Books in the Positive Psychology News series
The positive character traits and positive habits of individuals.
Do strengths translate well to workplaces in China? I recently came across an experience in which the strengths-approach was challenged. “This assessment doesn’t tell me my weaknesses, it only contains strengths. I don’t get it! How can I improve if I don’t know my weaknesses?” Chen shouted from the back of the room.
Motivation makes a tremendous difference to performance and satisfaction. We want to be more motivated to do the things we know we ought to do, like exercise. We want our…
Last Sunday night, seven women gathered around my television set as a shapely, but taut, body of a drop-dead gorgeous woman filled the screen. “How can she wear that thing and look so good?” one exclaimed. “Black makes you look thinner, but this is ridiculous. She looks half her age, and even acts half her age!” another said.
Usually, the difficulty resides not in understanding why we should exercise, but in finding and maintaining the motivation to get it done. If you need extra help committing to an exercise routine, here are my top 10 recommendations, based on positive psychology research, to help you overcome the challenge.
Perhaps you are a coach working with corporate or individual clients, perhaps you are a manager working with a team of employees, or perhaps you are a parent of a teenager. In every role, you will likely find the Strengths Cart Sort a practical tool to help others understand, own, and apply their strengths.
It was 1977 and I was in the sixth grade. I joined the Boy’s Choir. I really didn’t like singing in choirs, but I joined anyway. All my friends had…
Recent events in my life have made me reconsider the virtue of patience, and come to a new appreciation of this under-appreciated but much needed strength.
A new study from the Wharton School of Business seems to refute a widely held intuitive belief. Despite what you may have believed, according to the new study, it turns out that money CAN buy happiness. Or maybe it says that money DOES buy happiness. Well, maybe both, but not exactly either […]
I am amongst other things the Secretary of the Howard League in Scotland. John Howard was the 18th century founder of the penal reform movement: between 1775 and 1790 he…
Earlier this month I attended a women’s leadership conference sponsored by The George Washington University (GWU) in DC. I didn’t go to the conference with the intention of writing a…
“Am I abnormal?” People sometimes ask me this question when they know I am a psychologist. I am not in a very good position to answer this question, yet this leaves me in rumination over another interesting question, “Why do people try to be normal but not someone special? Why not be Positively Abnormal?”
Morality is an essential part of human nature. Morality is also a central element of all classical conceptions of “the good life.” You can’t think intelligently about how you ought…
“Raindrops on roses and Whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and Warm woolen mittens” Julie Andrews sang about them. Oprah has them. And so I now want to do a…
“Peace is more precious than diamonds, silver, or gold.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. This month I thought that I would visit a topic that is near and dear to…
Psychological Capital introduces both a significant stream of research and an important framework for the application of positive psychology to organizations.
Developing strengths requires time and experience. Becoming “good” is a learned behavior. However, we must be aware that we are human and imperfect beings, and the best we can do is to strive to attain this measure of moral excellence. A person’s intention to act well is highly influenced by the strengths he or she has acquired.
‘Tis the season to give and get. This is the explicit message of the many advertisements that propel us into hypnotic holiday spending. Are your halls decked? Is your closet…
Make the most of your regrets: never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to…
I had the pleasure of hearing Mike Morrison, VP and Dean of University of Toyota, speak at last month’s Global Well-Being Forum (formerly the International Positive Psychology Summit) at Gallup’s…
Floyd Patterson, a heavyweight boxing legend and Hall-of-Famer, once said, “They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most.” Patterson found a way to get back up each time. This is the mark of a good leader, and a successful person. You get up after you get smacked.
All success stories involve knock down after knock down. The question is, why do some people have the courage and confidence to get up while many others stay down. Let me tell you how I learned the secret.