Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being Author: Martin E. P. Seligman | Language: English | ISBN:
B0043RSK9O | Format: EPUB
Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being Description
“This book will help you flourish.”
With this unprecedented promise, internationally esteemed psychologist Martin Seligman begins
Flourish, his first book in ten years—and the first to present his dynamic new concept of what well-being really is. Traditionally, the goal of psychology has been to relieve human suffering, but the goal of the Positive Psychology movement, which Dr. Seligman has led for fifteen years, is different—it’s about actually raising the bar for the human condition.
Flourish builds on Dr. Seligman’s game-changing work on optimism, motivation, and character to show how to get the most out of life, unveiling an electrifying new theory of what makes a good life—for individuals, for communities, and for nations. In a fascinating evolution of thought and practice,
Flourish refines what Positive Psychology is all about.
While certainly a
part of well-being, happiness
alone doesn’t give life meaning. Seligman now asks, What is it that enables you to cultivate your talents, to build deep, lasting relationships with others, to feel pleasure, and to contribute meaningfully to the world? In a word, what is it that allows you to
flourish? “Well-being” takes the stage front and center, and Happiness (or
Positive Emotion) becomes one of the five pillars of Positive Psychology, along with
Engagement,
Relationships,
Meaning, and
Accomplishment—or
PERMA, the permanent building blocks for a life of profound fulfillment.
Thought-provoking in its implications for education, economics, therapy, medicine, and public policy—the very fabric of society—
Flourish tells inspiring stories of Positive Psychology in action, including how the entire U.S. Army is now trained in emotional resilience; how innovative schools can educate for fulfillment in life and not just for workplace success; and how corporations can improve performance at the same time as they raise employee well-being.
With interactive exercises to help readers explore their own attitudes and aims,
Flourish is a watershed in the understanding of happiness as well as a tool for getting the most out of life. On the cutting edge of a science that has changed millions of lives, Dr. Seligman now creates the ultimate extension and capstone of his bestselling classics,
Authentic Happiness and
Learned Optimism.- File Size: 2960 KB
- Print Length: 370 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1439190763
- Publisher: Atria Books; Reprint edition (April 5, 2011)
- Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
- Language: English
- ASIN: B0043RSK9O
- Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,486 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #16
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Applied Psychology - #28
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Behavioral Sciences > Cognitive Psychology - #28
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Cognitive Science
- #16
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Applied Psychology - #28
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Science > Behavioral Sciences > Cognitive Psychology - #28
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Cognitive Science
The book starts brilliantly. Professor Seligman offers a revision to his famous theory of happiness and puts forward such a thrilling hypothesis, that I was hesitant to put the book down for a while.
However, and as the reader impatiently waits for the good doctor to explain his new theory in details - after all, it is easy to say you need "engagement" without defining what engagement really is and how it can be achieved - the book moves away from the message and turns into a boring, uninteresting manifesto in defence of positive psychology in general, and professor Seligman's credentials in particular.
He spends more time, trying to sell the idea than he does explaining it, as if he is making an extraordinary effort to convert unbelievers, than to preach to the already converted. Considering that the majority of those who would buy the book are among the latter group, I am baffled why he decided to turn this into a marketing material!
The book continues with more validating examples of positive psychology's successes, including two excruciating chapters about Seligman's work with the military. His repeatedly defensive arguments - specially those targeted at Barbara Ehrenreich and her likeminded entourage - are more suitable for an op-ed column than for a book of this calibre.
Toward the end, Seligman steps into an economic debate about the financial crisis, with such flimsy analogies that makes you wonder why this titan of the psychology should step out of his field of expertise so carelessly!
All being said, "Flourish" is a good book, and for those who are looking for fresh ideas, it does provide enough rich and valuable content to justify the time/money invested.
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