by Glen Duggan | July, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What positive psychology means to me. For me, the concept of positive psychology has grown to hold two meanings. In my mind, it has developed in popularity in recent years, to such an extent as to have become a victim of its own success in certain aspects. Scientifically grounded positive psychology, when understood and applied correctly, offers wonderful opportunities for people. On the flip side, however, when distorted, it presents risks and a potential for causing harm. Breaking positive psychology down to its most basic concepts, it is the study and application of the aspects of human psychology and behaviour which contribute, not only to psychological well-being, but also to people’s ability to prosper in a challenging world. Confusion about positive psychology The risks arise when people confuse positive psychology with the concept of manifesting your greatest wishes and desires through ‘the power of positive thinking and self-affirmations’. Sadly, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that one can manifest a Lamborghini by sitting into your floral patterned recliner and imagining it as a bucket seat in a speeding supercar, whilst repeating the mantra that you are getting better in every way, every day. This is not positive psychology. Having, or developing the self-confidence and optimism to go forth into the world and create opportunities for oneself to earn the money to buy a Lamborghini, along with the resilience to overcome unexpected challenges along the way, is more akin to putting positive psychology into action. Whilst it is wonderful that the internet and the world of our interconnected social media disperse invaluable knowledge so readily, it is not so...
by Dean Weller | April, 2015 | self-development, What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What Positive Psychology Means To Me For over 20 years an inner voice called for me to study and learn; there was unfinished business in my education and development. I started to use strengths assessments for team development and recruitment in late 2006; this was my first glimpse at a topic which was part of a science that would draw me back in to formal study and the pursuit of a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology. Wise Words A very wise man once told me that the key to lifetime development is interest. That wise man was my paternal grandfather and my interest now had a name, positive psychology. From the concept of developing our best selves to the positive organisational tools of Appreciative Inquiry, I was familiar with the guiding principle that if we can understand the best of ourselves we can engage, connect and perform in a way that is authentic, meaningful and highly productive. I have been a positive psychologist all of my life, although I have only had a label for it for the last 9 years. Rebalance For me psychology is neither positive nor negative, however the traditional medical models and research in psychology have focused on the reduction of pain and suffering in those presenting with mental illness or disease so I guess for now the label is rebalancing. However, I hope that in time the need for a signpost of ‘positive psychology’ disappears as the discipline embraces the continuum of psychology which is part of us all. A Gift I have both a personal and professional relationship with positive psychology. My...
by Matthew Smith | March, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What Positive Psychology Means to Me Career Suicide? Around six years ago, I decided I didn’t want to be an academic any more. I had studied, researched and taught various topics in psychology for twenty years and I had reached a point where I realised my heart wasn’t in it any more. I was looking for something else, but I didn’t know what. So I left my comfortable full-time academic teaching post without a job to go to. Some might describe it as career suicide. Others might describe it as a leap of faith. I described it as ‘Operation Freefall’. It was a challenging time and a decision that had a major impact on those around me from both a personal and financial perspective. A Lesson in Positive Psychology Fast forward six years and I find myself back in academia, teaching and researching psychology. So did I go through all that for nothing? Not at all. At the very least, it was a lesson in Positive Psychology. The decision, the actions that followed it and the subsequent consequences allowed a personal exploration of courage, trust, positive relationships, compassion, hope, resilience and change… all in the pursuit of a meaningful life. It was a journey that brought me to a place where I could return to academic psychology from a more ‘enlightened’ perspective. High Wycombe of all places! ‘It’s Just a Ride’ In my current role, I now teach and supervise students on a Masters course in Applied Positive Psychology (one of only a handful in the world!) at a completely different university to where I had been working before....
by Carmel Proctor | March, 2015 | Education, What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What Positive Psychology Means to Me In pursuit of the good life. To me Positive Psychology is the application of virtue and strength in the pursuit of the good life. It is finding meaning in being and being mindful that achieving the good life takes work and practice – it is a process, not an end unto itself. It is research that has focused on discovering what is right and what is required to be well and that this is more than just the absence of disorder and disease. It is evidence of the zeitgeist of our time, our desire to be better, to do more, to reach higher and to do this with contemplation and reflection. It is the application of research in the real world, with an eye to increasing human flourishing. My passion My passion is in the creation and application of strengths interventions in education. I believe that by way of engaging students with strengths-based exercises in the classroom, students become more aware of not only their own strengths, but the strengths of others. Through exploration of strengths, students begin to adopt a language of strengths that facilitates the extrapolation and application of personal strengths in their world outside of school. Further, strength work in schools enables teachers to look at well-being from a positive perspective and to focus on wanted behaviour instead of unwanted behaviour. Importantly strength interventions applied in school enables educators to look at the behaviour they want through a focus on the strengths students already possess. On a broader scale, there are benefits to the whole school in adopting an ethos...
by Dan Collinson | February, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
A life worth living Positive Psychology is about finding out what makes life worth living for people and is the scientific study of what makes people successful, how people thrive and what makes a meaningful life. It provides an alternative to what is wrong with people and is about discovering what brings out the best in people. I love that positive psychology incorporates peer reviewed research and puts forward interventions to help people to live a fulfilling life. I first heard about positive psychology when I bought Martin Selgiman’s book, Authentic Happiness. I was completely absorbed in the book and how there had been scientific research about how to become happier. I’d always been interested in psychology and what made people tick, but to read about methods to not just overcome illness or deficit but to actually help ‘well’ people to thrive. From then on I gathered as much information as possible on positive psychology to understand as much as I could. I was consumed with finding out how I could improve my life and those of others around me. It quickly dawned on me that researching and working in positive psychology was a calling for me. Snowball effect I’m fascinated how the topic of positive emotions encapsulates being open and expansive to emotions and how they can be of benefit in given situations. Cultivating positive emotions, whatever a positive emotion is to you, can have the snowball effect of experiencing more positive emotions. I love how the subject of hope is about having a plan and the determination to achieve your goals, i.e. having the commitment and the...
by Lynn Soots | January, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
A breath of fresh air When I think of positive psychology my very first thought is “a breath of fresh air”. After attaining a degree in counseling and then becoming a psychology professor, I became worn by the negative patterns of the field in general. Comments like “what is wrong with people”… “tell me your problem is”…“he/she is the one with PTSD, depression, anxiety”…seemed to fill my heart with gloom. I wanted to stand up and shout “this is junk! They are still humans and maybe we need to find a better way of working with them”. I lost hope in the field to the point I almost quit both professions all together. Now that I am well–rooted in positive psychology I cannot imagine two more amazing venues where I can practice and share positive psychology. You should see a client’s eyes light up when the first thing you say is “tell me about your strengths you use to get through this difficult time”; it is like taking down a barrier and saying “I got you, we are going to do this together”. As a professor I am a psychology professor and within that realm I do teach positive psychology, but in the big picture of life, it is not about me teaching so much as it is the reciprocal good that comes back into my life; call me greedy. Everything I teach I live. Positive psychology tells us to savor life and to be mindful about all the good that is around us, to connect, to love, to laugh, to be OK with sadness. Even in the rough...
