Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season in the Christian tradition. No doubt you have heard “I’m giving up (blank) for Lent.” (Insert favorite food, drink, activity, or other indulgent vice in the blank.) The focus of this season seems to be on self-sacrifice and self-control. These can be wonderful virtues to …
Strengths
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AllBusinessOptimismPositive FeelingsSpirituality_3 Positive Organizations
Flourishing with the Positive
by Doug Turnerby Doug TurnerI am the voluntary leader of a religious congregation of over 400 members. Like many churches, we have various auxiliaries and organizations to meet the needs of our membership. These include organizations for the young men, the young women, the children, the men, the women, the single adults, the poor and needy, the unemployed, and …
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There is but one topic to write about on this day… LOVE Love and the Capacity to Love is one of the twenty-four character strengths identified in Peterson and Seligman’s book Character Strengths and Virtues. Love and the Capacity to Love is defined as “valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing …
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AllGratitudeHappiness ExercisesSavoring / In-the-Moment_1 Positive Experiences_2 Positive Traits
Create Your Own “Happy Hour” – Serve 3 for 1 Gratitude
It was a little over a year ago and I had just returned from a family vacation. I sat down at the computer to read my email. I had “unplugged” for a few days. I was hoping that no big issues were waiting for me. I started flipping through each one quickly. I was on …
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I recently gave notice at the job I have held for the last eleven months. I place special emphasis on the word “job” because the actual day-to-day work in no way resembles the type of work that I would call a career and certainly not a calling. I would like to talk about this job …
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AllOptimismPositive Feelings_1 Positive Experiences_2 Positive Traits
(S)he’s just not that into “Authentic Happiness”
by Dana Arakawaby Dana ArakawaPositive Psychology changed my life. When I discovered Positive Psychology, I found an articulation of something that I had always been searching for. I resonated with the concept of the three states of life—pleasant, engaged, and meaningful—and I wanted to study and support the development of positive emotions, character strengths, and institutions. When I heard …
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AllBusinessOptimismStrengths_3 Positive Organizations
Sure they’ll think you are smart, but will they want to work for you?
by Dave Shearonby Dave ShearonSince early November, I have been giving a series of positive-psychology-based continuing legal education (CLE) seminars across Tennessee. Starting last month, I was also advertising for and interviewing candidates for Associate Director for the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. Like peanut-butter-and-jelly, these two endeavors mixed deliciously. In the seminar, Lawyering and the …
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AllBusinessDecision-MakingHappiness ExercisesOptimism_1 Positive Experiences_3 Positive Organizations
Learning Optimism
by Doug Turnerby Doug TurnerOver ten years ago I came across a book that caught my eye. At the time I did not recognized the author by name and I was not familiar with his work. The title, however, intrigued me and it ran through my head over and over before I actually acquired a copy of the book …
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AllBusinessOptimismPathway 3 "Meaning"Strengths_3 Positive Organizations
Positive Psychology & Institutions: Highlights From a Panel Discussion
NOTE: In Senia Maymin’s New Year’s Day article, she writes, “Positive Psychology is the study of positive subjective experiences, positive traits, and positive institutions.” This article is about the later. I will share some highlights from a recent panel discussion and conclude with some additional thoughts. I had the pleasure of returning to the University …
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AllGratitudeHappiness ExercisesOptimismPositive Feelings_1 Positive Experiences_2 Positive Traits
The Energy of Gratitude
Last weekend, I was at a gathering of college friends when one of them mentioned that her daughter had attended an Orthodox Jewish day camp one summer where she’d learned a prayer that had changed her life. Although I don’t know the exact wording, the mom told me that the gist of the daily prayer …
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AllBusinessPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Strengths_2 Positive Traits_3 Positive Organizations
Positive Psychology and Person-Job Fit
Does this new upstart subfield within psychology called positive psychology have anything to add to the domain of people in the workplace? If positive psychology is all about positive emotions and human flourishing, what can it say about our work life and how to be happiest and flourishing in it?
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AllDecision-MakingHappiness ExercisesOptimismStrengths_1 Positive Experiences_2 Positive Traits
Rewiring Your Remote Control Builds Character
Cash or credit? I handed over the plastic to the gas station attendant on the Garden State Parkway. It was very early on a Saturday and there was only one other car at the station which had perhaps 20 other pumps. I was traveling alone; it was cold. I had an appointment to keep at …
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AllBusinessOptimismPositive FeelingsStrengths_3 Positive Organizations
The Right Fit Makes a Difference
by Jen Hausmannby Jen HausmannIf at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Not everything works in every environment. This we know. All of us have committed a faux pas at one time or another: told the wrong joke in the wrong place, congratulated someone on a promotion they didn’t actually get, shared with a friend how much we …
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AllGoalsHappiness ExercisesHope_2 Positive Traits
Compete in Your Game in 2007– Stay Focused on Your Goals
Stop! The New Year is here! What are your resolutions? What are you going to do this year?! Many of you are thinking about what you want to achieve in 2007. And you are being slammed by TV infomercials, print articles, and email spam telling you what you should be doing! Last week I was …
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AllAweBusinessDecision-MakingHabitsOptimismPositive FeelingsStrengths_1 Positive Experiences_2 Positive Traits_3 Positive Organizations
What is Positive Psychology?
by Senia Mayminby Senia MayminWhat is this part of the human belief system that wants us to do well, to succeed, and to feel great? It’s the most natural part of who we are. It’s not only ingrained in our bodies and central nervous systems, but it also shows in our beliefs, our actions, and our surroundings. It’s the …
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Alex Sternick is an expert and internationally recognized practitioner of the Art of Nonsense and Laughter Therapy.