what i learned about positive psychology

A.W.W
A.W.W
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

I just returned from the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology with 1400 positive enthusiasts in Montreal, I felt my positivity exuding having returned to NYC, a city often not known for its positivity. Sponging away at the conference from intriguing scientific presentations to interacting with champions in this field gave me renewed inspiration. I felt like I found my tribe.

Marty Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are two well-known giants in the field of psychology, both of them in their 70’s and 80’s, repeatedly mentioned the use of positive psychology to fill an ever gaping spiritual void in our world. They cried out calls of action in the next generation. I felt the streams of my interests in philosophy, theology, psychology, culture, design, and business convening at the conference, and shaping my next steps.

Positive psychology believes the non-negative state of emotional being does not equate to well-being. Instead, another set of positive emotions experienced through deliberate actions and practices can enhance human flourish. Our world, particularly the western world, is moving away from religion into secularism. Positive psychology is a secular and scientific approach to proliferate validated wisdom on how to live a fulfilling life.

I want to share with you a few key take away concepts:

1) Learned optimism — you can avoid depression by seeing events as transient, specific, and external instead of as permanent, pervasive, and personal. This is the mental flicker from pessimism to optimism and corresponds to life outlook and outcomes, and health and longevity.

2) Gratitude — the practice of gratitude towards life brings you more fulfillment; when you express gratitude to others, it creates a positive loop of emotional attachment and strengthens relationships.

3) Eudaimonic vs. hedonic happiness- hedonic are self-focused, non-social, pleasures such as food, shopping, and massages; eudaimonic are pro-social pleasures such as volunteerism, generosity, and meaning, etc. Hedonic in absence of eudaimonic is adverse, and the two types actually manifest in our genes differently. Overly focusing on yourself actually creates less happiness, and happiness comes more easily when focused on other’s well-being.

4) Framing — how you perceive the world creates reality. When you perceive you have social support or you are healthier than average, your health is enhanced in actuality.

5) Meditation and social support — if you practice breathing and loving kindness meditation, perspective exchanges in conversations, and mindful listening, your level of compassion, brain plasticity, altruism, and body awareness increases, and your social stress decreases.

6) Conversation styles: 1. Active constructive 2. Passive constructive 3. Active destructive 4. Passive destructive. If you actively listen by asking questions and showing constructive support, the active constructive conversation style, it increases liking, intimacy, trust, and commitment within your relationships.

Gratitude and meditation are thrown around like buzz words these days. Yet these simple practices can be life changing when actually applied, through persistence and routine. The same can be said about positive psychology concepts. If applied correctly and routinely, it can transform individuals, organizations, industries, and the society at large. That is the ambition of the forefathers of positive psychology, and I hope it can transform education and healthcare systems, as well as individual organizations to introduce more well-being and prosocial values throughout our world.

To end with an inspiration, Alejandro Adler of UPenn’s positive psychology Ph.D program built an integrated positive psychology education approach in school systems of Bhutan, Peru, and Mexico, and resulted in increased engagement, perseverance, and connectedness in the teachers and the students. Now, this finding is written into policy backed by the UN, and have said to reach 1.5 billion lives. This is an incredible example of the ability to impact the masses through the power of one person. It all starts with the individual, and I hope to apply positive psychology concepts in my own life, as a foundational block for any future endeavors.

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