Lucy Drinkwater

CNS 120 Assignment

Book Discussion: Flourish

Overview: Wellbeing, Creating Happiness, Responding to the Negative

(Chapters 1-3)
Why should we care about this research?

This research is a tool used to help us measure human

flourishing through positive emotion, engagement, meaning,
accomplishment, and positive relations. Once we improve those
aspects and measure the change, human flourishing can be
improved. (page 29)

How does this research impact the way you think about
approaching the career exploration and search process?

The principles associated with positive psychology

research are a big factor in the way I think about how to
approach career exploration and the search process. In
order to flourish in a job, I need to take positive emotion,
engagement, and meaning into account. These principles
must be able to build upon in order to me to be happy in
my future career. These aspects can be applied to many
fields of work, but it all depends on my personal interests
and what specifically makes me happy. If my goal is to
achieve authentic happiness and all around well-being
within my career, I have to measure my positive emotion,
engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and
accomplishments in addition to my life satisfaction. While
increasing these things, not only will my life satisfaction
increase, but my levels of flourishing will increase.

Overview of the original Happiness Formula; explain the formula

itself (H=S+C+V).

H-overall level of happiness

S-biological set point

C-life conditions

V-voluntary activities

Explain elements of well-being. Why is this concept important

for our course?

The elements of well-being are positive emotion, engagement,

positive relationships, and accomplishment. As Seligman states,
positive emotion is what makes life pleasant. Engagement is an
element measured only subjectively with many variables such
as pleasure, ecstasy, comfort, warmth, and the like. As Seligman
says, While the subjective state for the pleasures is in the
present, the subjective state for engagement is only
retrospective. Meaning, although also has a subjective
component, is not only a subjective state. Rather, meaning, in
this case, holds the definition of belonging to and serving
something that you believe is bigger than self. Finally,
accomplishment is the things you achieve in your lifetime. This
concept, in relation to finding a career path, is extremely
important because the accomplishments you achieve
throughout life can lead you to find a state of well-being in your
future job.

Explain Active and Constructive Responding and how it may

apply to work we will do in class.

Ones overall level of happiness is greatly affected to the S, C, and V in

this equation. By taking an individuals biological set point, or the
chemicals in the brain in which effect emotions such as happiness, life
conditions, such as events that have taken place in this individuals life
(these events can be positive or negative), and the voluntary activities,
the things that this person chooses to involve themselves and participate
in, then add them together, this can create the overall level of happiness.
If one aspect of this equation is low, or negative in happiness, the overall
level of happiness will decrease.

Active and constructive responding is the practice is intently

listening when someone tells you a story or a statement about
their day. This and be positive or negative. This will apply to the
work we do in class because if a peer is telling you something
they hope to achieve, a positive reaction in response can
encourage them. Also, within an interview, an interviewer will
notice your listening skills, which can show you can work in a
group and can add positive feedback.

Select two exercises discussed in these chapters to increase

positive emotion or sense of wellbeing (e.g. Three Blessings, Signature
Strengths Exercise, homework from any of the 14 PPT sessions). Practice
them and share what the experience was like for you. How is this helpful
related to your career planning or our course?

Gratitude Visit

Signature Strengths

Often I forget to thank the people who really mean the

most to me. This exercise let me sit down and express
how much people in my life mean to me. I wrote a letter
to my boyfriend and my mom. I felt really great after
expressing my love and thanks towards them I could also
tell that this really had a great effect on them. In a way,
writing a letter was very calming to me as well. ON the worst days
when I feel like I cant do anything right, writing a letter makes me
realize that I do have great qualities and people enjoy my
presence.

Again, this exercise boosted my self-confidence. I was told that

organization and cooking are two of my strengths and just my
cleaning my room I felt like I had a clean mind.

Learning and Applying Well-Being Principles (Chapters 4 and 5)

What is the importance of the Losada Ratio? How might this

impact career exploration practices?

How might the principles of exploring strengths and Appreciative

Inquiry be important to undergraduates exploring opportunities? Explain

The Losada ratio is the exact ratio of positive to negative

emotions that separated the people who are flourishing in life
and those who are languishing in life. This is super important
when exploring careers because, when making such an
important decision such as your career, I would personally like to
flourish in my job rather than dread going to work every day. I
want to love my job and have only positive emotions towards it
even on the hardest of days.

This would be great in an interview setting. Bu understanding

appreciative inquiry, one can understand what works well and
what doesnt. Then taking what doesnt work well, you can
change that and show improvement, This can show an
interviewer that you understand management and working in
groups.

How might the PFA be a helpful tool in understanding career

options that are meaningful? How could this be applied?

PFA or Personal Flourishing Assistant

Seligman discusses prosperity. What is different about his view?

This could offer career idea that can be meaningful to you

based on the results that the app tracks. Some of these
variables include where you spend time, what activities
you spend a lot of time doing, and things that engage
you. This app also tracks what things give you purpose
and what makes you the happiness. This can help find a
happy and flourishing career environment.

Seligmans definition of prosperity is not that which is related to

wealth. He believes what parents want for their children is more
well-being than they themselves had. Basically, each parents
wants their child to have a better life than they had.

Grit, Principles to Flourish and Mental Strength (Chapters 6 and 7)

Explain the old/early explanation of character. How does

Seligmans view differ?

As Seligman states, 19th century politics, morality, and psychology were

all centered around one main point: an individuals character. In this time,
people were not mad, rather their character was bad due to the
environment they lived in.

Seligman believes that an individual needs to take responsibility to their

own actions. By doing this, their character will be determined.

What are the elements of intelligence described in Chapter 6?

Mental speed

The faster the mental speed, the more material is on

automatic in the brain. This can both attract and repel in
academic life

Pg 107

Virtue of Slowness

The voluntary, heavyweight process of achievement such

as planning, refining, checking for errors, and creativity

Pgs 110-133

What is GRIT? Explain the role of GRIT and self-discipline and

how these relate to your work as a student exploring career options? How can
this information be applied?

Describe the five fitness dimensions included in the GAT.

Practice one of the exercise under Positive Emotions in Emotional Fitness.
Describe your experience.

Emotional Fitness

Social Fitness

Sense of purpose and meaning in my life

Family Fitness

Sense of positive engagement

Spiritual fitness

A positive state of mind

Sense of belonging, loyalty, fellowship, security, and

community

When I practiced the exercise under Positive Emptions in

Emotional fitness, I learned that I have a positive outlook for the
future and I am committed to doing well in the workplace.

Relate the research in this chapter to your own goals for growth
and how this research may be helpful personally and professionally.

I believe that I have a strong sense of family and friends and a

strong motivation in the workplace. Although I am not a flexible
thinking, I think I should work on that because being a flexible
thinker would be a benefit in the workplace because it will
eliminate stress. I have an optimistic approach to school and
work, therefore I will flourish in my future career.

Resolving Past Events and Research on Optimism for Future (Chapters

8 and 9)

What are the five elements that contribute to post-traumatic

growth? Explain.

Understand the response to trauma itself

A normal response to trauma is not shattered beliefs and

negative emotions about the future. In order to

understand the trauma and response, one must think

rationally.

Anxiety Reduction

Constructive Self-Disclosure

One should not bottle up trauma because it will eventually worsen.

You should express your emotions.

Life Principles and Stances that are more robust to challenge

Consists of techniques for controlling intrusive thoughts

and images

You should be altruistic and accept growth as a human. Do not

bottle up survivors guilty., but understand that you are a hero.

Discuss the elements of Mental Toughness. How does Ellis

model contribute to development
of resilience? Use an example from your own thinking/experience and walk
through the steps.

ABCDE Model
o

C-emotional consequences- do not stem from A-adversitybut from B-your beliefs about the adversity. Adversity Is not
connected to emotion directly. For example,. The sergeants
work through a series of professional As (you fall out of a
three mile run) and personal As (you return from
deployment, and your son does not want to play basketball).
The goal is to be able to separate the adversity (A) from what
he says to himself in the heat of the moment (B) and from
the emotions or actions his thoughts generate (C).

One example in my life could be when I didnt get the

internship I really wanted. At first I blamed it on myself
saying I wasnt good enough and I wasnt ever going to get a
job. What I should have done is realized that someone more
qualified than a freshman in college applied, and this
rejection only gives me more time to grow and learn before
applying to another internship.

What are the skill building dimensions (e.g. Hunt the Good Stuff)
and what is the value in them for undergraduates now?

The Purpose of Hunt the Good Stuff is to enhance positive

emotions; out rational is that people who habitually
acknowledge and express gratitude see benefits in their health,
sleep, and relationships, and they perform better

As an undergraduate, it can be easy to focus on the quiz you did badly on

or the teacher that got mad at you. In reality, if one would focus on their
positive relationships with their peers and understand how lucky they are
to be here at a place like Wake, every students health, sleep,
relationships, and performances will improve.

Explain the physical/biological elements of Optimism. What is

the role of well-being and overall positive health?

By being optimistic, your physical and biological elements can

be effected. For example, Optimists take action and have
healthier lifestyles. The risk of cardiovascular disease can be
decreased. Having optimism means having positive outlooks on
life and having something to enjoy on a day to day basis.
Optimists plan for the future and have a plan. They know what
they want and get it done, therefore having a positive level of
accomplishments.

Pgs 205-208

Wellbeing and Economic Realities (Chapter 10)

Explain the relationship between wealth and happiness.

The more money people earn, the more life satisfaction they have due to
the fact that they dont have to worry or dress about financial issues.
Except, earning money only causes satisfaction until a certain point. Once
an individual reaches that point, satisfaction dwindles.

How might people can increase their satisfaction in any type of

work; give examples from either personal experience or current experience?

If someone finds meaning in their career, any job, no matter how much
you hate it, can have a positive effect. Forming relationships with youe
coworkers also can increase life satisfaction.

I worked as a waitress and I really didnt enjoy it, but I found a positive
meaning. Being a waitress helped me with my public speaking skills. It
also helped me bond with people I just met. I learned a lot about myself
and the people around me.
What implications might this have for undergraduates?

When looking at positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning in

life, and accomplishment, a college undergraduate can focus on what is
necessary to improve their life. Even if they only focus on positive
relationships with their roommate and classmates, their overall happiness
will increase.

What is important in this reading for an undergraduate now and

in the future?

Reading Flourish helped give me a more positive outlook in life. Although

I am super confused about where I want my life to go and what I want to
do as a career, Seligman explained that no matter where my life goes, I
can make it flourish. By taking the five pillars of well-being and finding
meaning in my career, I will be an optimistic person.

Your small group will work through these questions. In class or after class, you will
complete a written reflection about how this research impacts your understanding
of your career and personal development. You should upload your reflection on the
process to your ePortfolio under the Research & Career Exploration area.
This assignment is worth 10 points total. Points will be allocated in the following
manner:

3 points for reading guide answers submitted before class

2 points for discussion participation

5 points for your reflection in Sakai AND your ePortfolio. This reflection should
include:
o

What: your summary of this reading, its central message and

connection to our course and your experience in the discussion.

So What: what makes this a valuable discussion given the focus of our
class. Which part of this reading and research are most significant for you
after this discussion, given your stage of career exploration and selfreflection.

Now What: how can you use the content of this discussion in your
career exploration or understanding of yourself in this process?

Book discussions are fun! Lets use this opportunity to get the most out of
Seligmans book that we can.