4 Posts found for Author: Martin Seligman

There’s a big optimism gap between how people feel about their own lives—which is about 6.5 out of 10, on average—and how they feel about the world, which is much more like 4 [out of 10]. And I think the antidote is [to realize] that 100,150 years ago, the average lifespan was in the 40s; now it’s in the low 80s. Malnourishment; access to clean … [ Read more ]

Author: Martin Seligman | Source: GQ | Subjects: Life & Society, Perception | Observation, Psychology | Behavior, Sociology | Anthropology

More than half the time, adults are planning futures. And so, the notion that we should live more and more in the moment denies what, evolutionarily, we’re really good at. What distinguishes human beings from all of the other animals is that we’re creatures of the future. We’re not Homo sapiens—“sapiens” is wisdom and knowledge. I’m not impressed by our wisdom and knowledge. But I … [ Read more ]

Author: Martin Seligman | Source: GQ | Subject: Psychology | Behavior

Well-being can be broken into five elements: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). Improve those and you might find yourself closer to that vague idea of “happiness”.

Authors: Clay Skipper, Martin Seligman | Source: GQ | Subjects: Happiness, Life & Society, Personal Improvement, Psychology | Behavior

Psychology is half-baked, literally half-baked. We have baked the part about mental illness. We have baked the part about repair and damage. But the other side is unbaked. The side of strengths, the side of what we are good at, the side  […] of what makes life worth living.

Author: Martin Seligman | Subject: Psychology | Behavior