Positive psychology essay examples

All persons are psychologists. Everyone, almost on a daily basis, is involved in trying to understand and predict the behavior of people with whom he or she interacts with. In this effort, one of the fundamental issues that come out is that behavior is majorly determined by the consistent actions of an individual. Positive psychology is both a science and a clinical response. In the precincts of positive psychology, the scientific method is used to determine and enhance positive aspects of life. It is majorly concerned with understanding and, facilitating happiness and, well-being; positive traits and engagement in absorbing activities; hope and optimism; emotional intelligence, and, a sense of positive self.
Psychology can help an individual achieve a sense of happiness and well-being. Positive psychology is concerned with the enjoyable life, the meaningful life and the engaged life. These three orientations of happiness can help a person achieve satisfaction of well-being and life satisfaction. This in turn enables one to live a stress free lifestyle; hence, it is important in reducing life suffering and, improving one’s productivity in life. People who cannot embrace the three orientations of happiness always reports low life satisfaction. It is also important to consider orientations that are more geared towards engagement and meaning as they strongly give life a meaning rather than orientation to pleasures.
Psychology can also help to build positive emotions. Everything we do that derives personal satisfaction and pride requires positive emotions. In general, psychology classifies positive emotions into three categories: past, present and future emotions. Future positive emotions include aspects such as hope, confidence, faith, optimism and trust. In order to live a peaceful life, one needs to incorporate at least three of those aspects into his or her own life. Calmness, pride, self-actualization, gratification and, contentment are the main positive emotions associated with the past. A look at positive emotions associated with the future reveals two distinct classes: monetary pleasures, and, enduring gratifications. The pleasures can include all bodily pleasures which are felt through our senses. For instance, feelings that come from sex, nice perfumes, and delicious tastes are classified in this category. All in all, attainment of positive emotions can help one approach life positively, thereby improving the quality of life of an individual.
Positive character traits are essential in our day to day lives. They help us interact with people in a mutually understanding and responsible way. In the field of positive psychology, character traits are of central interest. Moral philosophers value virtues as core characteristics of our lives. Courage, wisdom, humanity, justice, prudence and transcendence are the six virtues associated with positive psychology. Each of these virtues has their own strengths. The character strengths of wisdom can be revealed to be curiosity, creativity, the love of learning, open mindedness and the capacity to take a broad perspective. All these strengths are associated with the acquisition of knowledge and the use of reason to enhance well-being. The character strengths of courage include bravery, zest and perseverance. These help a person to stand strong in times of adversities. Under justice lie strengths such as leadership, team-work and fairness. These can help a person build strong networks within the society. Practically, positive psychology can help a person develop great personal traits that will eventually guide a person in living a better life.
Emotional intelligence is also an integral part of positive psychology. Emotional intelligence generally refers to the ability of one to manage his or her emotions in a positive way in order to communicate effectively, relieve stress, defuse conflict, and, overcome challenges. People who are happy and successful in life have learned over time how to manage their emotions. The aspect of managing your emotions can help you lay a foundation for strong future relationships, be successful in your career, and even excel in achieving your personal goals. There are four major attributes associated with emotional intelligence. They include self-awareness, relationship management, social awareness, and self –management. When these attributes are incorporated into our daily lives, not only can we improve our decision making but also understand and, manage our emotions responsibly.
Positive psychology was initially developed to enhance the well-being of individuals. With time, it evolved into techniques that were used to complement the traditional forms of therapy. Hence, it led to what is referred to as psychological therapy. This mainly entailed encouraging individuals to identify and, develop their personal character traits, experiences and, positive emotions. This type of therapy can be used to complement traditional forms of therapy in hospitals to help improve the recovery process of patients. It is believed that assisting patients to focus on the positive aspects of their sickness may make them focus on the recovery process. When this is supplemented by the psychotherapy that covers negative emotions during sicknesses, such as anger and sorrow, then patients can be made to focus more on their recovery. Positive psychotherapy can also be used to treat people suffering from intense stress and depression. This can be done by helping them build on positive emotions because all these are as a result of too much negativity.
Finally, it has been observed that positive psychology can help lead a more successful, healthier life, and even live longer. From the above discussions, it is evident that positive psychology helps improve the quality of life. It also helps us in building positive relationships with other people which is a key ingredient to a happy and successful life.