Meaningful Work as Part of the Meaningful Life

By Kathryn Britton Kathryn Britton's website Kathryn Britton's email

During working years, life satisfaction is strongly related to the level of meaning people find in their work. People put more energy into jobs that they believe contribute positively to the world. They are also more resilient in the face of setbacks.
Meaningful work is as important as pay and security – and perhaps […]

Thoughts on Patience

By Dana Arakawa Dana Arakawa's website Dana Arakawa's email

Patience. It’s not one of the twenty-four strengths classified in Character Strengths and Virtues, by Christopher Peterson with Martin Seligman. The CSV (or anti DSM-IV), classifies specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
Discovering your Values-in-Action (VIA) strengths, through the […]

On Transition and Change

By Dana Arakawa Dana Arakawa's website Dana Arakawa's email

I have 3 days to pack up a year of life in Philadelphia. Coming to Philly for the Master in Applied Positive Psychology at Penn is one of the best things I have ever done, and after a year working in the city post-graduation, it is time for me to move on to a distinctly […]

(S)he’s just not that into “Authentic Happiness”

By Dana Arakawa Dana Arakawa's website Dana Arakawa's email

Positive Psychology changed my life.  When I discovered Positive Psychology, I found an articulation of something that I had always been searching for.  I resonated with the concept of the three states of life—pleasant, engaged, and meaningful—and I wanted to study and support the development of positive emotions, character strengths, and institutions.  When I heard […]

Cultural strengths?

By Dana Arakawa Dana Arakawa's website Dana Arakawa's email

I believe that the yearning to travel to find oneself, to find meaning in life, to find happiness, is a ripe field of exploration in positive psychology. I first became interested in the idea that we can learn from places after reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Burnt out and desperate to change her […]

Living a Balanced Life

By Dana Arakawa Dana Arakawa's website Dana Arakawa's email

Our lives are full of stress: we have 24 hours each day and more activities than we feel we have time for. In this age of multi-tasking and instantaneous communication through cell phones, e-mail, and BlackBerrys that do both and more, the demands on our time are relentless. These demands have increased our […]