Over the last few decades, psychologists have started to turn their cheeks to the negative side of psychology. Instead, psychologists, experts and researchers have started to focus on “the good life” for both individuals and society as a whole.
This relatively new study is called positive psychology, and it is dedicated to the study of what makes us happy.
There are tonnes of positive psychology studies out there, but in this article, I’ve highlighted some of the most influential positive psychology theories – ones you can learn from and practice to change your life for the better.
Read on!
What is Positive Psychology and why is it Important?
Before we jump into positive psychology theories, I think it’s important to explore what it is and why it’s important.
Quite often, psychology focuses more on curing mental illness and eliminating negative feelings. However, positive psychology focuses on human thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, highlighting the good in life instead of repairing the bad. In short, positive psychology is the “study of what makes life worth living.”
By focusing on character strengths, life satisfaction, passion and purpose, wellbeing, gratitude, compassion, self confidence, hope, and optimism, positive psychology aims to teach people how to flourish and live their best life.
#1. Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman
We can’t talk about positive psychology theories without mentioning Martin Seligman.
Seligman is considered the founder of positive psychology. In the 1960s and 1970s, Seligman explored “learned helplessness” and how both humans and animals alike can learn to become helpless and lose control over what happens to them. This related to depression and mental health, and his theories ended up being used to treat depression later down the line.
However, Seligman knew there was more to psychology than the negatives. So, he took the concept of “learned helplessness” and put a positive spin on it. He started thinking about how personal characteristics, traits, and perspectives could be learned.
He focused on what is life-giving rather than life-depleting and in the year 2000, the field of positive psychology was published.
#2. Vulnerability, Brené Brown
Brene Brown is one of the leading researchers on vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. In fact, she has spent decades researching these emotions and their impact on the human psyche, and her research has been featured on CNN, PBS, and Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday.
Her TED talk is also in the top 10 most viewed TED talks of all time.
Brene says vulnerability mixes uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure – all the things that naturally make us feel uncomfortable. However, if you have the courage and vulnerability to show up, take a chance, and keep trying (even when you fail), you can make serious strides towards happiness and success.
So, how do you practice vulnerability in everyday life?
“I think daring greatly is about showing up and being seen. It’s about owning our vulnerability and understanding it as the birthplace of courage and the other meaning-making experiences in our lives,” Brene says.
“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.”
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”
Check out Brene’s 2010 TED talk on “the Power of Vulnerability” below!
#3. Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Alongside Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is considered one of the founders of positive psychology. He was a prisoner during World War II and during this time, he developed an interest in philosophy, the human mind, and what makes life worth living.
After the war, he found fame for the concept of “flow”, a state where you are completely absorbed in a challenging but doable task.
If you have ever experienced a time where you excelled, succeeded, or felt like you were “in the zone”, you were probably experiencing flow.
Csikszentmihalyi theorised that happiness can be shifted by introducing flow. Happiness is not rigid or set in stone. Instead, he said happiness can be manifested through commitment – each person has some degree of control over their happiness and most people are productive, creative, and happy when they are in a state of flow.
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times. The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile,” Csikszentmihalyi said.
Want to learn more about Csikszentmihalyi? Check out the animated video below.
#4. Grit, Angela Lee Duckworth
Angela Lee Duckworth was mentored by Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania. For more than a decade, Angela studied the concept of “grit” – the ability to work hard and stick to your goals, long term passions, hobbies, and more.
She noted that there are multiple definitions of grit. For example, Seligman’s Penn Resiliency Program focused on the definition of resilience which is optimism and recognising where it’s possible to make changes in your life. Other people define resilience or “grit” as the ability to bounce back from adversity.
What these definitions had in common was the positive response to failure or adversity. From this, Angela created a grittiness scale (you can take the test here). Half of the questions focus on resilience in the face of failure, and half are about having deep, long lasting commitments.
You can practice “grit” and resilience everyday by working hard, whether you’re learning a new hobby, facing your fears, or persevering through tough situations without giving up.
Check out Angela’s 2013 TED talk Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance.
#5. Emotional Agility, Susan David
Susan David is a renowned psychologist and expert on human emotions, happiness, and achievement.
In 2016, Susan released her groundbreaking book Emotional Agility based on two decades of research. Her research shows that emotionally agile people are not immune to stress and setbacks in life – but they do know how to gain insight into tough situations and feelings, which they can use to adapt and align their actions to put their best foot forward.
Emotional agility is about self-acceptance, clear-sightedness, and an open mind when it comes to change and adversity.
According to Susan’s research, you can practice emotional agility and resilience everyday by:
- Showing up and facing your thoughts with curiosity and acceptance
- Stepping out of your own mind and observing your emotions for what they are
- Sticking to your values and beliefs
- Making tweaks to your mindset, motivation, and habits so you feel excited and invigorated.
Check out Susan’s 2017 TED talk on the Gift and Power of Emotional Courage.
#6. Growth Mindset, Carol Dweck
Dr Carol Dweck has studied her student’s reaction to failure for more than 30 years. She noticed some of her students rebounded from failure with ease, while others were devastated – even by the tiniest setbacks.
Curious about their responses, Carol started looking into people’s beliefs about intelligence and learning. She found that when students recognised they could get smarter if they put extra time and effort into their studies, they were more likely to succeed.
This made Susan ask whether we can change or mindsets, and if so, how?
It all comes down to neuroscience. Connectivity between neurons can change with experience and practice – the neutral network can grow new connections, strengthen existing connections, and speed up the transmission of impulses.
So, with that in mind (pun intended), you can become smarter and increase your chance of success by using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, getting some sleep, and maintaining a good diet every single day.
Check out Carol’s talk with Google on the growth mindset.