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Martin E. P. Seligman

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being Hardcover – April 5, 2011

by Martin E. P. Seligman (Author)

4.4 1,574 ratings

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“This book will help you flourish.” With this unprecedented promise, internationally esteemed psychologist Martin Seligman begins Flourish, his first book in ten years—and the first to present his dynamic new concept of what well-being really is. Traditionally, the goal of psychology has been to relieve human suffering, but the goal of the Positive Psychology movement, which Dr. Seligman has led for fifteen years, is different—it’s about actually raising the bar for the human condition.

Flourish builds on Dr. Seligman’s game-changing work on optimism, motivation, and character to show how to get the most out of life, unveiling an electrifying new theory of what makes a good life—for individuals, for communities, and for nations. In a fascinating evolution of thought and practice, Flourish refines what Positive Psychology is all about. While certainly a part of well-being, happiness alone doesn’t give life meaning. Seligman now asks, What is it that enables you to cultivate your talents, to build deep, lasting relationships with others, to feel pleasure, and to contribute meaningfully to the world? In a word, what is it that allows you to flourish?

“Well-being” takes the stage front and center, and Happiness (or Positive Emotion) becomes one of the five pillars of Positive Psychology, along with Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—or PERMA, the permanent building blocks for a life of profound fulfillment. Thought-provoking in its implications for education, economics, therapy, medicine, and public policy—the very fabric of society—Flourish tells inspiring stories of Positive Psychology in action, including how the entire U.S. Army is now trained in emotional resilience; how innovative schools can educate for fulfillment in life and not just for workplace success; and how corporations can improve performance at the same time as they raise employee well-being.

With interactive exercises to help readers explore their own attitudes and aims, Flourish is a watershed in the understanding of happiness as well as a tool for getting the most out of life. On the cutting edge of a science that has changed millions of lives, Dr. Seligman now creates the ultimate extension and capstone of his bestselling classics, Authentic Happiness and Learned Optimism.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free Press
Publication date

April 5, 2011
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

1439190755
ISBN-13

978-1439190753
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the guru of the "positive psychology" movement, abandons his previous emphasis on happiness, which he now views as simplistic, to examine how individuals might achieve a richer, multilayered goal: a life of well-being. He identifies four factors that can help individuals thrive: positive emotion, engagement with what one is doing, a sense of accomplishment, and good relationships. Those expecting a guide on how to achieve these goals will be disappointed; Seligman's approach is largely conceptual and empirical, although he has some useful things to say, such as how even soldiers with PTSD can be taught resilience to recover and even grow from their traumas, and how students of all ages can be taught focus, delayed gratification, and GRIT, a combination of drive and perseverance. But Seligman includes too much on the mechanics of conducting his studies. Also, he can be self-congratulatory regarding his own theory, and harsh and reductionist on traditional treatments ("psychology-as-usual—the psychology of victims and negative emotions and alienation and pathology and tragedy"). This is a potentially important book whose impact may be limited by its flaws. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., the Robert A. Fox Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, works on positive psychology, learned helplessness, depression, ethnopolitical conflict, and optimism. Dr. Seligman's work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. He is the director of the Positive Psychology Network and scientific director of Foresight, Inc., a testing company that predicts success in various walks of life.

He was for fourteen years the Director of the Clinical Training Program of the University of Pennsylvania and was named a "Distinguished Practitioner" by the National Academies of Practice. In 1995, he received the Pennsylvania Psychological Association's award for "Distinguished Contributions to Science and Practice."

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; Reprint edition (April 5, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1439190755
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1439190753
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #311,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #351 in Popular Applied Psychology
- #669 in Emotional Mental Health
- #3,067 in Happiness Self-Help

Customer Reviews:
4.4 1,574 ratings

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Martin E. P. Seligman

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Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., is the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, the director of the Positive Psychology Network, and former president of the American Psychological Association. Among his twenty books are Learned Optimism and The Optimistic Child.

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Jim Clemmer

A Science-Based and Broader Approach to Thriving

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2011

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Since the mid-eighties I've been an avid follower of Martin Seligman's leading-edge work at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his distinguished psychology career in the late sixties studying pessimism, learned helplessness, and depression. His two previous books, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life and Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Lasting Fulfillment are loaded with extensive and solid research from the rapidly expanding fields of cognitive therapy and positive psychology. I cited them to reinforce my two books on self/personal leadership; Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success and Growing @ the Speed of Change: Your Inspir-actional How-To Guide For Leading Yourself and Others through Constant Change .

His latest book lives up to its title. Seligman continues to build and expand on his life work. He starts with a radical rethinking of his own studies and results from the flood of new happiness research of the past decade. In Flourish, he writes, "I actually detest the word happiness, which is so overused that it has become meaningless." Seligman goes on to outline what he sees beyond good feelings and smiley faces, "I now think that the topic of positive psychology is well-being, that the gold standard for measuring well-being is flourishing, and that the goal of positive psychology is to increase flourishing. This theory, which I call well-being theory, is very different from authentic happiness theory..."

Seligman centers well-being theory on a "PERMA" framework:

Positive Emotion - happiness and life satisfaction are moved from being the end goals to factors of well-being.

Engagement - when we're in this state of "flow," time flies by as thoughts and feelings are often absent. We then look back later at just how fun or rewarding the activity was.

Relationships - acts of kindness, connecting with others, and sharing laughter, joy, pride, or purpose provide deep and lasting feelings of well-being.

Meaning - feeling we're part of something much bigger or serving a greater purpose that ourselves.

Accomplishment - goals such as money, fame, winning, or mastery that we pursue for their own sake
whether or not they bring positive emotion, stronger relationships, or meaning.

The PERMA elements of our well-being are maximized when they align with our highest strengths. Flourish provides an appendix of twenty-four VIA (Values in Action) Signature Strengths. Seligman and his colleagues developed these as the foundation for positive psychology to counterbalance the decades old mental illness or "sickness model." Minimizing misery is the path of psychiatry that traces back to Freud and is still deeply entrenched in many psycho therapy disciplines and treatments. Go to [...] to take the Signature Strengths questionnaire -- among many other excellent personal assessment and development tools provided there free with registration.

Seligman's work is deeply grounded in extensive research and science. This is especially evident in Flourish with 50 pages of fine print footnotes. His evidence-based approach clearly sets Flourish apart from most personal growth books puffed up with fluffy theories and wild claims. However, it will make harder reading for some readers, having to sift through the academic approaches and citations for many of the practical nuggets, application exercises, and personal growth insights buried throughout the book.

Flourish covers a lot of ground in the rapidly expanding field of positive psychology. Seligman reports on the development of the new Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) degree program that he leads at the University of Pennsylvania. The program's mission is to "combine cutting-edge scholarship with the application of knowledge to the real world." He also provides chapters on breakthroughs in teaching well-being to young people, a new theory of intelligence (very similar to the work in emotional intelligence), and the biology of optimism.

Flourish has two chapters dealing with a huge project Seligman and his colleagues have with the U.S. Army to provide Comprehensive Soldier Fitness and Master Resilience Training to hundreds of thousands. One goal is converting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) into Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG).

Seligman concludes Flourish with his "moon shot objective" (inspired by President JF Kennedy's audacious goal declared in 1961 to land on the moon by the end of the decade) of PERMA 51. This chapter proposes a new approach to the politics and economics of well-being with new measures of a country's prosperity based on the PERMA indicators. PERMA 51 is "the long mission for positive psychology. By the year 2051, 51 percent of the people of the world will be flourishing."

By applying PERMA to our own lives -- and using these concepts in our parenting, coaching, leading, and developing others -- we can all benefit from "shooting for the moon."

11 people found this helpful

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Gray Publications

Very useful resource

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2022

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Psychology, like any social science, changes slowly. After a decade of new research and not publishing a book, Seligman declares that individuals and teams can flourish, rather than languish.

I strongly recommend this book because I've met Seligman twice, discussed my personal research with him, and regard him as the most impactful psychologist alive today. The professional implications for family business leaders are untapped and immense.

As the former president of the American Psychological Association, and as the "Father of Positive Psychology", that statement reflects a sea change in psychology that affects all family business leaders. Instead of focusing on anxiety and depression and violence, "positive psychology" (PP) focuses on well-being.

Chapter 1 explains how research in authentic happiness evolved into a well-being theory and the goal of flourishing.

Chapter 2 describes how validated exercises like a gratitude visit and signature strengths can be applied to psychotherapy, individuals or teams.

Chapter 3 explains the limitations of most social science research based on causation

Chapter 4 describes a new program, the Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at the University of Pennsylvania, and potential for personal and professional transformation

Chapter 5 describes how global educators are applying PP to develop resilience, character strengths, academic capacity, and prosperity

Chapter 6 describes a new theory of intelligence that includes GRIT (passion and perseverance), character, self-control and achievement

Chapter 7 describes applications with the U.S. Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) program for a "psychologically fit" army that is resilient, and online courses in emotional, family, social and spiritual fitness

Chapter 8 explores the impact of PTSD and Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) with examples from the Master Resilience Training (MRT) program and the U.S. Army

Chapter 9 explores new research in the biology of learned optimism (in contrast to learned pessimism) and health implications such as cardiovascular disease, infectious illness, cancer, and mortality

Chapter 10 is a call to action on the politics and economics of well being. It describes the divergence between global well being and gross domestic products (GDP) and argues for a moonshot vision: by 2051 51% of the global population will be flourishing.

In my current practice I am focused on that bigger question: What would it take for family business leaders to flourish?

Respectfully, Doug Gray, PhD, Gray@theFBCG.com. Author of OKR Leadership; How to Apply Silicon Valley’s Secret Sauce to Your Career, Team or Organization (2019)

18 people found this helpful

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Lisa Mackay

A good informative read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2012

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Hi,

Judging by the reviews, I was a bit mixed as to whether this book would be useful for me or not. Having read 'Authentic Happiness', I was left with a sense that it missed something about real life and wellbeing.

I felt he courageously revealed and accepted that his last book was not a complete picture of wellbeing, and that he had concentrated too much on happiness (which is mainly linked to mood/life satisfaction) -- and did not encompass meaning, engagement, positive relationships and accomplishment. But, he is only human and he is constantly evolving (as we all are)...And, thank goodness, he has the passion and drive to continue to improve on his work. His book shows the conscious improvement on his thoughts and uncertainties, and his overview of the evidence-base, to draw his conclusion about the key elements for flourishing.

The reason for 4 out of 5, is simply that I felt he expanded a little too much on his pre-positive psychology days, at the beginning, which did not add value to the information he was presenting about flourishing for wellbeing.

However, I did like the story behind Martin Seligmans development and input into positive psychology, and he writes about a plethora of evidence-base for its effectiveness -- yet still questions certain areas that continue to be developed. He enthusiastically discusses his peers and their important contribution to creating the, say, Penn Resilience Programme.

I feel it is an amazing feat to have been able to incorporate the programme into the US Army and schools, and that it is being closely monitored. He displays a compassion for the problems many soldiers encounter when they leave the army, or real-time situations they have to deal with at home -- simply because of their links with mobile technology to their loved ones.

With his constructive reasoning he convinces me of the benefits of positive psychology, and that it is not just a 'happiology' - but a realistic portrayal of the essential elements required for inner resilience within the fast-paced and ever-changing world we live in today. I plan to use this book to inform my practice as a resilience coach/trainer.

There are definite nuggats of essential information into the complex world of wellbeing!

27 people found this helpful

Leslie C

Could have done better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2015

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The aim of this book is to identify empirical and other evidence so as to promote the conditions under which human beings can flourish and achieve wellbeing. The good start in realizing this aim is not maintained given the book becomes an exercise in advocacy about the way positive psychology might improve various communities of practice as opposed to a sustained exploration of the research.

The book begins to lose its way on page 55, when Seligman gives a bizarre account of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, one formed in the early 1960s when he was at Princeton majoring in philosophy where he was exposed to Wittgenstein’s so-called method of linguistic analysis. I think it is in Norman Malcolm’s Memoir, first published in 1958, that Wittgenstein is recorded as mocking a particular philosopher who represented his thinking as – ‘and language’. Given that Norman Malcolm’s Memoir was published several years before Seligman’s time at Princeton, I’m left to ponder why he, or his professors, didn’t bother to read it. Furthermore, since the 1960s Seligman has had ample opportunity to read hundreds of new books published on Wittgenstein and Wittgenstein’s philosophy, which would have corrected his ill-judged remarks about Wittgenstein’s philosophy.

Such an error in judgment could be forgiven if this hadn’t been compounded in the next section of the book where Seligman describes the ingredients that make up the masters he runs in applied positive psychology, one being Barbara Fredrickson’s ‘broaden and build’ theory of flourishing. Fredrickson, who worked with Seligman in teaching the first masters course in positive psychology, describes her ‘broaden and build’ approach in this way: “We go into companies and transcribe every word that is said in their business meetings. We have done this in sixty companies. One-third of the companies are flourishing, one-third are doing okay, and one-third are failing. We code each sentence for positive or negative words, and then we take a simple ratio of positive to negative statements…. “ (p. 66) If this isn’t linguistic analysis, I’m not sure what is!

Wittgenstein described his later philosophy as therapeutic, which means it was aimed at curing sicknesses in thinking rather than formulating theory. His therapeutic thinking has a double aspect: the curative, which removes or dissolves misunderstanding; the preventative, which provides the conditions of sense for sustaining better practices, which also allows individuals achieve peace and get on with their lives. This is how Wittgenstein described the aim of his later philosophy: “A person caught in a philosophical confusion is like a man in a room who wants to get out but doesn’t know how. He tries the window but it is too high. He tries the chimney but it is too narrow. And if he would only turn around, he would see that the door has been open all the time!” It sounds to me that what Frederickson is aiming to do with the discourse analysis in order to promote corporate flourishing is not unlike Wittgenstein’s description of how to overcome philosophical confusions. This is how Wittgenstein described his approach to philosophy: “Work on philosophy – like work in architecture in many respects – is really more like work on oneself. On one’s own conception .On how one sees things. (And what one expects of them.)” Wittgenstein’s description of philosophy as working on oneself is not unlike Seligman’s advocacy of recording one’s practices in order to achieve better conditions for potential future flourishing.

Another weakness is Seligman’s failure to explore ancient sources for what underpins flourishing. Here I’m thinking of Christ’s teaching that it is better to give than receive. How did Jesus arrive at such a view given he didn’t have any empirical evidence?

5 people found this helpful

Mehrad Ahari

A truly lost opportunity!

Reviewed in Canada on July 11, 2011

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The book starts brilliantly. Professor Seligman offers a revision to his famous theory of happiness and puts forward such a thrilling hypothesis, that I was hesitant to put the book down for a while.

However, and as the reader impatiently waits for the good doctor to explain his new theory in details - after all, it is easy to say you need "engagement" without defining what engagement really is and how it can be achieved - the book moves away from the message and turns into a boring, uninteresting manifesto in defence of positive psychology in general, and professor Seligman's credentials in particular.

He spends more time, trying to sell the idea than he does explaining it, as if he is making an extraordinary effort to convert unbelievers, than to preach to the already converted. Considering that the majority of those who would buy the book are among the latter group, I am baffled why he decided to turn this into a marketing material!

The book continues with more validating examples of positive psychology's successes, including two excruciating chapters about Seligman's work with the military. His repeatedly defensive arguments - specially those targeted at Barbara Ehrenreich and her likeminded entourage - are more suitable for an op-ed column than for a book of this calibre.

Toward the end, Seligman steps into an economic debate about the financial crisis, with such flimsy analogies that makes you wonder why this titan of the psychology should step out of his field of expertise so carelessly!

All being said, "Flourish" is a good book, and for those who are looking for fresh ideas, it does provide enough rich and valuable content to justify the time/money invested. It is just disappointing that the book stops short of being a ground-braking masterpiece, and settles for - well - a merely interesting read.

As for those who wanted to know more about Professor's new theory - myself included - "Flourish" is not the book we were waiting for. Let's hope his next book is.

19 people found this helpful

Aurora

Wonderful

Reviewed in Spain on January 16, 2023

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A new perspective of life

Elly

Wie jedes andere „Selbsthilfe“ Buch

Reviewed in Germany on November 9, 2022

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Ist genau wie jedes andere dieser Bücher und gibt nichts neues her. Wenn es das erste ist, kann man es sicher gut kaufen, sonst liest man nichts neues.

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Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being Hardcover – April 5, 2011

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