Rather than giving people an inflated view of themselves, we need to give them concrete reasons to feel good about themselves. Martin Seligman concretefeelgive Change image and share on social
It's my belief that, since the end of the Second World War, psychology has moved too far away from its original roots, which were to make the lives of all people more fulfilling and productive, and too much toward the important, but not all-important, area of curing mental illness. Martin Seligman areabeliefcure share on social
When we take time to notice the things that go right - it means we're getting a lot of little rewards throughout the day. Martin Seligman daylotmean Change image and share on social
The good life consists in deriving happiness by using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of living. The meaningful life adds one more component: using these same strengths to forward knowledge, power or goodness. Martin Seligman addcomponentconsist share on social
If the point of the inner-child movement is to cure adult problems, it doesn't work. Reliving childhood traumas gives you a nice afterglow, but it lasts only for hours or days. There is no evidence it changes adult problems. Martin Seligman adultafterglowchild share on social
We have children to pursue other elements of well-being. We want meaning in life. We want relationships. Martin Seligman childelementlife Change image and share on social
P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose to do. Pretty much everything else is in service of one of or more of these goals. That's the human dashboard. Martin Seligman accomplishmentchoosedashboard share on social
One of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I' gets bigger and bigger, and the 'we' gets smaller and smaller. Martin Seligman americabigdepression Change image and share on social
Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out. Martin Seligman benigncontrolfind share on social
On the relationship side, if you teach people to respond actively and constructively when someone they care about has a victory, it increases love and friendship and decreases the probability of depression. Martin Seligman activelycareconstructively share on social
