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
I've been bothered about time generally and our tripartite division of time into past, present, and future. I think I know what the past is, and I think I know what future is, but I'm really not comfortable with the notion of present.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the complexity of time and the challenges of understanding the present moment.
In this quote, Martin Seligman expresses his discomfort with the concept of the present, acknowledging a clarity about the past and future but finding the present elusive. This insight highlights a common struggle in human experience: while people often think in terms of what has been and what will be, the present moment can feel slippery and difficult to grasp, inviting contemplation on how we engage with time in our lives.
Themes
TimePresentPhilosophyExistenceConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
During a meditation session, one could use this quote to explore the nature of mindfulness.
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.
Martin SeligmanRead
The dirty little secret of both clinical psychology and biological psychiatry is that they have completely given up on the notion of cure.
Martin SeligmanRead
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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