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 more likely to experience flow, to find their work meaningful, and to
Pathway 2 “Engagement / Flow”
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AllPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Savoring / In-the-MomentTaking Action
Eyes Wide Open: Putting Limits on Autopilot
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.
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AllMindfulnessPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Taking Action
The Differences Among Mindfulness, Flow, and Hypnosis
Mindfulness, hypnosis, and flow all involve states of deep attention, but each has a key differentiator.
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AllHealthOptimismPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Positive EmotionRelationshipsTaking Action
Psychological Well-being Can Shorten the Road to Wellness
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.
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AllPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Theory
Can One Get a Doctorate in Positive Psychology?
by Orin Davisby Orin DavisSince 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.
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You can easily see how a pastime like fishing can become much more than a way to relax and unwind at the end of a busy week. Sitting on the riverbank with a rod and box of bait for days at a time will eventually lead you to become fairly knowledgeable about fish and fishing, but it’s only by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and into new realms that you’ll develop deep expertise.
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Is it better to pursue an individual flow activity, such as taking on a new skill or hobby? Or is it better to find flow interacting with others? Dr. Charles Walker set out to answer these questions.
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AllCoachingMotivationPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Positive EmotionStrengthsTaking ActionTheoryThree Pathways
Five Reasons to Focus on Flow
There are many good reasons why we should focus more on flow as a route to well-being. Five of the best ones are highlighted here along with several tips for making flow experiences more likely.
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AllPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Positive EmotionSavoring / In-the-MomentStrengths
PERMA Gifts
P is for Positive Emotion, E is for Engagement, R is for Relationships, M is for Meaning, and A is for Accomplishment. Using Martin Seligman’s alphabet of well-being, we bring you a set of ideas from our authors for flourishing during the holidays and beyond.
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If you’ve ever struggled to explain positive psychology to a friend or colleague, you are ready to appreciate this short animation by Nick Standlea, a former research associate for Mike Csikszentmihalyi at the Quality of Life Research Center. It’s food for the eyes and ears.
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AllBusinessPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"_3 Positive Organizations
Why the Workplace Needs Positive Psychology
by Orin Davisby Orin DavisWith increasing demands in the workplace and a greater need for knowledge-based work, innovation, and creativity, organizations need to find ways to enable their employees to do and be their best. Positive psychology can show those in management roles how to use and develop human capital. It can also guide organizational policy and enable workers to make their best contributions. Positive psychology has been, and will continue to be, a boon to the workplace.
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AllMindfulnessMovieMovie Review and Event ReviewPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Resilience
The Positive Psychology Oscars of 2011: Elements of Flourishing
by Ryan Niemiecby Ryan NiemiecPositive psychology movies are not only the lighthearted films that inspire and elevate us, but also the movies that teach us something about the human condition, help us face suffering, and shine a light on pain and tragedy. You’ll see a mixture of both types of films in my offering of the Positive Psychology Movie Awards for 2011. This is part 1. Come back tomorrow for the awards for character strengths—and the best picture award.
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As I pondered the topic for this article, I intended to focus on the purely euphoric experience of surfing, and the myriad ways in which it fulfilled a Positive Psychology purpose for me: flow, positive affect, flourishing through physical activity, and more. Just as positive psychology seeks not to reject the notion that life has its dark spaces, but to place more emphasis on the light spaces, I would not be telling the full story if I didn’t divulge an intense craving for what I felt out there on the water, and the truth of how I was contemplating very seriously moving to Hawaii and living out my days in a bikini.
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AllGoalsGratitudeHappiness ExercisesMindfulnessOptimismPathway 1 "Pleasure"Pathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Positive EmotionPositive FeelingsRelationshipsResilienceStressTaking Action_1 Positive Experiences
When Valuing Happiness Backfires
New research by psychologist Iris Mauss and colleagues suggests that valuing happiness itself could be self-defeating and actually lead to disappointment. They conducted two studies, one a correlational study and another that manipulated how much people valued happiness.
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AllPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Pathway 3 "Meaning"Positive EmotionRelationships
On Physical Flourishing
Martin Seligman presents his new model for well-being under the codename PERMA, an acronym for the five pillars of well-being that he identified after decades of research. But what about physical health? Movement, exercise, fitness, mobility, touch, and so on are all physical aspects of life that are critical to well-being, and yet they seem to be left out of the PERMA model. Did Seligman allow his psychologist experience to narrow his field of vision to only the psychological domain?
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AllParenting & SchoolsPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"
PERMA Parent Part 2: Building Engagement into Parenting
Paying attention to your children sets the stage for engagement and connection. You are creating mental models that form a secure base of attachment for their growth and development. If you think you need to reengage and experience flow more frequently when playing with your children, here are some suggestions.
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AllHappiness ExercisesPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Positive Feelings
Reverse Engineering Positive Psychology
by Orin Davisby Orin DavisOne of the continual challenges of research is making it generalizable to the population at large. But, as people are quick to point out, what works for the general population might not work for a specific individual.
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AllCreativityGoalsMotivationParenting & SchoolsPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Taking Action
Nurturing Your Creative Mindset
Do you ever wish you were more creative? New research has shown that adults can be primed to become more creative simply by being asked to think like children. There…
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AllBusinessDecision-MakingHome and FamilyPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"RelationshipsResilienceStress_3 Positive Organizations
When at Work, Can You Leave Your Heart at Home?
While employers would like to think that people leave their problems at home, the reality is that most people find it challenging to turn off stressors from their personal life when they get to work. Rather than ignore the home-life/work-performance connection, we argue that employers who encourage and support healthy home lives in their employees see a better return on their salary investment.
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AllBusinessGoalsHappiness ExercisesMoneyMotivationParenting & SchoolsPathway 2 "Engagement / Flow"Positive FeelingsResilienceStrengthsStressTaking Action
No Worries, Andy! Immunize Yourself Against Job Anxiety
Dear Student,
Don’t worry when people tell you it will be hard to find a job. What the doom-and-gloom folks don’t understand is that they have something as contagious as the H1N1 virus– anxiety. Like the flu, they are probably “carriers” without even realizing it. You can innoculate yourself.