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5 Positive Psychology Concepts to Apply at Work Today
Positive psychology is more than ‘self-help’: it’s proactive ways of approaching our lives for the better, including the workplace.
Positive psychology might feel like a relatively new area of psychology, based on the rise in awareness in recent years, but it’s actually been around for much longer.
One of the founding principles of positive psychology is that each of us wants to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life to flourish. The founders of the field felt traditional psychological methods, such as psychotherapy, emphasized and focused too much on painful experiences and negative emotions. While Positive Psychology does not seek to deny the importance of these experiences, it does believe that empowering individuals to refocus on their personal strengths can lead to a greater sense of wellbeing.
It considers itself a compliment to other therapeutic approaches rather than a replacement for them (Seligman, 2002).
Mental health organization The Black Dog Institute advises that positive psychology:
“Shifts the focus from what is clinically wrong, to the promotion of wellbeing and the creation of a satisfying life.”
