The Good Life

Positive psychology and what makes life worth living.

Christopher Peterson is professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. See full bio

March 23, 2009

For What Are You All Surfing?

One of comedian George Carlin's best-known routines, from the 1970s, was about the seven words that you can never say on television. Here is an update circa 2009: If you use words like these in a blog entry title, you get lots of hits. Read More

March 17, 2009

Positive Psychology and Bullshit

Is positive psychology bullshit?

Someone asked me this the other day - gently - so the question deserves a thoughtful answer, and not the ones that immediately came to my mind. Read More

March 11, 2009

The Future of Unhappiness

In his book Happiness: A History, Darrin McMahon explained that once upon a time, happiness was seen as something that simply "happened" to a person. Things have since changed. Happiness, or at least the pursuit of it, became a human right. And with the advent of positive psychology interventions that demonstrably bolster well-being, many can now do more than pursue happiness. Read More

February 19, 2009

Perfect People

"I was drunk the day my Mom got out of prison, and I went to pick her up in the rain. But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck, she got runned over by a damned old train."

This is the final stanza from one of my favorite songs, You Don't Have to Call Me Darling by Steve Goodman. Read More

January 27, 2009

Who Really Cares About WHO REALLY CARES?

These days I do a lot of traveling, and I usually drive my car. I have spent a lot of time listening to AM talk radio. When I can no longer stand the anger, innuendo, and righteousness, I switch from sports to politics. Read More

January 26, 2009

January 20, 2009: Virtue Is Back

Americans have long taken seriously the pursuit of happiness, but sometimes we lose sight of the bigger picture. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Happiness is the aim of life ... [but] virtue is the foundation of happiness." Two centuries later, Barack Obama reminded us that virtue is what really matters. Read More

December 31, 2008

I Resolve To Take Benjamin Franklin Seriously

Today is the last day of the year. Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? Read More

December 29, 2008

Viral Happiness

One of the well-established findings in positive psychology is that many of the important determinants of happiness and life satisfaction are social. A recently-published study by James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis reinforces this finding by showing that happiness spreads through social networks. Read More

December 28, 2008

Happiness Outliers

Like many of you, I have recently read Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers, which presents his perspective on success and the people who achieve it. Like his previous books, Outliers is well-written and provocative. Read More

November 29, 2008

Strengths or Weaknesses?

When positive psychologists advocate a strengths-based approach, I hear it as an important correction to decades of interventions (in clinics, schools, and workplaces) that focused on problems and their remediation. I do not hear it as advice to ignore weaknesses and problems or as an assertion that change is only possible if a person is already skilled at something. Read More

Happiness Basics

Research on how to increase positive moods and capitalize on your strengths has proliferated lately thanks to the positive psychology movement, and has shed light on ongoing insights into personality, mood, and cognition.

Go to the Happiness Basics page for more on Happiness including:

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