Positive Psychology

Posted on July 07, 2020 by Britney De La Fuente, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

I found the concept of Positive Psychology to be both interesting and questionable. At first impression, I fell to the concept Seligman warns against, that positive psychology is mere “happyology”. Upon further examination, however, one can see the progression and changes from happiness of gratification to strengths/virtues and finally purpose. Seligman emphasizes in the video the “flow” of happiness and the discovery of our own individual strengths, and recrafting work, love and play. This led to a bit of self-reflection on my part and examination of my own strengths… But the funny thing is, society today seems to emphasize our weaknesses more then our strengths. Why is this? Why is our narrative that of self-deprication and criticism? Why do we not subscribe to a more positive outlook, such as the one described by Seligman? He then goes on to describe a more meaningful life by emphasizing our strengths. What, again, our my strengths? I love the social concept he introduces, citing the story of the bigger at the store. I think this may be one of my strengths, but also a concept I would like to work on . It’s something, as described in the Meaningful Life, that I need to use in a way bigger than myself. What does that look like? Hmm. The concepts of the three different Lives is an interesting one, and caused me to want to investigate further. So, I went the website recommended by Seligman, the Authentic Happiness site. I had fun looking at the different questionnaires, such as one for depression, compassion, and a variety of other characteristics. Overall, I found the concepts introduced in the lecture, article and webpages regarding Positive Psychology to be not only interesting, but inspirational and made me want to pursue my strengths and have a more Positive view!