ResilienceProject#5:PositivePsychology
“It’snotnecessarilyrealitythatshapesus.[Rather]thelensthroughwhichyourbrainviewsthe
worldshapesyourreality.Ifwecanchangethelens,notonlycanwechangeyourhappiness,wecan
changeeverysinglebusinessandeducationaloutcomeatthesametime.”
‐ShawnAchor(authorofTheHappinessAdvantage:TheSevenPrinciplesofPositivePsychologythatFuel
SuccessandPerformanceatWork)
Thefieldofpsychologywasdevelopedinandshapedbythe“disease”model:itwasaboutfiguring
outwhat’swrongwithyouandtryingtocureyou.Inthefootstepsofthemedicalprofession,
psychologytookrelativelyfuzzyconceptsrelatedtohumanbehaviorandmeasuredthemwithrigor.It
createdclassificationsystems,isolatedvariables,discoveredcauses,andinventedtreatments.Thegoal
wastomakemiserablepeoplelessmiserable,andinmanyinstances,itsucceededindoingso.But,asit
turnsout,theabsenceofdiseaseisnothealth.
Amorerecentbranchofpsychology,PositivePsychology,turnsthismodelonitshead.Oneofits
chiefdevelopers,Dr.MartinSeligmanattheUniversityofPennsylvania,positsthat,alongtheway,
psychologistsforgotthatpeoplemakechoicesandhaveresponsibility.Whiletraditionalpsychology
seemedtohaveforgottenaboutimproving“normal”lives,theaimofthisnewapproachistohelpallof
ustolivemorefulfilled,productiveandhappylives.Itisasinterestedinbuildingstrengthasin
repairingdamage.
Thisapproachisverymuchinlinewiththewaythatwe,ascounselors,tendtothink,andwearebigfans
oftheirwork.Theyhaveusedthescientificapproachtostudyinghumanbehaviorthatdevelopedwiththe
fieldofpsychologyandappliedthatrigortowardtryingtofigureoutwhatactuallymakesahappylife—
and,evenmoreimportant,howcanIgetmeoneofthose!!??
WehavetwogreatTEDTalkstosharewithyou.ThefirstisbyShawnAchor,averyfunny,fast‐talking,
formerprofessorofPositivePsychologyatHarvard.Hearguesthatmostofusthinklikethis:“IfI
workharder,I’llbemoresuccessful.IfI’mmoresuccessful,I’llbehappier.”Inthinkingthisway,
though,we’vegotitbackwards,hesays,becauseonceweachievesuccess,weimmediatelyre‐set
ourgoalsandbegintofocusonthenextsuccessweneedtoachieve.Ifwekeepchangingthegoal
post,ifhappinessisalwaysontheoppositesideofsuccess,ourbrainnevergetsthere.Heargues
that,infact,ourbrainsworkintheoppositeorder.Ifwecanraisethelevelofpositivityinthe
present,ourbrainexperiencesa“happinessadvantage.”Dopaminefloodsoursystemwhenweare
happy,andwhenitispresent,ourbrainsworksharder,faster,andmoreintelligently.Byrewiringour
brainstobemorepositiveandoptimistic,wewillbemoresuccessful.(Don’tmisshisfindingsonhowto
accomplishthisgoalneartheendataboutminute11:00.)
http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html
Thesecondtalkisabouttwiceaslongat24minutes,butifthePositivePsychologyapproachappealsto
you,youwillprobablyreallyenjoythisone,aswell.ThisisMartinSeligman,pastpresidentofthe
AmericanPsychologicalAssociationandoneofthefoundersofPositivePsychology:
http://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.html
Ifyou’reinterestedintryingtofigureoutjusthowhappyyouare,relativetoothers,checkoutDr.
Seligman’ssurveysonhiswebsite:http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx
The Staples Resilience Project is an ongoing initiative by the Staples Guidance Department. These emails are just the beginning. We
welcome your feedback.
-Victoria Capozzi, [email protected]
-Leslie Hammer, [email protected]
‐DebSlocum,[email protected]