Since the mid-eighties I’ve been an avid follower of Martin Seligman’s leading-edge work at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his distinguished psychology career in the late sixties studying pessimism, learned helplessness, and depression. His two previous books, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life and Authentic...
Read post »From its beginning in the 1960s, cognitive psychology has developed science/evidence-based approaches that have proven more effective then drugs and other methods in treating people with depression, phobias, obsessions, addictions, eating disorders, and other life-disrupting problems. University of Pennsylvania professor of psychology, Martin Seligman, established a successful track record researching,...
Read post »...Hope Circuit: A Psychologist’s Journey from Helplessness to Optimism. Seligman founded the revolutionary field of positive psychology in 1998 when he was president of the American Psychological Association. I’ve been following Seligman’s work on optimism, happiness, and strength-building since the mid-eighties. This book filled in gaps and connected many dots...
Read post »My last post reviewed Martin Seligman’s new book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Here are a few key excerpts: “When asked what, in two words or fewer, positive psychology is about, Christopher Peterson, one of its founders, replied, ‘Other people.’ Very little that is positive is...
Read post »...CBT — within the larger field of cognitive behavioral therapies. Learned Optimism proved that “optimism is essential for a good and successful life.” At the core of Seligman’s findings are the interconnected concepts of “learned helplessness” and “explanatory style.” Seligman explains, “Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response...
Read post »...psychiatry professor Aaron Beck and built on by his mentee, psychology professor, Martin Seligman. As Seligman explains in his biographical book, The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist’s Journey from Helplessness to Optimism, “I and many of the practitioners and scientists in positive psychology came right out of work on misery and...
Read post »...stories from eight senior leaders in various industries The article that really stands out for me is the ongoing pioneering work of Martin Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve been a long time follower of Seligman’s outstanding...
Read post »In 1998, Martin Seligman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, was elected President of the American Psychological Association by a landslide. This set him casting about for a central theme for his time in this key leadership role. A few weeks later — still puzzling over a theme...
Read post »...Optimism, put it at the top of your reading list. Learned Optimism was written by Martin Seligman, professor of social science and director of clinical training in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. In it, he reports on decades of pioneering research he and others have done on the effects...
Read article »...Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success Growing @ the Speed of Change: Your Inspir-actional How-To Guide For Leading Yourself and Others through Constant Change Authentic Happiness – Martin Seligman’s site at University of Pennsylvania for lots of self-assessments and resources Seligman’s PERMA model Seligman’s ABCDE model Martin...
Watch webinar »Throughout my work I’ve quoted extensively from Martin Seligman’s pioneering work in founding the breakthrough field of positive psychology. This is the study of positive emotion, positive character traits, and positive institutions to raise the importance of psychological health around the world. His most recent focus has been on helping...
Read post »Last week’s post outlined key points from Martin Seligman’s book, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. This groundbreaking book laid the foundation for the rapidly growing field of Positive Psychology that Seligman went on to establish during his presidency of the American Psychological Association. In his...
Read post »...down, worried, anxious. Pessimism is self-fulfilling. Pessimists don’t persist in the face of challenges, and therefore fail more frequently — even when success is attainable. Pessimism is associated with poor physical health.” Martin Seligman, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life “Cheerful people resist disease better...
Read post »...mistakes and fixing weaknesses reduces confidence and effectiveness. How many talented people haven’t built on their strengths and passion? For decades psychologists and counselors have focused on what’s wrong rather than what’s right. Since founding the new field of positive psychology in 1998, Martin Seligman and his colleagues have assembled...
Read post »Peter Drucker first advised building strengths in the 1960s and it became a constant theme throughout his work. In 1990 psychology researcher and professor, Martin Seligman, published his book, Learned Optimism, and launched the positive psychology movement. In 2001, Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton, their book, Now, Discover Your Strengths....
Read post »For the past few decades I’ve followed the ground-breaking work of Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania. Based on his extensive research, articles and books, and his 1998 term as elected president of The American Psychological Association he’s now considered the founder of the burgeoning new field of positive...
Read post »...the good. Optimism A tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation. The doctrine that this world is the best of all possible worlds. The belief that the universe is improving and that good will ultimately triumph over evil. Martin Seligman...
Read post »...You can start and finish anywhere. Like a triple yin yang symbol, they blend and blur into each other. A PERMA Foundation for a Life of Riches The founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, has spent decades studying why “in spite of the tripling of real purchasing power in...
Read post »I first encountered Martin Seligman’s work on the power of optimism in the mid eighties. I’ve been an avid reader of his research and groundbreaking work ever since. When he was president of the American Psychology Association in 1998, he founded the Positive Psychology movement. Last July, I attended the...
Read post »...help individuals, organizations, and communities flourish. For the past few decades I’ve followed the ground-breaking work of Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania. Based on his extensive research, articles and books, and his 1998 term as elected president of the American Psychological Association he’s now considered the founder of...
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