By bridging between the rigor of academic research and the accessibility of the self-help movement, this course provides tools and techniques that can help you lead a happier, more fulfilling life.
* Watch high quality streaming video lectures
* Study at your own pace
* Gain access to additional reading material so you can go even deeper
* Make the ideas your own by reflecting on the "Time-Ins" in each lecture
The course includes five lectures, each approximately one-hour long. Each lecture, in turn, is divided into three parts. Here are the topics for each of the lectures, followed by a brief description:
Lecture 1: Introduction
The essence of positive psychology is its focus on what works. Rather than focusing on depression, anxiety, and weaknesses, it shifts the focus to joy, love, and strengths. It is primarily through the questions that we ask—whether as therapists, researchers, parents, partners, or leaders—that we can get ourselves and others to focus on the positive. Questions begin a quest, and when we also ask positive questions of ourselves and of others we embark on a positive journey.
Lecture 2: Positive Transformation
Beyond the fact that it feels good to feel good, there are numerous other benefits to experiencing positive emotions. There is a common misconception that success is a key ingredient for a happy life, when in fact the relationship is the other way round: increase in happiness levels lead to more success. With an increase in positive emotions we enjoy an increase in our creativity levels, better relationships, higher levels of motivation, and better health. And yet, we do not necessarily need to radically change the way we live if we are to positively transform our lives. Very often small changes can bring about significant results.
Lecture 3: The Permission to be Human
Positive psychology is not about the rejection of painful emotions, or the belief that a happy life is devoid of difficulties and struggles. In fact, the rejection of painful emotions, of hardship, is the number one barrier to a happy life. We are a culture obsessed with pleasure and believe that the mark of a worthy life is the absence of discomfort; and when we experience pain, we take it to indicate that something must be wrong with us. In fact, there is something wrong with us if we don’t experience sadness or anxiety at times—which are human emotions. The paradox is that when we accept all of our feelings—when we give ourselves the permission to be human—we are more likely to open ourselves up to positive emotions. Rejecting our feelings, whether positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.
Lecture 4: Appreciating Appreciation
External factors—whether feats or failures—have little to do with our overall happiness. Many people who have every conceivable reason to be happy, who have fulfilled their dreams and attained success, are miserable. Others, who repeatedly face misfortune and hardship, rarely fail to appreciate life. There are two archetypes that define a continuum: the fault-finder, the pessimist who focuses on the negative, and the benefit-finder, the optimist who celebrates the positive. Through the regular practice of gratitude, it is possible to shift along the continuum toward benefit finding.
Lecture 5: Change
While a lecture, course, or a book may motivate us to introduce change in our lives, the motivation usually wanes, we go back to our previous state of mind and heart, and the change does not last. Only if we follow up with immediate behavioral change as well as introduce specific and concrete rituals to our day-to-day, will we benefit from the lessons that we learn. This final lecture will provide you with the understanding and tools necessary to enjoy meaningful and lasting change—change that will extend beyond the duration of this course.