In Positive Psychology Coaching, “other people matter” has always been a catch-cry since Chris Peterson emphasised the importance of building positive relationships some years ago. Well, at Tufts University a ‘Free Hugs’ campaign underscores importance of social connectedness. To read more - click here
A few Augusts ago, University of Illinois psychologist Edward Diener presented the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association with an impolitic message for its time. Mr. Diener — whose scholarly study of “subjective well-being” (that’s happiness, to you and me) is so well-known in the field that he’s sometimes called Dr. Happy — unveiled research suggesting that unbridled joy is not without its costs.
Although an upbeat outlook is generally correlated with longevity, social acceptance and above-average success, Mr. Diener’s studies also showed that the link between attitude and achievement is hardly a straight-line progression — that beyond a certain point, happiness becomes a detriment. College students who score super-high in happiness seldom have the GPAs to match; the very perkiest adults are usually out-earned by their more even-keel colleagues; and a company filled with nothing but smiling faces runs the risk of playing second fiddle to one staffed with less-upbeat folks.
To read more about Deiner’s approach to positive psychology in the Wall Street Journal - click here
In Positive Psychology Coaching, “other people matter” has always been a catch-cry since Chris Peterson emphasised the importance of building positive relationships some years ago. Well, at Tufts University a ‘Free Hugs’ campaign underscores importance of social connectedness. To read more - click here
A few Augusts ago, University of Illinois psychologist Edward Diener presented the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association with an impolitic message for its time. Mr. Diener — whose scholarly study of “subjective well-being” (that’s happiness, to you and me) is so well-known in the field that he’s sometimes called Dr. Happy — unveiled research suggesting that unbridled joy is not without its costs.
Although an upbeat outlook is generally correlated with longevity, social acceptance and above-average success, Mr. Diener’s studies also showed that the link between attitude and achievement is hardly a straight-line progression — that beyond a certain point, happiness becomes a detriment. College students who score super-high in happiness seldom have the GPAs to match; the very perkiest adults are usually out-earned by their more even-keel colleagues; and a company filled with nothing but smiling faces runs the risk of playing second fiddle to one staffed with less-upbeat folks.
To read more about Deiner’s approach to positive psychology in the Wall Street Journal - click here