Upgrading the Motivation Operating System: Drive: (Book Review)
Drive; The Surprising Truth about What Motives Us by Daniel Pink is an intriguing and informative read for anyone interested in human motivation. I found the toolkit to be extremely rich with great ideas for rethinking motivation in the workplace. Pink helps us to understand when incentives work and when they don’t. He challenges the …
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When a foreign substance lodges itself in an oyster, the oyster’s natural defense is to build a wall around the irritation to protect itself that eventually becomes a pearl. An irritation produces a precious gem. Can irritations in our own lives also produce precious things? I believe so. Learning to deal with adversity can sometimes …
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A very close family member had hurt me very badly many years ago. For my own health and happiness, I decided to completely forgive her by finding compassion for her. I forgave her – not because I felt what she did was right, I did it for me to let it go. But over the …
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AllAweGratitudeHome and FamilyParenting & SchoolsPathway 3 "Meaning"Positive FeelingsResilienceSavoring / In-the-Moment_1 Positive Experiences
Believing in Santa Claus
When the women of my book club heard the plight of the families of the Red Door, they enthusiastically embraced the task of sponsoring a family. It was wonderful to know this family was going to have a good Christmas…but what touched my heart was how the women of the book club were transformed. They …
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In part I, I described research that shows a decline in female happiness since 1972. I asked you to share what you thought the reasons were for this decline. The article sparked a flurry of discussion. I will explore four of the reasons put forth and then offer some strategies for improving female happiness.
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Oprah recently had Martha Stewart on her show. Apparently thousands of women had written in about having Martha show them, once again, how to properly fold a fitted bed sheet. This made me think; is the state of our linen closets just one more standard to which women need to measure up? And are these …
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Practicing Positive Psychology Coaching by Robert Biswas-Diener (Book Review)
If you enjoyed Robert Biswas-Diener’s first book with Ben Dean on the subject of positive psychology and coaching and were craving more ready-made activities you could use with your coaching clients, then you will be pleased to know his new book more than delivers. Robert gives dozens of practical suggestions for translating research into workable …
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A friend of mine suggested that I read Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America, because it is always good to be knowledgeable about the criticism in your field. So I read the book hoping to find an intelligent challenge that would spark intellectual debate with my colleagues in the field …
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Louisa Jewell, MAPP ’09, is a speaker, author, and positive psychology expert who has facilitated thousands of people towards greater flourishing both at work and in their personal lives. Louisa is the founder of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association, an organization that brings together leading-edge researchers and practitioners to share the latest knowledge on psychological …