Negativity is NOT the key to success
We all know that negativity has an immense impact on how we feel, work and interact with others, so why do we allow those feelings to influence us so much? It is simple, as human beings we have a negativity bias. Our brain has a built-in negative bias that causes us...
Forgiveness as a Strength
Knowing your strengths Knowing and developing one’s signature strengths is a core feature of Positive Psychology. Regularly using our top strengths, rather than focusing on our weaknesses is an evidenced based means of promoting well-being. That’s not to say we should...
Grit. Grace. Gratitude. Duende.
Duende (n.) the mysterious power of art to deeply move a person. “Heightened sense of passion.” It is incredibly brave to sit in the stillness of something beautiful. We dare to open our hearts to the isolation of depth within our own mind’s eye. Our emotions can be...
Positive Courage
What does Positive Psychology say about Courage? Earlier philosophers state how courage is an essential virtue which floats between cowardice and rashness (Aristotle, 350 BCE/1999). The changing face of courage has shifted from support for a diminishing cause viewed...
Grit, Grace, Gratitude. Philosophy
One philosophy tells us that our lives are predetermined. Another says that we have free will. Another still, tells us that life is meaningless, and we are an accident of atoms smashing together in the great cosmos of a lucky toss of the dice. So why do we continue,...
Embracing Change in an Ever Changing World
There are few certainties in our human existence, aside from the understanding that our experience of life constantly changes. Much has been written about how we manage and think about our journey of change and whilst inevitable, change can be experienced as either...
Grit, Grace, Gratitude plus sneakers
Grit, grace and gratitude are our trinity. Grit is the key ingredient to standing up in a world full of trauma and drama. Grace, the glue to hold it all together. And gratitude? Gratitude is a gift we give ourselves in good times and in bad. We in the positive...
Gratitude, Guilt and Everything In-between
It may come as no surprise that as a relatively self-aware thirty something woman and mother I struggle with frequent feelings of guilt. It seems as professional women we are constantly exposed to reminders of our dual responsibility to care for others, the gratitude...
The Positive Psychology of Poldark
Poldark is back on our screens with a new, and final, season. Even as a recently new convert to the show I’m finding it is hitting the happiness mark for me yet again. After the latest episode I found myself thinking about the characters and how people lived in those...
Kindness is a Much Healthier Option
The Message Cancer Research UK has recently decided to lead an awareness campaign highlighting the risk of obesity to certain types of cancer. They have in fact, plastered amongst other places, London Underground with their message, written to look like a cigarette...