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.
In the mid-1980’s, Howard Jones crooned on the radio: “What is love anyway? Does anybody love anybody anyway?” Here, two days before Valentine’s Day, I thought I would explore the idea of love a little more fully. I think it seems safe to answer Jones’ second questions with a resounding yes. […]
Topics: All, Love, Media, Positive Emotions (Positive Affect)
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I have a tendency to be a worrier. When I think about the future, I think about all the “What ifs” contemplating all the things that will be out of my control, and possibly even all the things that could go wrong.
In truth, as a positive psychologist, I am embarrassed to admit to my propensity […]
Lately I have been thinking a lot about relationships and their role in positive psychology. My definition of relationships is broad, encompassing not only romantic relationships, but friendships, familial relationships and professional relationships. Professor Chris Peterson often tells us that a key tenet of positive psychology is “other people matter.” But where does this live […]
Topics: All, Love, Pathway 3 "Meaning", Strengths, _1 Positive Experiences
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I recently started reading Gail Sheehy’s (1974) classic bestseller Passages. The subtitle of the book, is “Predictable Crises of Adult Life.” Passages chronicles the different life stages men and women experience over the course of their adult lives. As the author was in her 30’s when she wrote the book, she stopped […]
Topics: All, Book Review, Pathway 3 "Meaning", _1 Positive Experiences
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Last night I went to hear a child psychiatrist named Edward M. Hallowell give a talk on his new book “The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness.” Dr. Hallowell has a practice and center in Sudbury, MA that takes a strengths-based approach to treating children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Worry/Anxiety and Child Learning Disabilities. Despite working with a clinical population, Dr. Hallowell is a positive psychologist. (Well, really he is a positive psychiatrist, but that’s just as good!) In his talk he talked about how he is in the business of helping people “unwrap their gifts.” He explained that he often uses a metaphor with kids when explaining ADD. “You have a Ferrari brain; a really terrific and speedy brain,” he said, “the only thing is that you have Chevy breaks. We have to work on improving the breaks.” […]
Aren Cohen, MBA, MAPP ‘07 brings to positive psychology a variety of business experience in the entrepreneurial, non-profit and corporate finance worlds. Formerly the Vice President of Business Development at FundingPost, Aren also spent two years working as a venture capitalist at Scripps Ventures, where she primarily focused on investments in the education industry. In […]
Topics: All, Author Bios
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Recently I was talking with an acquaintance of mine who is preparing to leave his job in investment banking to go to an ashram in India to practice mediation and yoga. It was clear that he was excited by the prospect of this new journey, but he was also apprehensive. Having attended business school and lived in the Tal Ben-Sharar notion of the “rat race” (Ben-Sharar, 2007) working on Wall Street, he was unsure of giving it all up to embark on a more spiritual journey. […]
Topics: All, Coaching, Mindfulness, Pathway 3 "Meaning", _1 Positive Experiences
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In Chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Genesis, Eve is tempted by the serpent and eats from the Tree of Knowledge, also known as the Tree of Conscience. As a result of eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve become aware of their nakedness and are banished from the Garden of Eden. Equally, […]
Topics: All, Pathway 3 "Meaning", Strengths, _2 Positive Traits
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