Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
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Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
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Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

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Saturday, August 27. 2011

Positivity

I am not a big one for self-help books. Like diets, their benefits seem to fade quickly due to the superficiality of the effect.


However, I have heard good things about Barbara Frederickson's 2009 Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive.


We all want to thrive and flourish in life, as best we can. Why not? Life is short. A quote from the Amazon review:



"Positivity is literally the feel-good book of the year, providing a scientifically sound prescription for joy, health, and creativity. Read one to two chapters daily as needed or until grumpiness subsides."
—Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology, Harvard University, and author of Stumbling on Happiness


Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Psychology, and Dr. Bliss at 17:27 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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Which raises the question:
If one doesn't already know how to help oneself, of what value would a self-help book be?
#1 PacRim Jim (Link) on 2011-08-27 19:07 (Reply)
Don't overlook Thurber's Let Your Mind Alone! and Other More or Less Inspirational Pieces taking down self help books.
#2 rhhardin (Link) on 2011-08-28 07:48 (Reply)
I read Positivity during a time I was having a very difficult time with my boss. It helped somewhat but was not what I would call great literature. Pessimism might have helped just as much, but it did help me cope.
#3 peter on 2011-08-28 09:22 (Reply)

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