Three Pathways

How do adventure, curiosity, and exploration contribute to well-being? Why do some of our most treasured memories come from experiences that weren’t pleasant at the time? Why do some researchers believe we need an additional dimension of well-being beyond happiness and feeling that life is meaningful?

Let’s look at this year’s stellar IPPA World Congress from a Transcendent Strengths perspective. The transcendent strengths are those that help us connect to the larger universe. Expression of these strengths enhances the sense that life is meaningful: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality. Let me highlight some speakers and experiences …

The latest version of the MAPP Magazine is now available with articles about expectations of well-being during trying times, perspectives from Dr. Angela Duckworth on this past pandemic year, and the broad range of capstone topics chosen by the 2020 class of MAPP graduates. We invite you to read and subscribe.

Studies have revealed that not only are physical, mental, and social well-being important components for total health, but they are tightly interrelated. The evidence also shows that a happy, engaged, and fulfilling psychological and social life is not just a consequence of good health. It leads people to live a healthy and long life. Medical …

This article continues the answer to the question, “How does a relationship with our natural environment help us develop a life of meaning?” The actions in this article are involved with deeper self-discovery and expression.

How does a relationship with our natural environment help us develop a life of meaning? 13 actions to explore this question. Come back tomorrow for an additional 13 actions.

As much as we need to feel that we belong and that others want us, it is even more critical to know that we matter, that we have something to offer, and that our contribution is seen and appreciated. Here are some actions that can facilitate a culture of mattering.

How Using Our Talents in Service of Others May Help Keep Obsessive Passion in Check

I developed a concise survey instrument to assess 6 qualities in managers from the perspective of their subordinates. Work by Steger, Rosso, and others associates these qualities with greater likelihood of employees finding their work meaningful. In a survey of 586 German employees, I found that those who found their managers high in CAARMA were …

Employing tools from aviation can allow people to take charge of their lives and pilot successful futures. Embracing your life with eyes wide open allows you to design your own life story, full of appreciation, gratitude, and awe.

We can begin by stepping away from the self-improvement craze and understanding our place in the larger flow of life. What are we here to achieve? What needs can we address (aside from our own) and how can we make a real difference to other lives? Meaning is relational by its very nature. It grows …

Mindfulness, hypnosis, and flow all involve states of deep attention, but each has a key differentiator.

The students in Positive Psychology: The Science of Optimal Human Functioning did not just read books, listen to my mini-lectures, and write papers. They conducted class-based research projects to contribute to our collective knowledge.

Including psychological well-being in a company’s health promotion effort can take you from basic wellness to greater overall well-being. It helps us do more, and do it better.

A new year is here! With the turn of the calendar page comes a fresh start and a new hope for achieving our dreams. Yet each year only about eight percent of us successfully follow through with our New Year’s resolutions. With the odds apparently stacked against us, why not change it up? This year, …

Like all New Year’s resolutions, it’s going to be a journey where there’s no guarantee of success. But something tells me that it is in embracing every part of my experience that I can move freely through the yin and yang of life.

Positive Psychology and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are different movements within psychology. Yet they also have quite a lot in common. Contact between both has been scarce until now. In July 2015, captains of both ships met for the very first time: Barbara ‘Positivity’ Fredrickson and Steven ‘ACT’ Hayes. Here is an exclusive report …

I am learning to appreciate the distinctiveness of each self and the flexibility with which one transitions into another. I may not get an Academy Award for my acting. But in the coming together of my multiple selves, I’ve begun to discover the wholeness of being.

This Thursday, March 26, you are invited to a free webinar on Love & Purpose. Why put these two topics together? Read on.

Since a quick look at my bio reveals that I earned the first doctorate in positive psychology back in 2010, I know you are expecting a resounding yes to the question. I’d love to give that answer, but it’s not that simple. Let’s explore some questions about it.