How to be Positive by Martin Seligman

Dinolingo April 9, 2013August 8, 2021 0 Comments distressing emotions, distressing situations, happiness, hedonic treadmill, how to be happy, mental-health, positive attitude, positive thinking, seligman

Strategies for enhancing happiness

Relationships

Mate with someone similar, communicate kindly and clearly and forgive faults
Maintain contact with your extended family
Maintain a few close friendships
Co-operate with acquaintances
Engage in religious or spiritual practices

Environment

Secure physical and financial safety and comfort for yourself and your family, but don’t get on the hedonic treadmill of consumerism
Periodically enjoy fine weather
Live in a geographically beautiful environment
Live in an environment where there is pleasing music and art

Physical state

Maintain good health
Engage in regular physical
exercise

Productivity

Use skills that are intrinsically pleasing for tasks that are challenging
Achieve success and approval at work that is interesting and challenging
Work towards a coherent set of goals

Recreation

Eat quality food in moderation
Rest, relax, and take holidays in moderation
Do co-operative recreational activities with groups of friends like music, dance, physical work projects, and exhilarating activities (sailing/surfing)

Habituation

For excessive striving for material gain to increase happiness, accept that you will inevitably habituate to material goods and situations that initially bring increases in happiness

Comparisons

For low self-esteem due to negative comparisons with media images, judge yourself against your immediate local reference group and those worse off than yourself, not the false images of the media; check the validity of resources and happiness of media images.
Set realistic personal goals and standards consistent with your abilities and resources Inequitable reactions to losses and gains
For disappointment associated with inequity of reactions to gains and losses, expect to get small increases in happiness from large gains and successes; and large reductions in happiness from small losses and failures

Distressing emotions

Avoid distressing situations; focus on non-distressing aspects of difficult situations,
Assertively challenge distressing people, challenge pessimistic and perfectionistic thinking
Challenge threat oriented thinking and practice courage by entering threatening situations and using coping strategies to reduce anxiety
Avoid provocative situations, focus on non-distressing aspects of difficult situations
Assertively ask provocative people to be less provocative, stand back and practise empathy

Source: Based on Argyle (2001); Seligman (2002); Diener et al. (1999); Buss (2000); Myers (1992); Lykken (1999).
Quoted from Positive Psychology by Martin Seligman, 2004, Brunner-Routlege, New York, NY (page 39-40).