Better than just surviving

Arnie Herz writes about "positive psychology" and its management theory analogue, "positive organizational scholarship." The notion of positive psychology comes from, among others, Dr. Martin Seligman, former president of the APA. There's a Psychology Today article about him and others working in the area of positive psychology. Here's a quote that sums up why you should have a look.

Why do we only focus on negative behavior patterns, rather than learning to nurture our children's--and our own--untold strengths? "There is a misguided emphasis in psychology on finding the problem and correcting it." …

The overall goal of "positive psychology" is to enhance our experiences of love, work and play. It is a psychologist's "birthright," says Seligman, to explore optimism, love, perseverance, originality, responsibility, good parenting, altruism, civility, moderation and tolerance. "This is a revelation for a group that has focused on dysfunction, illness, healing and coping strategies," which are just a small corner of the mental health field.

It is no surprise that in the psychological literature over the last 30 years, there have been 54,040 abstracts containing the keyword "depression," 41,416 naming "anxiety," but only 415 mentioning "joy."

Well-being is something more than just surviving, merely coping.

Others are trying to apply the same kinds of principles in the study of businesses and other organizations. Arnie linked to an interview [S.D. Bernstein, for the Mich. J. of Mgmt. Inq.] that discusses the topic from that perspective.