Positive psychology
An article in the NYT on the science of being happy.
The article has that now-typical "two perspectives" thing going wherein the author tries to find people who have something negative to say about positive psychology. Yeah, some of it sounds a little woo-woo, but I'm a little woo-woo. Even the way I have gone about weight training has been woo-woo. So why shouldn't a search for happiness?
A few of the nuggets that I'd like to explore from this article: these folks have compiled a list of universally admired character traits that I'd like to see. One of the big points the professor of a class on positive psychology makes is that seeking pleasure for oneself in the usual, hedonistic ways only makes one happy for a short time, but making other people happy (doing good works) makes you happy for a longer time. Giving is better than receiving, like they say.
The article has that now-typical "two perspectives" thing going wherein the author tries to find people who have something negative to say about positive psychology. Yeah, some of it sounds a little woo-woo, but I'm a little woo-woo. Even the way I have gone about weight training has been woo-woo. So why shouldn't a search for happiness?
A few of the nuggets that I'd like to explore from this article: these folks have compiled a list of universally admired character traits that I'd like to see. One of the big points the professor of a class on positive psychology makes is that seeking pleasure for oneself in the usual, hedonistic ways only makes one happy for a short time, but making other people happy (doing good works) makes you happy for a longer time. Giving is better than receiving, like they say.