One aspect of the emergence of positive psychology and the trendiness of happiness has been to see businesses incorporating happiness into their business models. Zappos’ business is based on “Delivering Happiness,” Huggies has it’s “be happy” campaign and Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” video commercials have been hugely successful. At least in the case of Coca-Cola, their [...]
If you clicked this link because you thought I would teach how to have a “PERMANENT” vacation, then you misunderstood. But what I’m offering you is even better. PERMA is the acronym described by Martin Seligman, one of the top researchers in positive psychology, for the ingredients of a flourishing life: Positive emotions—experiencing happiness, joy, [...]
Photo Credit: a n i. Y. via Compfight April is “Stress Awareness Month” as sponsored by the “Health Resource Network” and April 16th specifically (the day after Tax Day) is “National Stress Awareness Day” in the United States. When I first heard about these “holidays,” I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I think it’s safe [...]
Photo Credit: Viewminder via Compfight Tomorrow is “World Happiness Day,” an official holiday recognized by the United Nations to honor “a fundamental human goal,” the pursuit of happiness. Thanks to the burgeoning field of positive psychology, there has been a deluge of new books and information on the secrets to human happiness: Authentic Happiness, The [...]
Photo Credit: DonDré via Compfight I have many childhood memories of my mother coming to my rescue when I was sick. She was always there with one remedy or another: vitamin C, chicken soup (Jewish penicillin,) a cool washcloth on my feverish forehead or a hot saltwater gargle to soothe my sore throat. Most of [...]
I fell in love with my wife in Barbara Fredrickson’s class as a part of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania. This might not sound that unusual to you—I’m sure people fall in love in university classrooms all the time—but what makes this somewhat unique is that my wife [...]
Photo Credit: Hartwig HKD via Compfight Some of those who work in positive psychology were surprised by a recent research study by Roy Baumeister showing that stress and anxiety was linked to less happiness but more meaningfulness in life. Why would a meaningful life be more stressful and less happy? Aren’t we always reading about [...]
Photo Credit: Justin Balog via Compfight It is sad when a hero falls from grace. And the higher up on the pedestal we place them, the harder it is when they fall. For me, Lance Armstrong was about as high up as you could get. He had an incredible work ethic, superhuman accomplishments, amazing charitable [...]
Photo Credit: Scott Ableman via Compfight Last week, I talked about the “positive flip”: the idea of taking an area where a negativity bias may be narrowing our perspective and considering it from a more positive vantage point. Today’s article is about how to apply this in the real world. First of all, there is [...]
I saw a fun movie last week, called “Yes Man,” about a man (played by Jim Carrey) who turns his life around by saying “yes” to whatever opportunity came along (he had previously been in the habit of saying “no.”) It reminded me of the most powerful lesson I have learned from my studies in [...]
