Positive person

It’s simple: successful people think differently. This is why Sandra Bullock won the Oscar. Sure, she’s a good actor and had an amazing opportunity with _The Blind Side_ , a powerful story about an emotionally evolving character. Bullock had a believable performance, grounded in a level of authenticity and transparency that we can all benefit from incorporating more of into our lives. * But how did she get that part? How did she win? * In Positive Psychology we call it GRIT - the passion AND perseverance required to achieve long-term goals. Gritty people are successful because they triumph through tribulations and...

Can you believe Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I’ve been thinking on this lately. Albert Einstein was a smart, smart man. But quotes of his like this make me see his intelligence in different, universal – perhaps even spiritual ways. I’ve been testing my ability to see everything as miracle and boy, does it take work. As a New Yorker, I’ve recently been doing this work in finding ways to enjoy winter. My tendency is...

First on Barbara Walter’s special of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009 is Lady Gaga. What makes her so positive? “I had a dream and was fearless with my ambition,” Gaga (who’s right around my age) says. “Every bit of me is devoted to love and art.” It’s all about clarifying dreams and building intrinsic motivation around those dreams. Hope = pathways + agency. Positive psychologists study this. She says she felt like a “freak” when she was younger, especially in high school (don’t I know it too…). “I want to free them [struggling young people} from their fears and...

Last week I had the great fortune of being with the Dalai Lama three days in two cities. The second of these visits brought me to Washington DC, where the Mind Life Institute presented an annual congress on learning called “Educating World Citizens” which brought together over 2,000 international voices. The Dalai Lama participated in all sessions over two days, which engaged western scientists concerned about the good life, particularly in regard to schooling (teaching/learning). Session topics included: Envisioning the World Citizen; Attention, Emotional Regulation, and Learning; Compassion and Empathy, and Future Directions and Policy. To sum, we discussed how to educate...

She is an old soul with a young spirit who I met at a mutual friend’s cocktail party sometime last year. She and I were hanging out in the kitchen with several others talking about what we “do” – typical cocktail party banter. But when it came to Amanda’s turn to share, she had an atypical response: she told us how she was a dog-walker in Chelsea and that she loved what she did. I’ll never forget how she spoke her words with such conviction, they resonate in me still today. She was an easy pick for my newer blog...

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