AUTHOR:
Martin E.P. Seligman (Atria Books, 2012)
REVIEWER:
Gary Shunk, Vice President, Wells Fargo
BOOK LINK:
https://www.amazon.com/Flourish-Visionary-Understanding-Happiness-Well-being/dp/1439190763
REVIEW:
Marty Seligman’s book, Flourish, introduces and provides a comprehensive overview of the burgeoning field of Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology paired with philanthropy makes for a potentially wise and practical partnership.
As legend has it, Martin E. P. Seligman coined the term “Positive Psychology,” (PP) in 1998, as incoming president of the American Psychological Association. He wanted to challenged the field to consider the positive side of psychology: happiness, joy, well-being, love, awe, etc. Since WWII most psychological research focused on what he consider “pain and human misery.” Psychology has primarily addressed depression, anxiety, negative manifestations of the psyche. He invited psychologists to include psychological strengths, as well as psychological weaknesses in their studies. Seligman’s challenge was met with great passion. Since then PP has flourished.
Flourish is both accessible theory and practical practice. PP is not “positive thinking.” Its not about changing your mind or thinking. It encompasses thinking, for sure, but it is extremely practical, empirically studied and supported by research. Flourish provides a comprehensive overview of PP’s research on “Post-Traumatic Growth,” “Positive Education,” and “GRIT,” to name a few. And, Flourishprovides methods to develop well-being and happiness.
In particular Seligman provides a useful acronym to help the reader develop a practical sense of PP. PERMA: P = Positive Emotion, E = Engagement, R = Positive Relationships / Relating, M = Meaning, and A = Accomplishment / Achievement.
Some time ago I wrote the following for my PP blog (garyshunk.com) to illustrate the “R” in PERMA:
So…Erica arrives home from work and excitedly tells her husband, Jeff, “I got the promotion!” Jeff turns to Erica smiles and says, “WOW, that’s great! Tell me ALL about it.” He takes Erica by the hand and leads her to a chair and sits her down. Jeff places himself directly across from her, leans forward, gazes into his wife’s smiling face, and says, “OK, tell me.”
In that moment Jeff enters Erica’s world of joy with genuine, intentional and devoted interest. At points in her story, he asks, “What were you feeling when your boss told you?” “Tell me verbatim what you and your boss said to one another.” “What was your drive home like?” After an hour of wrapped attention, Jeff says, “Let’s celebrate,” and asks Erica where she’d like to go for dinner that evening.
The above is an illustration of Positive Relating, This is a Positive Psychology intervention. Imagine yourself on the receiving end. Erica is happy because of the good thing that happened to her today. When she arrives home, Jeff “actively,” and “constructively,” responds to Erica’s good news and her happiness. He puts his needs and agenda to the side and is 100% present, and curious about the good thing that happened to his wife. The outcome of Jeff’s investment is a gift for Erica, their marriage, their children and extended family, as well as their community because it magnifies happiness.
This illustration may seem cliche. but, it really takes intention and effort to be present for someone’s joy. When the investment happens, it deepens what is already there, extends the joy and happiness, as well as solidifies the relationship.
Obviously I am a big fan of Marty Seligman. Nevertheless, I believe Flourish is a great introduction to PP. You will discover PP is not “self help,” but rather a solid field of psychology with its foundation in empirical study and scientific research. As I like to say: there is nowhere PP is not applicable.