Psychologists have known for some time that optimism is a good defense against unhappiness. But some of us are just not natural optimists. What are we supposed to do?
Positive psychologists believe optimism can be learned. All we have to do is to spend time mulling over all the things that have gone right for us, rather than dwelling on what has gone badly. (46. "Research on depression shows that one of the biggest causes of depression is ruminating about something that went wrong in the past." says Baylis. You keep feeding it the oxygen of attention and the flames keep burning you. )
But just as dwelling on negative events can lead to depression, dwelling on things that have gone well can help pick you up, he says, (47. "You have to thank your lucky stars about what goes right on a daily basis. Whenever you get the feeling of being negative about things, just take a moment out and remind youself of the stuff that has gone well." )
Seligman, who is the figurehead of the positive psychology movement, goes further than suggesting people learn to think positively. He has worked out what he sees as a blueprint for happiness that people can use to set them on the path to a fulfilling and satisfying life. He believes there are three routes to happiness, which he calls the "pleasant life", the "good life" and the "meaningful life". (48. Some are. better than others, although a mix of all three is ideal. The pleasant life sees superficial pleasures as the key to happiness. While a life bent on instant pleasure. and gratification offers some degree of happiness, it is ultimately unsatisfying on its own.)
(49.To be seriously happy, Seligman says, we have to set our sights on a good life and a meaningful life. To do this we need to identify what he calls our signature. strengths, which could be anything from perseverance and leadership to a love of learning.)
Seligman says that once we know our signature strengths, using them more and more in our daily lives will make us feel happier and more fulfilled. By exploiting our strengths, he says, we will find life more gratifying and become completely immersed in what we are doing, whether working, making music or playing sport-a state positive psychologists call "flow".
Using our signature strengths in our working and social lives will help us achieve what Seligman calls a good life, while using them to help others will put us on course for achieving a meaningful life, he says.
While positive psychology is broadly seen as valid by the psychology and psychiatry establishment, it does have its critics.
(50. Positive psychologists also stand accused of burying their heads in the. sand and ignoring that depressed. even merely unhappy people, have real problems that need dealing with.) Seligman counters this, saying positive psychology is not meant to replace other forms of therapy, but should be complementary, while people work through their negative feelings.
我
