Jim's Picks         

These are my positive psychology book choices. Blending humanistic traditions with more recent work in health psychology and coping styles, today's psychologists are emphasizing positive human qualities more than pathology. The zeitgeist is refreshing and represents a confluence of perspectives.

John Haidt's The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom is the best of the best. Summarizing positive psychology with a captivating, well written story of human history and human nature, Haidt uses his genius to pick the best findings of science and describe critical research in understandable terms. Haidt takes an evolutionary perspective on positive psychology. Many interesting points emerge, such as the need for both acceptance/letting-go as well as engaging and striving, and the importance of having both liberals and conservatives in a civilized society.

I highly recommend Paul Pearsall's Beethoven Factor, incorporating optimism research, the experience of "Flow" described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Kobasa's Hardiness construct and other work on optimal experience and thriving in the face of adversity.

Former APA president Martin Seligman writes about authentic happiness, as opposed to mere gratification of desire, and writes about the documented benefits of optimism.

Csikszentmihalyi is a research psychologist able to translate findings of cognitive science into improving our everyday experience of life.

Goleman's summary of the "emotional intelligence" literature in some ways anticipates the concurrent and subsequent work on positive psychology, emphasizing variables such as hope and persistence. This book is based on well-known studies in the mainstream of the field psychology. However, some have criticized his interpretations and the concept of Emotional Intelligence as too far-reaching.

Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning is a classic. Frankl, a psychiatrist, while a holocaust prisoner, realized that finding meaning enabled him and some of the others to survive their ordeal. Helping others and bearing suffering itself became Frankl's raison d'etre. He also realized that freedom was a state of mind, that he was in control of his mind, and that he was in essence more free than his captors.

The rest of these are self-help book picks. The first title is Niven's The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People. Each "secret" is an elaboration of a recent success-related research finding. Although some of the tips seem to contradict each other a little bit, you would expect that given the different angles that the issue can be approached from. For example, the book begins with the important fact that effort alone, if inefficient, is not a very good predictor of success, but the book ends with the admonishment to at least try. So try to get a copy of this--and then put it to work efficiently for yourself! Or perhaps you may be interested in his similar books about happiness, relationships, or health.

                100 Simple Secrets of Healthy People

If you don't mind straying off the empirical path and into the realm of motivational speakers, here's an old favorite: Jack Zufelt's Power of Desire: Unleashing the Conquering Force Within You (6 Cassettes) urges you to figure out what you really want. Then you'll overcome obstacles to be doing it, and it will be a labor of love.

Dr. Phil offers surprisingly sound advice on how to figure out your hang-ups, get over them, and get on to the business of living.

My favorite guru Stephen Covey took time management and made it values-based. Stimulating you to think of your roles in life and the legacy you want to leave in each, he gives practical guidelines to translating these into daily action. His concept of important versus merely urgent tasks is a key element to life management. In the 8th Habit he calls on you to lead and inspire.

jimsturges@earthlink.net