Home and Family

Watch this quick video about how to praise our kids – and how not to do so.

The latest issue of MAPP Magazine has been published by graduates of the MAPP Program at the University of Pennsylvania. This edition is dedicated to the Positive Humanities.

Graduates of the MAPP Program at Penn have just published another issue of the MAPP Magazine with articles about maintaining well-being during the pandemic, caregiving, and exploring character strengths.

Jaime’s idea of practical self-reliance serves up a welcome, encouraging balm for my weary heart. Jaime gives us hope and inspiration to celebrate the simple and good. In the spirit of thanksgiving wherever you are, I’m happy to share some resources to help you boost your practical self-reliance.

There was much in this book that caused me to be more reflective and introspective. When you’re in a life-long relationship with someone else, that’s probably a good practice. Since it takes two to tango, couples may want to buy two copies of this book, one for each to read, make notes in, and reflect on. Then they might want to do a few date book club nights to share their ideas and move forward together.

I have traveled a long, rugged road to find my way back to see you with new eyes. Dear Mister Rogers, thank you for the opportunity to offer you my gratitude. You taught us that feelings are not forever. We may be sad now but we’ll also be happy again. We get to feel all of the feelings because they are all part of life.

How I learned about the psycho-social costs of chronic degenerative disease and what I decided to do about it: the genesis of the HEART initiative.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” gets most heads nodding like a metronome. Except, of course, when the apple does in fact fall far. This stunning documentary takes you behind the scenes with several incredible families where individual children are outliers, entirely distinctive from all the other kinsfolk. Right now the film is opening in theaters across the United States and I encourage you to observe positive profiles in resilience, hope, and the enduring power of love amongst five amazing families.

Is there a connection between mothers working outside the home and adolescent depression? What emerged when I studied this question surprised me. It appeared that children of mothers with rewarding careers are actually doing quite well. However children with mothers who are depressed, working or not, are at a much greater risk for adolescent depression. In my quest to help working mothers find well-being, I have found numerous simple mechanisms that working mothers can use to improve their daily experience, thereby reducing the risk of depression in themselves and their children..

Here’s the good news. When we practice self-compassion on a regular basis, we literally mold our brains for the better, thanks to the power of experience-dependent neuroplasticity. This changes our gene expression towards greater compassion, so that we not only build our relationships, we’re literally evolving our collective brain towards a higher consciousness.

Today I want to highlight two compelling concepts from Happy Together that can help you cultivate stronger and happier relationships.

As the calendar bends towards Valentine’s Day, Happy Together is a wonderful book for you and the important people in your life. It provides a dazzling array of easy-to-implement exercises to keep your relationships strong and energetic. The Pawelskis demonstrate that relationships can get better with age, like fine bottles of wine.

Our family’s last Thanksgiving celebration was the final holiday we shared with my beloved father nine days before he died. I never know when I will experience a pang or a sobbing bout or a joyful wave of hilarious memories. The only constant is that there are no rules. I appreciate Claire Ansberry’s helpful guidance for people wondering how to say and do helpful things gracefully for people who are grieving.

It seems that every year around Thanksgiving, people like to quote Dr. Robert Emmons’ work on gratitude. It becomes de rigeur to count your blessings and enumerate what you are grateful for. But I’d like to propose something a little different this year.

I wasn’t sure about reading this book, but I’m ever so glad that I did. I want to read it again with my highlighter firmly in hand and note all the wisdom again. this book This book has definitely equipped me to be more compassionate when someone close to me is suffering from a tragic loss. I feel that I know better what to say, what to do, and how to be a meaningful support with less fear and trepidation, and more confidence.

Positive Psychology News has a tradition of pulling together thoughts for the New Year, remembering that many people are taking stock and making resolutions. As you look ahead, perhaps the ideas below will help you find ways to make your life more happy and healthy. We also recommend that you follow Alicia’s lead and look back at 2016. What worked especially well then? What do you want to make sure you do more of in 2017?

I made a more gentle resolution for 2016, because I am a parent in a world where “mom guilt” is the trend. I want to do the best I can for the kids I love, but sometimes more is unproductive and better is unrealistic. By pairing my natural urges to be perfect with the remorse I carried following my son’s burn injury, I was on a one-way trip to martyrdom. For this reason, 2016 was the year of self-compassion. My year-end reflection reveals a happier, more resilient version of myself so I think this resolution is one I will keep.

Yes there are crowds, more on the to-do list, and the flu season is upon us. But there are also more connections, sparkle, and cheer. Since I am (somewhat gracefully) surviving this holiday season with the support of the concepts I understand from positive psychology, I am compelled to spread my cheer by sharing my holiday survival list.

My rainbow baby writer’s block serves as a reminder that sometimes we need to sit back and let life unfold while maintaining self-compassion in our passive state.

The twins had been studying the last ice age in class, and on this particular day, had watched a short video clip about a large asteroid hitting our planet unexpectedly. As we discussed it over lunch, my daughter threw me an unexpected question.

“What would you do if you knew that an asteroid was going to hit our planet in two years time?”