Looking at Character and Capabilities. Our very own Ped Parasmand has been blogging away recently about all sorts of things, from thinking hats, to design thinking, as well as summarising Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman’s list of character strengths and virtues from their book of the same name.
Here are their 24: 1 . Temperance. Eat not to DullnessDrink not to Elevation. 2. With all our work on flourishing, well-being and happiness: looking at these lists makes me wonder if it really is the case that we need to all 24 or all 13 in order to be happy and flourish to our fullest. So these lists are interesting, but to me they both seem predicated on some basic assumptions that need to be teased out first. I am reminded of Martha Nussbaum‘s highly influential list of Capabilities, that were the groundwork for the Human Development Index. And if you don’t have an hour, then flick your eye over this list. Action for Happiness. Achieve Now a Better Life.com. Please, I want to address an important topic that doesn’t usually get the attention it deserves particularly in the context of ‘manifesting your desires’ and ‘co-creating’ your reality.
Still, it’s something on which the answer to everything in life ultimately depends: * The quality of your health… * The quality of your relationships… * The quality of your creativity… * Your ability to listen to your intuition and inner guidance… * Your finances… * Actualizing your highest potential… Believe it or not, but all these aspects of life completely revolve around and emerge from your understanding and your practice of this one thing… So what is the answer to everything in life? It’s SELF-ESTEEM. Now that may sound obvious, but please read carefully: There’s more to it than you might think or ever read about. Self-esteem is often presented as having the ability to protect yourself, to assert you feelings, to take charge and that’s certainly a viable definition but the truth is: that’s only the beginning.
The Summer of our Discontent. This summer the UK was rocked by riots with young people playing the major role in the looting of shops. In the weeks that followed children as young as 11 were put in front of the courts. Many of these young offenders had already chalked up a list of previous convictions. I came across disaffected young people such as these and others known as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) when I was carrying out my MAPP research working with the charity In-Volve to apply positive psychology with substance-misusing young people, in particular those abusing alcohol. Given that the motivation to drink amongst teenagers is related to wanting to be happy, to change mood, escape from troubles and deal with stress, surely positive psychology is well-placed to help adolescents to alternative routes to happiness, positive emotions, and resilience? How to Create the Life You Want Using Anchors.
“Put your future in good hands—your own.”
~Unknown They say that in life, we are never given more than we can handle. But sometimes it’s a matter of not accepting more than we can handle. Putting your foot down. Proclaiming, “That’s enough!” Recently, a number of stressors confronted me simultaneously. On one fateful Tuesday, I felt so much pressure from the culmination of professional demands, relational conflicts, parenting duties, and financial stressors that I found myself at a familiar crossroads.
I was tired of feeling like I was at the mercy of so many external influences. The familiar situation always presented me with the following options: find a temporary fix for all of these issues and continue reliving a veritable “Groundhog’s Day” of an existence, or commit to a plan of change and take action. This time, I chose action. I proclaimed, “That’s enough!” Thus commenced “The Anchor Project.” I began to list the things I wanted in life. I didn’t need more on my “to-do” list. 1. 2. Teaching Happiness and Well-being in Schools: Learning to Ride Elephants: Amazon.co.uk: Ian Morris. Welcome to ElevationResearch.org - ElevationResearch.org.