Positive Thinking versus Positive Psychology

Once again, a tweet from friend Mark Walsh, lead me to some material that prompted this blog entry. An article by Oliver Burkeman in The Guardian discusses positive psychology versus positive thinking. Mr. Burkeman questions the efficacy of positive thinking and suggests that it is positive psychology that is being validated in mind/body research.

According to Burkeman, "The field of positive psychology, now 10 years old, has revolutionised the study of the mind, thanks to a simple shift in perspective – from focusing almost exclusively on mental disorders, as psychologists had done for decades, to examining the causes of ordinary happiness and "flourishing".

What fascinated me in the article was the discussion of happiness, a topic studied extensively in positive psychology. When contemporary positive psychologists talk about happiness, they aren't talking only about positive mood. Martin Seligman, the University of PA professor often cited as the founder of positive psychology, identifies, three distinct types of happiness. First, there's the "pleasant life", which is what the critics of positive psychology are usually targeting. Second, there's the "good life", which Seligman describes as "knowing your highest strengths and values, and using them all the time". Finally, there is the "meaningful life… using your strengths in the service of something larger than yourself".

Where this leads to is the idea that happiness often results from experiences that are not all joy, but that, often only in retrospect, we realize generated positive impact in our lives. And, that the path to happiness entails both knowing yourself - both strengths and weaknesses - and living a life where service plays a role. As early as the 1980's, Tom Crum was writing in The Magic of Conflict about the importance of service for a fulfilled life.

Oliver Burkeman writes that this perspective is particularly relevant in today's current economic recession where so many have lost jobs and found their retirement funds devalued. I agree. It also brings to mind my experiences traveling in some of the rural areas of India where poverty was great but so many of the people possessed a true joy.

Lots of food for thought - have a great day!
Judy Warner