It’s September 11, 2007, and for many it can feel just like that tragic day in 2001. Many of us will reflect through different lenses and filters the events that happened six years ago in New York City, Washington, DC and in Pennsylvania. Just ask a person where they were at the moment they heard or saw the news, and they will, most likely, evoke some level of emotion. The first images on the television screen were so graphic I was in a state of denial: “This is just another advertisement for a Tom Cruise or Kurt Russell “Save the World” from destruction movie.” Going through the stages of loss was quite a challenge for many of us. Fortunately, loss can eventually lead to a type of rebirth or reconnection with self and others – a type of shared identity. […]
Global Policies
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AllGlobal PoliciesPathway 1 "Pleasure"Resilience_3 Positive Organizations
What Gets Measured Gets Managed
by Rosie Milnerby Rosie MilnerGovernments have tried to increase their citizens’ well-being since time immemorial. But when it comes to assessing how they’re doing, they have generally stuck to objective measures such as GDP, as famously criticized by Lord Layard. This changed earlier this summer, when the British Government became the first in the West to track its citizens’ subjective well-being.
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Conversation on an Airplane “I’m planning on being a fireman. But if my brother gets killed in Iraq, I’m going to enlist and go take vengeance over there.” Thus spoke…
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AllGlobal PoliciesPathway 3 "Meaning"Strengths_3 Positive Organizations
For Better or for Worse? The Marriage of Technology and Positive Psychology
As someone who is passionately interested in how technology changes lives, I was intrigued by Gerald P. Koocher’s article “Twenty-First Century Challenges for Psychology.” Koocher, former President of the American…
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AllBusinessGlobal PoliciesPathway 3 "Meaning"Strengths_3 Positive Organizations
Positive Work Environments: How One Company is Putting Theory into Practice
How do you create a positive organization? What’s the formula? In this article I will focus on a few other factors – Physical Location, High Quality Relationships, and Meaningful Work – using specific examples from a company I recently visited in northern Italy.
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AllGlobal PoliciesGoalsGratitudeOptimismPathway 3 "Meaning"Strengths_2 Positive Traits
Remembering the Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Person
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Memorial Day officially commemorates people who died in military service to their country. In many families, it is a day for remembering…
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AllDecision-MakingGlobal PoliciesHabitsOptimismPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"ResilienceSports_2 Positive Traits
Do Not Take the Contemplative Panic!
Skiing for the first time in my life earlier this year, I was offered by my wonderful Italian ski instructor a new positive psychology construct I want to share with…
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AllBusinessDecision-MakingGlobal PoliciesPathway 3 "Meaning"_3 Positive Organizations
Is Mandating Positive News Good for Us?
by Senia Mayminby Senia MayminWhat do you do if you’re running a news radio station, and suddenly your new management which has heavy ties to the government comes in to tell you that you…
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AllGlobal PoliciesParenting & SchoolsPathway 3 "Meaning"_1 Positive Experiences
Owning the Dark Stuff
I write these thoughts in the news of the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech. The science of positive psychology is-value free and as Shane Lopez writes, we still don’t know…
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AllBusinessGlobal PoliciesPathway 3 "Meaning"_3 Positive Organizations
What Good is Business? Positive Psychology & Social Entrepreneurship
The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship was perhaps the most thrilling conference I’ve ever attended. This global conference brings passionate people together from all corners of the globe, such…
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AllGlobal PoliciesGuest Academic ArticlesPathway 1 "Pleasure"Pathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Positive FeelingsStrengths_1 Positive Experiences
Positive Psychology in Space
Positive Psychology is the study of positive emotion, of engagement, and of meaning. Each of these turns out to be measurable with adequate precision and buildable. The central thesis of…
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AllGlobal PoliciesMoneyPathway 3 "Meaning"_1 Positive Experiences_3 Positive Organizations
Measuring the Value of a Dollar
To expand on my first entry’s musings about income and happiness, I’d like to introduce how the simple principles developed by Mohammad Yunus, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, warrant…
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I’m ecstatic! I look around and feel like positive psychology is everywhere! I’m thrilled that The Economist is exploring what role the market has for our personal happiness and how…