by Nikki Ayles | January, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What Positive Psychology Means to Me Psychology was by far and away my favourite subject at senior school, and although my career, through and post university, took me in a different direction, I never lost my intense interest in, and passion for everything Psychologically-based. Relating to people and understanding what makes them tick has long held enormous appeal. It is for this reason, that not so long ago, I reconnected with Psychology in a formal academic sense and engrossed myself in an MSc. I rediscovered my zest for learning, as well as being captivated by the idea that so much of human experience is constructed through emotions and active engagement with others and our environment. Something missing Something was missing though. Something about the traditional take on Psychology just wasn’t sitting right for me. That was, until I was introduced to Positive Psychology. Suddenly everything fell into place – and just like the great Martin Seligman says is true for so many, it felt like a calling. The idea that every individual, no matter what their life circumstances, has the power and resources to enhance their experience of life and to flourish not merely ‘get by’, is immensely inspiring. Transformational effects Since that first introduction I have devoured books and research articles, attended workshops and seminars, and sought out and connected with all kinds of people involved in Positive Psychology. But more than this, I have personally embraced the principles of Positive Psychology, integrating them into my everyday life. That’s one of the things that’s so fantastic about Positive Psychology – it’s so applied and highly practical – its...
by Lesley Lyle | January, 2015 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
It’s Never Too Late or Too Early For Positive Change. The very first time I heard the word ‘Positive psychology’ I was hooked. I had absolutely no idea what it was but I knew I wanted to. On reflection, that was a life-changing moment for me and like most profound moments in our lives, I had no idea. So here I am several years later, a proud graduate of a MSc in Applied Positive Psychology on the first cohort at Bucks New University. I am grateful, appreciative and resilient and many other things, after what I consider to have been a 2-year exploration of self-development. I am happy (although I should probably use the term, flourishing) and this is now part of my identity. I don’t skip through life without facing challenges, never feeling sad, always cheery, but I feel equipped to cope with life and my ‘set point’ of happiness has increased substantially. I am passionate about the subject, not so much the theory, which although interesting, is largely meaningless until it is put into practice. I have many role models and many of them have never heard of positive psychology, they are the people who have found their own way to cope well in life and naturally learned the habits of happiness that others, like myself, have had to learn. Perhaps not surprisingly, the people I’ve met who are involved in the world of positive psychology have been generous, friendly and amazingly humble, including those who have reached ‘superstar’ levels of fame within the discipline. Finding your own part Dr Piers Worth, Director and founder of the...
by Adam Gibson | December, 2014 | What Positive Psychology Means To Me
What Positive Psychology Means to Me When people ask me what I study and teach I get two subsequent reactions, the person may give me a quizzical look, typically followed by a joke about happiness and bright yellow smiley faces. I try to show them that to me, positive psychology is not simply about the pursuit of happiness, but about the pursuit of excellence, of people working at their best. Not excellence as defined by the appraisals of others, but by our own standards, coupled with the sheer enjoyment and intense satisfaction we can find within life when we are working to our greatest potential, excelling ourselves. As such, my chief line of interest is the flow state, an intensely absorbing psychological state found within skill-challenging activities that we can lose ourselves in and are inherently enjoyable to us. Whilst frequently experiencing flow might make us happier, I’m drawn to it because of the passion that typically accompanies it. You ask someone about their hobbies or work that they know they can truly engross themselves in and it makes for wonderful listening, people light up when they speak about it. For example, I have absolutely no interest in insurance management or fishing, but on separate occasions I have listened intently to two individuals detailing their experiences; the challenges they find within the activities associated with it, how they measure their skill, and how they lose themselves when these activities become optimal experiences for them. I first discovered positive psychology after attending a seminar as an undergraduate, purely out of curiosity. It was the kind of light bulb experience that...
