Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment

Description

A national bestseller,Authentic Happinesslaunched the revolutionary new science of Positive Psychology—and sparked a coast-to-coast debate on the nature of real happiness. According to esteemed psychologist and bestselling author Martin Seligman, happiness is not the result of good genes or luck. Real, lasting happiness comes from focusing on one’s personal strengths rather than weaknesses—and working with them to improve all aspects of one’s life. Using practical exercises, brief tests, and a dynamic website program, Seligman shows readers how to identify their highest virtues and use them in ways they haven’t yet considered. Accessible and proven,Authentic Happinessis the most powerful work of popular psychology in years. Colophon......Page 2 Other Books by Martin E.P. Seligman......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Epigraph......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Preface......Page 9 Part 1: Positive Emotion......Page 13 1. Positive Feeling and Positive Character......Page 14 2. How Psychology Lost Its Way and I Found Mine......Page 28 3. Why Bother to Be Happy?......Page 41 4. Can You Make Yourself Lastingly Happier?......Page 56 5. Satisfaction about the Past......Page 75 6. Optimism about the Future......Page 97 7. Happiness in the Present......Page 120 Part II: Strength and Virtue......Page 141 8. Renewing Strength and Virtue......Page 142 9. Your Signature Strengths......Page 151 Part III: In the Mansions of Life......Page 186 10. Work and Personal Satisfaction......Page 187 11. Love......Page 208 12. Raising Children......Page 232 13. Reprise and Summary......Page 281 14. Meaning and Purpose......Page 284 Appendix: Terminology and Theory......Page 296 Acknowledgments......Page 302 Endnotes......Page 305 Permissions......Page 360