I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to do.
Martin SeligmanRead
There is an interesting scientific dispute about realism and optimism. Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the debate between realism and optimism in understanding oneself.
Martin Seligman highlights the tension between two perspectives on optimism: one that argues overly optimistic individuals may possess unrealistic beliefs about their abilities and control, and another suggesting that true optimism is rooted in a realistic assessment of one's situation. This examination points to a larger philosophical inquiry regarding human perception and the nature of reality.
Themes
OptimismRealismSelf-PerceptionPsychologyBeliefs
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to discuss the balance between self-confidence and realistic self-assessment.
More from Martin Seligman
All quotes →One of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I' gets bigger and bigger, and the 'we' gets smaller and smaller.
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The dirty little secret of both clinical psychology and biological psychiatry is that they have completely given up on the notion of cure.
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The belief that we can rely on shortcuts to happiness, joy, rapture, comfort, and ecstasy, rather than be entitled to these feelings by the exercise of personal strengths and virtues, leads to legions of people who, in the middle of great wealth, are starving spiritually.
Martin SeligmanRead
I believe psychology has done very well in working out how to understand and treat disease. But I think that is literally half-baked. If all you do is work to fix problems, to alleviate suffering, then by definition you are working to get people to zero, to neutral.
Martin SeligmanRead
The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.
Martin SeligmanRead
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