happier.com blog | a personal trainer for your happiness » Fredrickson

Why Do Some People Think That Positivity Is Crippling The U.S? Our Response

Andrew Rosenthal — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:00:52 +0000

Why would someone suggest that positivity is crippling the U.S.? Does anyone besides Stephen Colbert really think happiness is a threat? Today’s Daily Pennsylvanian ran an article, “Does Positivity Cripple the U.S.?” detailing a talk given at the University of Pennsylvania by Barbara Ehrenreich about her forthcoming book Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.

The article reports:

According to Ehrenreich, our society’s bombardment with constant pressure to “put a smile on” and a belief that “life is good” – the name of a company with which she expressed particular frustration – emerge as the strongest sources of negativity in our society.

At happier.com, we’re pretty sure that positivity is not the “strongest source of negativity” in society. In fact, Barbara Fredrickson, one of the happier.com experts, wrote the book on the subject: Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. One of her key findings is, essentially: don’t fake your positivity. Genuine, realistic optimism and positivity is a source of social good.
Here’s our response to the article:

In today’s world, positivity provides an easy target. It’s simple to be reactionary when the economy is stumbling and people are without healthcare, and you see a “life is good” shirt. But the reality is, responsible critics separate out realistic optimism from “pollyana hapiness” or blind optimism.

The difference isn’t just semantics — it’s science. Decades of research show that realistic optimism is beneficial for everyone from college students to cancer survivors. Optimism and positivity based in reality helps prevent depression and improve academic performance and it helps patients heal faster. Optimists have 1/4th the morbidity rate from heart disease that pessimists have. And the best research in this field has been conducted at Penn over the last 30 years. Just this year, the University made headlines with its multi-million dollar project to improve resilience and optimism in the Army. The data show that it’s foolish to dismiss positivity out-right. And if the Army is willing to get behind it, we ought to give the science of happiness the respect it’s due.

-Andrew Rosenthal
co-founder, happier.com

happier.com is a personal trainer for your happiness. With more than a dozen tools and tests to help you measure, track and improve your happiness, you can trust the happier.com experts to help you reach your goals. Exclusive videos and a popular blog mean there’s something new to learn every day. Download the free iPhone application or find what you’re looking for with the Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. happier.com is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter and has meetup groups in Washington, Philadelphia, and Portland, with more planned. Click here for a social media press release from our launch.

Coaching with Happiness: Emiliya’s Tip for Teaching Clients to Build Their Positivity Ratio

happier.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:07:10 +0000

We asked Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, a member of the Positive Psychology Practitioners Directory, how she uses happier.com in her work.

As a Happiness Coach I use many of the happier.com and positive psychology tools with my coaching clients. One of the most powerful tools is through the gratitude or Three Good Things exercise. I use this to apply Dr. Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build Theory that positive emotions enable people to think creatively and proactively; positive emotions build intellectual, physical, social and psychological resources.

When most clients start coaching, there is some sort of pain or problem they are facing. They are unemployed seeking employment, their personal relationships are no longer satisfying, they are not happy in their bodies and need to make a change or their in a place of baseline “surviving” instead of thriving. If they weren’t in that place of dissatisfaction with something in their life they wouldn’t be seeking to learn tools and be supported by a coach.

Negative emotions on the other hand narrow our focus. To put it in another way, when you’ve stubbed your big toe, you’re not thinking about donating money to children in need in third world countries. When we are in pain we focus all of our attention on the immediacy of the pain with little regard for what’s happening around is that is incongruent with that pain.

When my clients are in that dissatisfied place, we have to first start building their positivity ratio so that we can problem solve, think creatively about how to utilize the resources they have around them, or to simply get them moving forward towards their goals. First, I start with where the client already is and tap into the positive emotion of HOPE. They have come to coaching because they are, at some level, hopeful that this will help them get more of what they want out of life.

Then we further build their positivity through the Three Good Things exercise. There is always something to be grateful for, whether it is big or small. It’s simply a matter of shifting your focus. Sometimes when clients start with me, it’s hard to find much positive going on in their lives. It’s not that they are depressed; they are in a negative space.

I send my clients to discover and utilize the Three Good Things exercise. I encourage them to use it daily for at least two weeks. We usually find that their happiness and optimism level increases, just like the research supports. As a coach, I don’t give my clients solutions. I ask them questions. The answers to questions such as, “What kinds of tasks do you enjoy doing?” or “What kind of characteristics would you love in a partner?” are easier to come up with when we’ve increased their positivity. Often we find resources, people and opportunities that already exist in their lives that they’ve simply overlooked because they simply were not looking for them in their negative state of mind. I’ve found that utilizing the Three Good Things tool has made coaching more effective for my clients and encourage others to try it out for themselves.

Emiliya Zhivotovskaya is a member of the happier.com Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. “Using a scientifically based and integrative approach (positive psychology, neurology, yoga and alternative therapies) to enable the Mind, Body, Spirit and Will to flourish.”

30 of the Best Books on the Science of Happiness – Written by the Experts

happier.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:00:36 +0000

Looking for a new book? We’ve selected 30 of the best books about the science of happiness. Written by the happier.com experts and other thought-leaders, these books are the best place to go to learn about the research and practice of positive psychology and ways to start getting happier.

When we come across a new book or one of our experts recommends one, we’ll add it to the bookstore as soon as it’s available. And since the bookstore is actually run by amazon.com, you can use your existing account with the site.

Have suggestions for books to add or questions about what’s included? Just let us know!

Books include:

Curious? by Todd Kashdan

Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson

Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman

Over 100 Videos from the Happiness Experts – Free on happier.com

happier.com — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:27:32 +0000

happier.com now offers more than 100 videos from the happiness experts. Videos are available for free — just complete the 2-step registration process.

The videos feature Martin Seligman, Todd Kashdan, Acacia Parks, Barbara Fredrickson and other happier.com experts and contributors.

Videos are grouped into categories including education, exercises, gratitude, happienss, happier.com, optimism, positive psychology, relationships, resilience, strengths and tests.

Expert Wednesday: A new video from Barbara Fredrickson – What Are the Benefits of Positive Emotions?

Andrew Rosenthal — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:58:09 +0000

Check out this exclusive video from Professor Barbara Fredrickson, as she answers questions from happier.com users about her area of expertise: positive emotions.

A full library of videos is available to users of happier.com. Most require a free registration but some are available directly on this page.

happier.com: ask an expet: Barbara Fredrickson describes positive emotions from happier.com on Vimeo.

Thank God It’s Monday – Putting the Best-Seller to Work Through Positive Psychology

Andrew Rosenthal — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:52:02 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great to create a workplace employees, customers and management all loved? This is the question that frames the new book by Roxanne Emmerich, Thank God It’s Monday!: How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love. Emmerich’s book has reached the best-seller list recently, ranking in the top-10 on lists from Amazon.com, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. In her book, Emmerich chronicles real companies where motivational “kick-butt kick-offs” led to transformational changes in attitude, productivity and earnings.

While the language and the stories in the book are uniquely hers, Emmerich’s strategies draw on key tools from within positive psychology. She directly refers to Martin Seligman’s “profound research” documented in Learned Optimism as having a significant role in changing the tenor of a workplace. In fact, there are a number of positive psychology tools, some available on happier.com, to help put the “TGIM” strategy to work.

Enthusiasm: Light That Fire in Your Belly

Enthusiasm is a “moment-by-moment choices” explains Emmerich. And for plenty of workers, it can be a hard choice to make. How do you get out of a rut and become contagiously enthusiastic? Here’s an easy way to start:

Discover, and use, your strengths. Getting started is easy — every single person has a set of top strengths. There’s no heavy-lifting here. Just take the free VIA Strengths Survey and get instant results on your top strengths. Then, put them to work. Focus, each day, on using one of your top strengths in a new way during work. Doing this is fun — these are things you’re already good at — and it can be pretty easy. And if, at first blush, the strength doesn’t seem like it’s relevant to work, then find a way to make it so. Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence doesn’t have to be a walk in the park — take a moment to recognize a colleague’s achievements. And Self Regulation can mean checking your email every 2 hours instead of every 2 minutes. Find a way to use one of your strengths in a new way during work. Within no time, you will be more enthusiastic. It’s fun, lasting and authentic.

Want more guidance? The Discover Your Strengths plan on happier.com provides tests, tools and assistance to make it easier.

Giving: Ignited Spirits Through Profound Service

Emmerich points out that “customer satisfaction” isn’t good enough, especially if they are weighing “satisfaction” against a lower price elsewhere, when deciding where to do business. “Customer success is what matters: making a lasting difference, transforming your interactions from a simple business transaction to a profound exchange between two human beings that creates a transformation of more success for the customer.”

As you begin giving, put a number to your progress. Track and measure your results. In addition to asking “Have I made a difference?” try taking the free Positivity Test, developed by Barbara Fredrickson, at the University of North Carolina. Better yet, take the test before you start giving. Try and establish a baseline. Then, once you start giving, take the test every day, for a week. Then take it every few days. Surely, your results will bounce up and down a bit. But if you’re really giving, and if you’re achieving customer success, your positivity ratio will increase. And you’ll be increasing the positivity of others.

Free: Ask a Happiness Expert – here’s your chance to pose a question

happier.com — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:38:38 +0000

What do you want to know about happiness? At happier.com, we work with happiness experts around the world, including Dr. Martin Seligman and some of his colleagues. These thought-leaders research how to measure and improve happiness and wellbeing. Some are educators and other are experimentalists.

What questions do you have for our happiness experts? As we’ve done in the past, we will take your questions and pose them to our experts. Responses will come through twitter, video blogging and through the tools on happier.com.

Now is your chance: use the comments section below to pose your question for the happiness experts. If you’re comfortable doing so, please leave a first name and home city. If you can’t see the comments section, click here and scroll to “leave a reply.”

60+ Videos from Positive Psychology Experts

Doug Hensch — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:36:25 +0000

We have spent the last several months focusing on delivering research-backed exercises and tests to the happier.com community. The feedback has been very positive and we will continue to add more tools like these in the future.

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Today, however, we are proud to announce the addition of a whole new section to supplement your interest in self-improvement. Just click on the Video tab from any page and you will have access to over 60 exclusive videos from some of the top thought-leaders in positive psychology, including Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, among others.

The topics range from education to happiness to optimism and relationships. Those with a paid subscription and those within their free trial will have access to this exclusive library and the ability to rate the videos, as well.

We hope you like this new feature on happier.com and that it is one more tool to inspire you to be happier and more resilient.

Focus on optimism: new tools and test for building optimism

Doug Hensch — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:55:28 +0000

Building optimism and positivity just got easier. I am proud to announce that happier.com has added one new exercise (What Door Opened?) and another highly-validated test (Positivity Test) to its growing library of tools to inspire you to be happier and more resilient.

What Door Opened?

“The first step in learning optimism is to realize that in your own life, every time a door closed, another door opened,” says Dr. Martin Seligman, consultant to happier.com.

What Door Opened helps you:

make accurate, realistic descriptions of past adversities

find the silver lining in things that have gone wrong

learn lessons from bad events

build optimism when facing adversities in the future

discover lessons of resilience in the real-life stories of others

Positivity Test

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson has discovered that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads people to a tipping point beyond which they naturally become more resilient to adversity and effortlessly achieve what they once could only imagine.

With the permission of Dr. Fredrickson, happier.com can now offer the test that makes it possible to determine how much positivity exists in your life. The Positivity Test is only 20 questions long and is designed to be taken every day. You get instant results and you can track your progress over time.

Positivity Portfolio

To take advantage of our new test and all the other great tools on happier.com, we have developed a new feature to help you keep all of your positive activities in place – the Positivity Portfolio. Think of it as your own, personal recipe book for generating positivity. With the Positivity Portfolio, you can label your entries from various exercises which empowers you to take a broader view of the activities that give you the most positivity and engage them more frequently.

And, one last reminder…

To get the most out of your experience on happier.com and see real change in your life, we highly recommend that you set up some reminders to help you remember to use your favorite tests and exercises.