Positive Psychology Defined

Traditionally, psychology has focused on dysfunction and how to treat it. Positive psychology, in contrast, is a field that explores how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. It examines what gives our lives meaning and purpose—how we can move beyond merely surviving towards flourishing. Positive psychology emphasizes meaning, not just on fleeting happiness and warm fuzzy feelings. Positive psychology can be applied to children and adults in educational settings and mental health facilities, as well as in private counseling practices. There is also a place for positive psychology outside the realm of therapeutic practice, such as in human resource management and business administration.

The science of positive psychology operates on three different levels – the subjective level, the individual level, and the group level. The subjective level includes the study of positive experiences such as joy, well-being, satisfaction, contentment, happiness, optimism and flow. This level is about feeling good, rather than doing good or being a good person.

At the next level, the aim is to identify the constituents of the ‘good life’ and the personal qualities that are necessary for being a ‘good person’, through studying human strengths and virtues, future-mindedness, capacity for love, courage, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, wisdom, interpersonal skills and giftedness.

Finally, at the group or community level, the emphasis is on civic virtues, social responsibilities, nurturance, altruism, civility, tolerance, work ethics, positive institutions and other factors that contribute to the effective development of citizenship and communities.

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Historical Development of this Psychology Field

According to positive psychologists, for most of its life, mainstream psychology (sometimes also referred to as ‘psychology as usual’) has been concerned with the negative aspects of human life. There have been pockets of interest in topics such as creativity, optimism, and wisdom, but these have not been united by any grand theory or a broad, overarching framework.

This rather negative state of affairs was not the original intention of the first psychologists, but came about through a historical accident. Prior to the Second World War, psychology had three tasks, which were to: cure mental illness, improve normal lives and identify and nurture high talent. However, after the war the last two tasks somehow got lost, leaving the field to concentrate predominantly on the first one. How did this happen?

Given that psychology as a science depends heavily on the funding of governmental bodies, it is not hard to guess what happened to the resources after World War II. Understandably, facing a human crisis on such an enormous scale, all available resources were poured into learning about and the treatment of psychological illness and psychopathology. This is how psychology as a field learnt to operate within a disease model. This model has proven very useful. Martin Seligman highlights the victories of the disease model, which points to, for example, that 14 previously incurable mental illnesses (such as depression, personality disorder, or anxiety attacks) can now be successfully treated.

Psychology had three task, which were to: cure mental illness, improve normal lives and identify and nurture high talent.

Just to illustrate, if you were to say to your friends that you were going to see a psychologist, what is the most likely response that you would get? ‘What’s wrong with you?’. How likely are you to hear something along the lines of: ‘Great! Are you planning to concentrate on self-improvement?’.

Many psychologists admit that we have little knowledge of what makes life worth living or of how normal people flourish under usual, rather than extreme, conditions. In fact, we often have little more to say about the good life than self-help gurus. The Western world has long overgrown the rationale for an exclusively disease model of psychology. Now is the time to gather knowledge about strengths and talents, high achievement (in every sense of this word), the best ways and means of self-improvement, fulfilling work and relationships, and a great art of ordinary living carried out in every corner of the planet. This is the rationale behind the creation of positive psychology.

Positive Psychology In Wealth Creation

Innovative wealth creators tend to possess characteristics of positive psychology. They are able to find meaning in their lives, cope with trauma, and move the world towards change. Positive psychology is needed for one to believe that you can change the world. That belief plus the ability to overcome obstables, propelled from a deep place of internal drive, determines success or failure.

Positive psychology is essential to cultivating our ability to creatively see or envision beyond the current reality. This is the reason why play is so critical, not just for children, but also for adults. When we are playing, we are relaxed. We are exploring. We are imagining. We are experimenting— trying things out to see if they work or not in a psychologically safe place.

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We take what we learn from play and try to transform the best parts into reality. There, we move from relaxed, open exploration to more focused intense planning and execution.

A process for moving back and forth between play and work takes balance and centeredness. It also requires training in order to create muscle memory. Centerprising’s program guides ambitious wealth creators to create an individualized map and training regimen to achieve even higher performance.

About the Author

Florence Tsai is the Founder and Managing Director of Centerprising. Florence leads Centerprising’s design of programs and curates our communities. She manages key relationships with members and partners.

Florence holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Her career path led from Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Co. and Cambridge Family Enterprise Group to Centerprising, which she founded in 2019.

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Works Cited

• Van Hijk, Charles H., and Adéle H. Waters. “Positive Psychology Made Practical: A Case Study with Naval Specialists.” Military Medicine, no. 173, 2008.
• “Positive Psychology Center.” Positive Psychology Center, ppc.sas.upenn.edu/.
• “Positive Psychology.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/positive-psychology.