Today on the TED (technology, entertainment & design) website, I came across the same twenty minute Seligman presentation, which Kathryn Britton also referenced.

It dates from way back in 2004 although it’s just been made available. In it Seligman outlines his three paths to happiness (pleasure, engagement and meaning), describing each one in some depth before summing up by comparing psychology’s problems to those which exist for technology, entertainment and design.

You can be unhappy any time, any place. Moreover, life without unhappiness would probably be unbearable for it would have no light and so shadow, no day and so night, no loss and so no real gain, no sorrow and so no real joy. It would be devoid of meaning. Discontent is the source of creativity, perhaps of creation.

By Elaine O’Brien
Selected Quotes from The 4th European Conference of Positive Psychology (ECPP) on July 1-4 in Croatia:

Ray Fowler at the IPPA Executive Board Meeting said, “Put kids into exercise programs and they learn to read. Exercise raises children’s cognitive and emotional potential.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talked about helping people connect. He said, “It’s not […]

I have spent a good amount of time helping build strengths among well-adjusted adolescents – young people who are at a “plus” level in their lives. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with high risk youth, ages 12-20, who are members of a residential treatment center. These boys/young men grew up in […]

As you have been reading articles on Positive Psychology News Daily (PPND), you may have been thinking, “How do these positive psychology concepts fit together?”
Introducing… the Image Maps. Image maps are figures with live links to articles on positive psychology subjects. These image maps can help people get a mental structure for storing […]

Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.    Shakti Gawain
The word “authentic” emerges as a very popular term in various fields in the 21st century. In 2002, the same year that Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness was published, the field of […]

A couple of weeks ago, at the 4th European Conference of Positive Psychology conference in Croatia, I presented a study on the impact of Job Design and Team Structure on employee well-being which I conducted with Michael West last year. In the last article, I wrote about the main questions at this conference that matter […]

How often have you heard someone boast that they had worked 70 hours last week? Were you impressed and envious or did you think the speaker was either exaggerating or inefficient? Why do some take pride in proving that their work is more effortful, difficult, or even painful than that of others? In too many cases, this need to feel indispensable comes at the expense of one’s health and happiness.

This article is about morale and organizations helping us change for the better. Have you got any stories about great morale in an organization and its effect on the members? Maybe how a terrific leader or group response to a challenge improved morale? Let’s hear your story!
Christopher Peterson, a faculty member […]

(Special thanks to Elaine O’Brien for her contribution to this article)

The city of Opatija, Croatia is a seaside gem with beautiful landscapes, architecture, and design. The breathtaking sceneries are enchanting, yet something more captivating happened in the city two weeks ago - The 4th European Conference of Positive Psychology (ECPP) on July 1-4.
Comparing the present […]