Gratitude

The three blessings nomenclature has not always served Positive Psychology well. To some people, it can seem silly. Others are put off by the religious implications. Yet this exercise has lasting benefits, more reliably attached to reducing depression than stopping smoking is attached to reducing cancer.

“Feeling Under-Appreciated In Your Current Role?” That advertisement in 2006 inspired me to write about the importance of appreciation in the workplace. I’ve returned to this topic because of stories from friends and clients over the past few weeks. A common theme is their desire to feel appreciated and valued. Can positive psychology concepts help leaders become more skillful at showing appreciation?

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 felt it made a difference in their lives and here’s how…

The 20 articles in this book are organized into six distinct themes (The Value of Gratitude, Gratitude Practices, An Appreciative Eye, Gratitude Holidays, Gifts and Gratitude, and Gratitude in the Family), which when taken together, traverse the scope, use, and practice of gratitude. This book has three distinct strengths: its writing style, scope, and general usefulness.

Thanksgiving is a great positive psychology holiday. In fact, thanksgiving, not as a holiday but as a phenomenon, is part of positive psychology lingo, appearing in Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff’s model of savoring. Thanksgiving is a reflection on what the world has to offer us and why we should celebrate it.

“Happiness is not out of reach, and civility is not dead,” says David J. Pollay, speaker, seminar leader, blogger, syndicated columnist, and MAPP graduate in his new book, The Law…

Dear PPND readers, We are happy to announce the second book in the Positive Psychology News series, Gratitude: How to Appreciate Life’s Gifts. Available now from Amazon, this book is…

Kathryn Britton recently wrote about using positive psychology to deal with a sudden loss as she mourned her dear friend Linda. Grieving is an individual process, but while no two people have an identical experience of losing a loved one, there are several patterns that emerge. I’d like to offer some observations about how Positive Psychology is at work while people heal after a loss, even in the long term.

Keynote speaker, Miriam Akhtar, described the Positive Emotion Kit (PE Kit) approach to countering depression. To boost mood naturally and experience more positive than negative emotion, people can form personal PE kits by selecting interventions from five essential evidence-based categories.

Jenny Fox Eades and I had an interesting discussion about pausing, taking time, and using silence to consider what to say or do next. Jenny is a great supporter of little drops of quiet.

Inspiration, or more precisely the lack of it, strikes fear into the hearts of many students faced with an assignment or test, a blank sheet of paper and a ticking…

My dear friend, even though I do not write for Cosmo magazine, my advice truly could reignite passion and connection in your relationship. In my five years of post-divorce dating,…

For years, I have seen men roll their eyes and exclaim, “Women! I’ll never understand them!” I have always been at a loss for how to respond to this outburst,…

I’ve been thinking about how to sum up the main topics of positive psychology. Many people think of Chris Peterson’s three word summary, “Other people matter.” This phrase, powerful in…

“Can you imagine … looking forward to work every day? … Knowing that you make a difference and feeling good about the work you do?” So starts this book by…

“Thank You” sign Did you know that over two thirds of happy experiences are relationship oriented? Gratitude is the feeling we experience when we perceive ourselves as the recipient of…

If your teen is in the bottom 80% of the class, you may have been told – or thought– that she is “an underachiever” (a polite way of saying lazy or dumb). Underachiever compared to what? Compared to the narrowly-defined measures of school performance or compared to the abilities that will help her to thrive in life?

In my opinion, your child is not under-achieving. I think your child is under-appreciated.

To get along better with someone, do you have to be able to dance cheek-to-cheek? Maybe not, since being able to take risks and “wing it” it is a better predictor of marriage success than carefully choreographed steps. In honor of June, the wedding month in America, let’s explore some aspects of human emotion that make for a joyful relationship.