I have just read both Authentic Happiness and the earlier Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman (see 3D HR Bookstore). Having spend years practicing ‘normal’ psychology of helping people move from say -6 to -2, Seligman posed the question why not be concerned with helping people move from say +2 to +6? Why not focus on strengths rather than weaknesses? So he created the field of Positive Psychology.

From many years of research, Seligman and his colleagues based at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that there are tangible benefits to being optimistic. These include better sales results, more success in recruitment and increased promotion prospects. A psychometric test was developed to measure a person’s natural level of optimism or pessimism. In summary, an optimist tends to attribute good events or experiences to themselves and bad events or experience to external factors. Conversely, a pessimist tends to attribute bad events or experiences to themselves and good to external factors (including luck, being in the right place, this time round etc). The more a person sees the bad experience as personal (“she doesn’t like me”), pervasive (“it doesn’t matter what I do”) and permanent (“this always happens to me”), the more pessimistic they are. And pessimism is a key contributing factor to unhappiness.

So can you do anything about it if you are a natural pessimist? Well, yes. Seligman introduces a simple and powerful ABCDE tool. An Adversity – a bad experience – leads to a Belief (I think that…) which gives rise to Consequences (so I feel like…). A downward spiral is created. But then you set up an internal dialogue to Dispute that Belief and Consequences. Which leaves you more Energised and a vicious spiral becomes a virtuous one. I’ve written a longer, one page summary in the How to… section on my website.

Thoroughly recommended reading!

• Process the past
• Plan the future
• Action the present

If I live orientated towards the future, always making plans and setting goals, this diminishes past experience. It lessens the opportunity for learning and growth. It risks a cyclical pattern of repeating the same mistakes, however they may be camouflaged.

Conversely, for ever looking backwards – the golden era of “if only” – stifles advance and risk-taking which could prove highly rewarding. So learn from the past but don’t try to live there. And anticipate the future but don’t live there either – its time will come.

Hence action or manage in the present – for that’s all there is for certain. Therein lies authentic happiness – according to my latest reading from Martin Seligman (see the Bookstore or his website) . Moving deliberately away from its roots in pathology, Seligman promotes Positive Psychology with its focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. Doing for humans what Appreciative Inquiry attempts for organisations.

May 2008 be great and truly happy for you and yours!