The Whole Place Dances

This is a great video of people dancing in a train station. Don't just watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6b9bMBXpg

Reason to Read "Happy for No Reason"

I just finished reading "Happy For No Reason" by Marci. Shimoff. This book incorporates many of the techniques and tools that comes out of positive psychology and blends them with a dose of 'The Secret" and other "pop psychology" and self help guru's advice. What I liked about the book was that she used the research from some notable scholars in positive psychology, such as Edward Diener and Martin Seligman as well as many others, and used some of the exercises that they recommend for improving one's own well-being.

The best idea to come out this book for me, was that the pursuit of being happy was not a matter of chasing it, but rather as Thomas Jefferson had intended, a matter of consistent effort and attentiveness, especially for those of us not genetically predisposed towards happiness for no reason.

Check it out:

www.happyfornoreason.com

The Happiness Makers/animated cartoon 1930's

This a delightful cartoon made in 1935, which I saw in the 50's. It is about happy gnomes bottling sunshine and winning over the sad gnomes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clx-aAxKiQM

Happy Farmers Make Happy Milk

British farmers have discovered the power of Love-OM. Visit http://www.love-om.com/ a lovely little website dedicated to your wellbeing. British organic milk farmers are doing Tai Chi and hoping to integrate well-being into their farming practices resulting in happy cows that produce happy milk.
I thought happy cows came from California.

Happiness Bank in Estonia

People in Estonia will have an opportunity to come up with creative ideas to help each other in these difficult economic times. People all across the country will be participating in a forum, brainstorming ideas, and selecting best practice ideas to implement. The format for this forum is similar in structure to Appreciative Inquiry. Perhaps they can add to it appreciative interviews? Here's wishing the people of Estonia all the best with this venture called the "happiness bank".



Here is the press story about what they are doing in Estonia.

Agence France-Presse - 2/28/2009 8:16 PM GMT"Estonians plan virtual 'happiness bank' to fight recessionIn times of economic woe, Estonians are banking on ideas to lift their spirits above the gloom and doom of recession with an online "happiness bank" and forums on better governance."The main aim of the project... is to use modern technology to create a 'democracy machine' that will help increase understanding among people, bring the state closer to citizens and force people to become actively involved in improving their lives instead of passively hoping that someone else will do it," Estonian Internet entrepreneur Rainer Nolvak, one of the main organizers of the project, told AFP.In the virtual "happiness bank", people will be able to earn virtual money on their accounts by doing good deeds for those in need. Organisers hope it will give people the idea that doing good is as valuable as earning money."We think that especially when the entire world is facing recession we need a lot of thinking also at the grass-roots level to figure what we all can do to fight recession and make life better," Nolvak added.Organisers hope that as many as 100,000 Estonians in the tiny 1.3-million-strong Baltic EU state will attend 400-1000 public 'brain-storming' forums across Estonia on better governance that will also be streamed live via the net on May 1.Registration for the project is currently underway."The topics of the forums will tackle the most important problems at both local and national level. All forum group heads must select the topics from our website www.minueesti.ee (my Estonia) by April 20, 2009," Anneli Ohvril, head of the Communications Team for the "Let's do it - let's think" project, told AFP."The forum participants will select best practice ideas that they will then start to implement," Ohvril says.Organisers expect to get at least one thousand ideas for best practices that can be applied in everyday life. Later in December, people will be asked to vote on all the local and national best ideas to select the ones they like most."

For the full story see: news.sg.msn.com/oddities/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2659875

Humorous Definition of Optimism

For all those who feel that just looking at the positive doesn't solve problems, (as in Appreciative Inquiry), notice it's the optimist who hopes the ambulance will get there quickly.
Nevertheless, a good laugh is a great way to just feel good!

Positive Psychology Conference Video

The full online video of the Positive Psychology Symposium is now available for $25.00. Contact Claremont Graduate University: www.cgu.edu/positivepsych.
I have started watching the presentations, some of them several times over, to get the full benefit of the great research and information.
The purpose of this burgeoning new field, is to create well researched and proven tools, techniques and processes that can create positive change for individuals and organizations.

I look forward to writing more about these specific tools, techniques and processes in future posts and I welcome comments and guest posts.

Marcus Buckingham, The Truth About You

I found this book a very useful toolkit on how to develop one’s strengths, as Marcus Buckingham defines them. But I would think that anyone who has not read his earlier books, would not understand how he came to his definition of strengths (simply put, the things you do that make you feel stronger)and how they are useful to people in building their career. His earlier books are full of sound research and case studies behind the development of his “strengths” theory. There are plenty of career tests out there to help one find one’s strengths and interests, but this book shows you how to do it yourself.

"Positive Psychology in Practice"

This article on the MSN Health site, from the Harvard Health Publications, has done a great job publicizing the work being done in the field of Positive Psychology.
Focusing on the positive is not exactly new in the field of psychology. Think of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs where the goal for optimal being has been to reach self actualization or where building on the positive has been used in Brief Solution Therapy based on the work of Milton Erickson. What is new is the naming and legitimizing of this field and the increased public awareness of addressing "problems" by building on the positive and thereby neutralizing the negative. There have been plenty of self help and personal development books out there promoting the use of "positive thinking" for many years now. Many of these theories were great and many people found value in them, but now these psychologists are putting these ideas to the test of holding up in controlled research studies. The results of these studies have also provided concrete and practical exercises that anyone can engage in on their own and without the supervision of a clinician.

http://tinyurl.com/aqbwdg

Valentines Day Gift-Self Esteem Lasts Longer Than Flowers

In the early 17th century lovers and friends exchanged their tokens of affection through hand -made and hand written notes, sometimes in the form of poems and such. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America and ever since this tradition has become a marketers dream. As corny as it is, as much silly pressure as it puts on relationships (not only the romantic ones, my mother was offended if I missed sending her a card), giving those you love a card that says, “To Someone Very Special”, is a practice that makes both the giver and the receiver feel good.

But the habit of handwriting a very special message that describes how your loved ones have created value and contribution for your life, has died out. Instead, we to try to find a card that “says it all” , and tacking it on to flowers or a box of chocolates.

Feeling good about oneself by learning about one’s strengths has been shown to improve performance in both work and life. A research project out of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan , had participants engage in a Reflected Best-Self Exercise. Participants sent out requests for feedback from family members and friends asking them to describe ways that they had added add value and had made important contributions to their lives. In another study related to career development and work performance, participants sent out requests for feedback from co-workers to describe ways they had contributed to the organization. As a result of receiving their contribution stories, many of them came to view themselves much more positively and were able to make changes in their career and personal lives in positive new ways.

I just gave a Valentine card to a friend that said: “You make my life wonderful” and then I included some specifics about how she did that, in her case by being an incredible support and guide for me in my business and personal development.

This Valentine's Day, in addition to just giving a card, flowers, or candy to the person you care about, hand write a note describing a special way or special time when that person has done something valuable for you. Imagine what a great gift of happiness you can give them that far exceeds the gift of chocolates or flowers.

For more information on how this exercise can be used for personal and career development, Valentine's Day or any other day, checkout: http://www.bus.mich.edu/POS-Teaching-and-Learning/ReflectedBestSelf%20Exercise.htm

Year of The Ox and Positive Psychology

Is it possible that The Chinese Year of the Ox actually is a portend of a positive new direction for the world? In Chinese Astrology, the Ox is a symbol of prosperity through perserverance and hard work. "Ox" people know they do not succeed through get rich quick schemes. Need I say more?

Angela Duckworth, a researcher in Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania is studying the personal trait "grit". Her research shows that individuals who have "grit" apply consistent effort and hard work are rewarded by success, perhaps more so than those who rely on their giftedness alone. Clearly those with this personal quality will survive the turmoil of our times better than those who lack it.

How do you develop more grit if you are not an Ox by nature? Angela Duckworth is convinced that it can be developed and built upon. Here are some of her suggestions for developing grit.

• Follow your passion - grit doesn't feel like hard work if you love what you are doing.
• Develop optimistic thinking. People with grit fundamentally believe that their hard work will pay off. Read Martin Seligman's "Learned Optimism" and "Authentic Happiness" for mental strategies for developing this kind of thinking .
• Develop a mindset of learning, which includes learning from failure and learning new skills that can help you overcome obstacles and adapt to new circumstances.

As for developing children with grit, role modeling is essential. My parents had more grit than anyone else I have ever met. Based on what they were like, I would add to Duckworth's recommendations:

• Have a belief in something greater than yourself that will carry you through the tough times. For them it was their religion and love of their family.
• As difficult as things may be, there is probably someone worse off than you. Show them some kindness and charity.

May you have a Happy and Positive Chinese New Year!

Positive Psychology Conference

Last week, on Jan. 24th, 2009 over 600 people convened at The Claremont Graduate University for a day long conference called: Applying the Science of Postive Psycholgy to Improve Society. At this conference top scholars in Positive Psychology and Positive Organizational Psychology as well as related fields such as Appreciative Inquiry, met to present their studies and research in Positive Psychology as applied to such areas as: education, work, social responsibilty, social entrepreneurship, adult development and more.


Positive Psychology is not just about happiness. In fact Edward Diener from the University of Illinois, cautioned the audience about trying to attain too much happiness, or as the Dalai Lama put it "stupid happiness". Positive Psychology has a broader scope of studying the good, positive and generative factors in individuals and organizations. Some of the character strengths and traits, emotions and thought processes that these psychologists are studying are: optimism, creativity and flow, resilience, grit, character, reduction of stress, love, forgiveness, gratefulness and many others.

Although positive psychology seems oriented towards personal development, the goal of this conference was to expand from the personal and develop the positive aspects of society that enable it to flourish.

For more information, this is the post from CGU to enable anyone to experience for themselves this conference.

SPREAD THE WORD - ONLINE VIDEO AVAILABLE!If you have colleagues who have been wondering what all the excitement was about (or if you'd simply like to revisit the experience yourself), we have posted the initial 45 minutes of the conference online for free at www.cgu.edu/positivepsych.

The entire conference will be available for download within the next week, so keep your eyes on the site for details! Plans are also underway for an interactive workshop based on this event; we will share news about that workshop with the email lists above, and will post the news on www.cgu.edu/positivepsych .

Check out the next installment of "Positive New Directions" where we review some of specific and practical ways to enhance well-being, that were presented at the conference.

Welcome to Positive New Directions

Hi, I am Lalia Helmer.
Welcome to my blog "Positive New Directions" where I will be sharing the latest ideas from the fields of Positive Psychology, Appreciative Inquiry and the Strengths Movement. I hope to show you how to use the wealth of knowledge coming from these fields, by using concrete and practical strategies for facilitating positive change in business and organizations, and creating positive new directions in your personal and work life .
I hope you will enjoy my ideas and will find them of benefit to you and I welcome your comments and additional thoughts on these topics.