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　　Student:Hi,Positive Psychs.We are Fallen Angels. This Saturday,March 15,is our debut in Centers. We are gonna be singing with Harvard Opportunes. So We'd love to see all your positive faces there. It's Saturday,8 pm. You can get your tickets at the Harvard Box Office, from any Opportune,or from your favorite Angel. (singing PINK "Who Knew") If someone said three years from now You'd be long gone I'd stand up and punch them out They'd be all wrong I know better Cause you said forever And ever,who knew? My darling,I miss you My darling,who knew Student:I have tickets.So find me after class. They are 8 dollars.Find me. Dr.Tal Ben-Shahar:Carpe Diem.Seize the day. So let's continue on this path and go a little bit more in depth into this idea of self-concordance. What are some benefits of self-concordance?

　　The first one- and there are many- the first one is the obvious one. You don't need to be a rocket scientist or even a social scientist to understand that setting self-concordant goals can potentially make us happier. Because we are pursuing something we care about, it is more likely to reinforce our enjoyment of the journey. The second thing,in addition to increasing well being, certainly connected to well being is that very often, having self-concordant goals- having goals in general, but in particular self-concordant goals, resolves internal conflicts. For example- it helps us deal with anxiety, with uncertainty,with existential questions- "What am I about? What am I doing? Why am I here?"

　　And if you think about it,very often when we go through periods when we are not sure where we are going, where every fork in the road is about ambivalence and uncertainty that's when existential questions come up. That's when there's uncertainty. That's when very often,there's unhappiness, whereas when we know what our path is, it helps to resolve internal conflict. An interesting way to think about it is by drawing comparison to interpersonal conflicts. So here we are talking about intra-personal conflicts- within: anxiety,depression- often a result of that. But there's a lot of research on interpersonal conflicts. And I talked about briefly when I discussed practical idealism and conflict resolution. And the way to deal with the conflicts, the best way to deal with the conflicts and resolve them is to have a super ordinate goal, a goal in which both sides- both conflicting sides engage in and are dependent on one another or intra-dependent. And that resolves interpersonal or intergroup conflicts.

　　This is work of Muzafer Sherif or Elliot Aronson. In the same way,having a goal helps to solve internal conflicts, intra-personal conflicts. Because it takes our mind away from those existential, often important,but sometimes difficult questions, especially when they persist. Away from anxiety.Away from depression. And we are focused on something we really,really want to do. Also,it increases the likelihood of success. Individuals who set self-concordant goals are more motivated- they are more likely to work hard. They are more likely to put their all in- whatever it is- that they are doing. In the long term, those who pursue their passions are more likely to succeed. Again,seems pretty straight forward, pretty self-evident common sense. But as we often said,common sense is not that common.

　　In many ways, this increased likelihood of success when we pursue the things that we are passionate about defines the "no pain,no gain" maxim It defines it and changes it to the following maxim: "Do it better with pleasure." Now if you quote me on this,I'll deny it. If you show someone the video of me saying it, I'll say that it's my cheesy twin brother who coined it. But it's true. We do do it better with pleasure if we pursue our passions. What happens in practice- again,there's a lot of research on it. You are reading some of it; I elaborate on some of it in the book There's a lot of research that shows that when we are engaged in a self-concordant goal, we are much more likely to then continue to pursue self-concordant goals. Because it was good that we were more successful; we want more of it.It's self-reinforcing.

　　Not just on the macro level of life goals where it does that, but also on the micro level.And what we see is a trickle effect. People who set self-concordant goals were actually doing better in areas that were not necessarily self-concordant. For instance- let's say you are a member of an undergrad A ccapella group. And you really enjoy it. In self-concordant,it's something that you believe in. Something you enjoy.Something that is interesting to you. Something you are doing because you are really want to be doing it. In other words,a self-concordant goal that will have an effect, a positive effect on other areas in your life- such as a class that you don't necessarily enjoy that much, but you are doing more because you feel that you have to, as opposed to you really really want to. So potentially identifying self-concordant goals can also help you improve your grades. Again,even though they are not related at all.

　　Because overall,you are more motivated; you are more excited; you are more interested; and you enjoy life as a whole more in positive emotions have a trickle effect. In a way you can think about it like a candle in a dark room. Very often you don't need to light up the entire room with lights A single candle sometimes is enough to spread the light to darkened corners of the room. The same with the self-concordant goals. They have a trickle effect.Choosing to do things- doing what we want to do has also health benefits. This is one of the most important studies done in the field of psychology by,once again,our own Ellen Langer. What she did was going into old age homes and divide it- the old age home randomly into two groups.

　　The one group got all the support that they needed- whatever they wanted they got. They asked for certain food- they got it. They asked to be helped,carrying out certain tasks- they got it. Everything was done for them. In many ways,the old age homes that many people dream of. And then the second group didn't have as good. Not everything was catered for them.

　　They very often had to do their own things. For example,notably,they had to water their own plants. They very often had to set their own routine during the day. The service wasn't as great as the first group. They had to tell the employees if they needed something. They very often had to get it themselves. And again,they planted- they watered their own plants. And what they did was- Langer created this two different scenarios and then went back 18 months later. After 18 months,the second group, the group that watered their plants, the group that took care of their day, the group that was not catered for, in the same way as the first group- they were less likely to be depressed; they were happier; they were more energetic; more independent,physically healthier. And the clincher: 18 months later,they were 50 percent more likely to be alive.

　　The only difference being that group that was healthier,happier, more likely to be alive,had choice. They did their own thing. They were asked what do you want to do, as opposed to being catered for,being supported. And in some way,this was too easy.There was no choice involved. And when we choose,when we do what we want to, it has implications to our well being,to our success, and to our physical health, to the point of leading to longer life. Significant difference with such little intervention. And yet,so many of the old age homes today are built around the notion of "let's catered to all their needs"- "let's do everything that they desire", "let's make it easy for them".

　　That's not necessarily good. There's too easy- whether it's the notion that I talked about in the book, "the underprivilege of the privilege", or things are too easy,or we don't fail enough; whether it is in the old age home,or it becomes too easy, as opposed to making choices and struggling and making decisions. And it applies as we will see later also, to the notion of stress- and how important that can be in cultivating resilience and ultimately,happiness. Too easy is not necessarily good.Finally, we see this also in oppressive regimes versus democracies. One of the main reasons why people are happier under democracies- and remember,that is one of few external circumstances that can predict happiness- one of the reasons is because under democracies,people have choice. As opposed to under dictatorships, very often they are told "OK,you need to go into accounting. You need to go into engineering. And you need to go into athletics."

　　And so on. And when you have a choice,that is a good predictor of happiness Let's shift gear a little bit. I'm going to talk about something very much related to self-concordance,but from a different angle. I'm going to talk about values in action,or in short,the VIA. Values in action,the VIA,is arguably the most ambitious, and certainly one of the most important projects within positive psychology. It was initiated by Chris Peterson in the picture, professor of University of Michigan and Martin Seligman. And what they wanted to identify was positive psychology is alternative to the DSM- the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder,which is essentially the classification of all known mental disorders. It's a very thick book,a very important document where it says- for example,it lists certain criteria and it says if a person has seven of the ten of these criteria for x period of time,that person has major depression.

　　If the person has three of four criteria for y period of time, that person has schizophrenia. Or dysthymia.Or seasonal affective disorder. Or all of the psychopathologies that are known to us, that have been defined and classified. A very important document. Come along Seligman and Peterson right at the beginning when positive psychology came onto the scene and say, "let's create an alternative.Let's create an alternative to the DSM that will identify instead of weaknesses, instead of pathologies,instead of deficiencies, it will identify individual strengths and virtues." And they identified 24 character strengths, all enlisted,explained,described in this book. Not only did they identified the character strengths, they also created mechanisms,ways, means of measuring these character strengths. For example,an online test- one you would be taking next week- that can help you,as a first step, identify your values in actions: what are your character strengths; what are your virtues; what are you good at; what are you passionate about. The thing about character strengths-When they identified them, they made sure that they identified universal characteristics. In other words,it wasn't chosen by you know, male,white academics living in America. This was research done all over the world, cross-culturally to identify characters that are identical, whether it was in United States or Europe,Asia- China,Japan as well as the Massai tribe in Kenya and the Inuits in Northern Greenland. So this was an international research project, because what they thought- if we can find things that are common to all cultures, we will identify what is the part of human nature, as opposed to human nurture. And they admit you know that this may change over time; we may become more sophisticated in measuring them.

　　But as a start,the character strengths and virtues, the values in action,manual and test,is an excellent start, the one what you'll benefit from a great deal, as you will see shortly. The key aspect also of these characteristics is that they have moral value. For example,the ability to run fast- it's certainly some people have this strength, you know having more fast twitch than slow twitch, having stronger muscles,for instance. It certainly is a strength,but it's not a character strength. Because it doesn't in and of itself have a moral component. You could use your strength and your speed toward moral ends, but in and of itself, it has not been valued as a moral characteristic.

　　Similarly,in order for something to be a strength, it has to be used toward moral end. For instance- as you'll see, humor is one of the character strengths.However, if humor is used to hurt other people as it sometimes is, it cannot be considered a strength. So it's used toward moral noble ends. What values in action are in many ways- they are about self-concordant journey.Meaning: when we set a goal and outcome,we are about a destination- yes,it certainly benefits the journey. Yes,it certainly helps us enjoy by liberating us- helps us enjoy the here and now. But ultimately,what our focus is on- the end result. With values in action, our focus is on specifically,directly the journey. How can I enjoy getting to the end,my destination? Is it by engaging in a lot of learning? Is it by- which may be a character strength of mine, love of learning? Is it by engaging leading other people- the leadership is one of those character strengths? Is it by being spiritual and praying along the path- if spirituality or awe is my character strengths. So it's helping us enjoy the journey on the way to a destination we deem valuable. In other words, if we have a self-concordant end and a self-concordant journey, this is what happiness is. Both present benefit (journey) as well as future benefit (outcome). And that's why it goes hand in hand with a self-concordant goal. It's not that the self-concordant goals don't help us enjoy the journey, and it's on the VIA does not help us reach a better outcome. It does. However, when they go together, we are more likely to experience a complete experience of happiness,of fulfillment. And a lot of research has shown how identify our values in action and more importantly applying them,using them, exercising them leads to higher levels of happiness and success. And this is not just correlational; there is a causal relationship. And your exercise for next week will be to implement it, which will ultimately hopefully lead you to more success as well as more of the ultimate currency. In addition to the questionnaire that you will be taking, here are some other criteria to identify what are your personal character strengths. The first one is "is this the real me?" Do I feel authentic,most myself,when I am working in a group? When I am leading people? When I am learning something new? When I am praying? When I'm watching a comedy or telling jokes or listening to jokes? When do I feel most myself? William James,back in the 19th century: "I have often thought the best way to define a man's character would be to seek out the particular mental or moral attitude in which,when it came upon him, he felt himself most deeply and intensely active and alive. At such moments there is a voice inside which speaks and says: 'This is the real me!'"

　　When is the real you coming out? Is it when you act bravely? Is it when you apply yourself and work hard at something? Is it when you plan- and you are prudent, careful about the future? It's a strength,too. When you are acting according to your character strengths, you feel energized and you feel motivated. It comes from within.It feels natural. Again,this is about understanding your personal nature, the constrained view of human nature, as opposed to saying "well,all the strengths are me. I can cultivate all the strengths." Yes,it's true. And we all have some of all of the strengths.

　　 However,however,we also have certain inclinations embedded whether it's in our genes, whether it's in our earlier experiences.And it's not we cannot or should not cultivate the other strength, but what we need to do is focus mostly on those strengths that are most natural to us. Because that's when we get the most bank for the buck, so to speak,in the ultimate currency that is, as well as in success,the conventional standard of success. And when we engage in those strengths,our personal strengths, that's when we grow the most,that's when we develop the most, that's when we learn the most. And again,ask yourself as in a minute you'll be looking at the list of strengths- ask yourself: when does it feel the real me? Again,it's when I apply myself and work hard? Is it when I go again the grain and act bravely? Is it when I feel the most real,the most alive? Is it when I learn something new? Is it when I go to a museum? Is it when I pray? Is it when I'm around people who are funny? When is it the most me? Here is the list. Take just a minute to look at them. They are divided into six categories. There are 24 character strengths. And I just want you to be exposed to it right now. Because,again,for your homework, you'll get a print-out of all the strengths with description. Just take a few seconds to look through them.

　　And ask yourself: who are you? When it comes to these strengths. OK.Here's what we are going to do. What we are going to do now is I'm going to introduce you to two exercises. Two exercises that build on the VIA, that build on this questionnaire, that build on your identifying your personal character strengths. The first exercise you are actually going to be doing- that's next week,for your response paper. The second exercise is one that I highly recommend doing- for lack of time,we can't also do that. The first one- and this is based on research, done by Peterson and his colleagues- has been showing remarkable effects,remarkable consequences in terms of well being as well as in terms of success.

　　 And what it is about is building capacity. It's about identifying the character strengths and then pursuing them. Just a quick recap about what it means to build capacity. You see,when you are thinking about character strength and applying character strength,what we know is that it helps you become happier- remember a self-concordant journey. So you found doing something and constantly engaged in learning new things, if it is my personal strength or expressing gratitude constantly, if that is my character strength. Something that I'm inclined to do.I'll be happier. In other words, going back to our model from our second or third class. It will help us go from zero to the positive. However,what was found in the research is that it doesn't only help us go from the zero to the positive, it also helps us better deal with the negative.

　　This- it does directly.This- it does indirectly. How? By building capacity. If you think about it,this is what positive psychology is about, as we've discussed numerous times. It's about building capacities. It's about strengthening our immune system, making us more resilient. Or the other analogy that we use: building a stronger motor so that we can better deal with hardships, with uphill battles,when these arise. So cultivating our VIA directly affects our journey- we enjoy it more. From the zero to the positive.And then it does something else. It also helps us build capacity so we are better able to deal the negative,with difficulties, with the hardships when these inevitably arise. So here is the process: the first step is to identify your character strengths. Seems pretty obvious. The way to do it- two steps,two sub-steps. First,to take the questionnaire,to take the test. This is the website.It will all be emailed to you plus. It's on the powerpoint.To take this test.It's 240 questions. It should take you about 30 minutes. And there are no right or wrong answers. It's not like "it's better to have awe in your top five and not so great to have prudence as your top one", which by the way is my top value. There's no good,bad.It's identifying who you are. And all of them,again,we all have all 24. You know,I think gratitude is my 19th. Now does that mean that I don't enjoy being grateful, that the gratitude exercise that I do every day is not beneficial to me? Of course it is! But much higher for me is the love of learning.

　　 So take the online test. Identify from there your ten top ones- they recommend top five. I recommend anywhere between 8 and 12. And take these 8 to 12 strengths.Read their descriptions- what they mean,what they are about,what they say about you. And then ask yourself: which ones,which five- or it could be four,or it could be six,but more or less five- which five fulfill the criteria that we discussed earlier? Namely,which are the real me? Or which ones, when I'm engaging them I feel more energized and motivated? Or which ones do I grow and develop most from? And from these 8 to 12 strengths, identify 4 to 6 that most fulfill these strengths criteria. And then choose any one of the character strengths from your final list and apply it, meaning every day for the following 7 days- and again, this will be your task for the next week- apply these character strengths.

　　Every day for the 7 days after that- that will be up to you and hopefully you will cultivate a ritual, a habit out of it,apply the next character strength or the same character strength in a different way. So let me give you a personal example. The third time when I taught positive psychology, about half way through the semester, I started to feel a little bit enervated,a little bit tired. You know,I've done it twice before. I knew what I was going to say.I've heard myself say it before. And I thought I lost a little bit of energy, a little bit ongf in teaching. And then I went back to the VIA. And I said "well that made a lot of sense." Because my second strength after prudence is love of learning. And when I am teaching the same course, again,I wasn't learning that much new. So yes,I had new learnings in office hours.

　　I always learn a lot- those who've been to my office hours know that I jot down ideas as we are speaking. But as a whole,in a class,I was doing the same thing. And then I said,"OK.So I am going to engage in this exercise." And for me, that exercise was let's take love of learning and continue it, even when I am teaching the same course. I'm incredibly busy even if I am teaching the same course.But I still put in an hour aside every day to learning something new, to reading something that I haven't read before. And what that did for me immediately within two days- it brought back my energy. It had a trickle effect on other areas,such as my teaching. Because I was reading something new and then it also helped me teach better- not only in terms of energy, but also new ideas,such as I introduce once in a while. Sometimes I tell you I just read this book and here is what I read.

　　And I do it constantly even though I am very busy. Because I know that that's very important for well being, for the ultimate currency as well as for success,for performance So apply whatever it is,whatever your top strengths are consciously until it becomes a habit. And then- this will also be part of your exercise- each night describe how you use your strength on that day and then commit to the next day: what are you going to do tomorrow? Why? Because that reinforces the neural pathways. Remember when we describe something good. In many ways,the VIA to the DSM is like PPEO to PTSD. Remember that? That could be a GRE question. The analogy is PPEO- positive, PTSD- negative is the same as the VIA compared to the DSM.

　　The equivalence- positive psychology and conventional psychopathology. So here is the second exercise after you do this. You could also apply for problem solving. Because in a sense,while the VIA indirectly builds capacity and helps us deal with problems,with difficulties,with uphills, we can also use it to affect our difficulties, to help us with our problems directly. So for example.The first step- same as the previous one. You first identify your character strengths by taking the test, by asking what are the criteria the these strengths fulfill. And then,identify any problem,whether it's in personal life, whether it's in,on the sports field, whether it's on,in a relationship,whether it's at work. Identify certain problem that you want to deal with. And then ask how you can apply one of the character, or some of the character strengths toward that problem. So for example.Let's take an example. Let's say one of the problem that I face is that I am mostly avoiding. I am afraid of taking risks.I don't put myself on the line.

　　Because I am anxious and afraid. And love of learning is one of our strengths. What I can do is use the love of learning to deal with my phobia, my anxiety,my fear of putting myself on the line. How? By learning all I can learn about how to better deal with phobia and anxiety, which by the way is exactly what I did. Read every book I could find. Talked to any person who I thought knew about it. Used the strength and then applied it to what had been a weakness of mine. Or relationships. Let's say we are going through a difficulty in relationship. And one of my top strengths is for example,authenticity. And then how can I use my authenticity in my interactions with my partner- and that will lead to higher levels of intimacy and improve the relationship in the long run, which is exactly what I did. One of my top strengths- and applied it to cultivating more intimacy. Think of your own example.

　　 Again,this will not be a response paper, but I highly recommend and urge you to apply it. Let's put some of these ideas together. Let's look at the decisions that some of you are making right now or will be making in the future, whether it's next year or three years from now, or 20 or 40 years from now. How do you make decisions and how do you- what may be a helpful framework for identifying a self-concordant journey as well as outcome? And one of the ways to do it is by looking at the work of Amy Wrzesniewski that I do talk about in the work chapter, but still worth going over again. About work orientation. And this is going to apply not just to work. It can apply to other areas in our lives.

　　Generally what Wrzesniewski and others found is that people's perception of work can be classified into three categories. Some people perceive their work as a job; others as a career; and yet,others,not the majority unfortunately, hopefully in the future the majority- some people perceive it as a calling. Primarily it doesn't mean that the person who perceives his or her work as a calling does not sometimes experience it as a job. However,overall,they perceive their work as a calling versus a career versus a job. And you can distinguish them by looking at the following criteria what motivates them- what keeps them going, what pushes and pulls them; what do they perceive work as- what is their interpretation of the workplace; what do they expect- what are they hoping for; and finally, what are they looking forward to in the future in that work. So people who perceive their work as a job: motivation- paycheck at the end of the month or the end of the week; work as something I have to do- it's a chore, I have no choice about it; what do they expect- nothing much; they look forward to TGIF or the holiday,the break, the end of the semester,the end of the two year period, or whatever it may be. The career perception,orientation: money and advancement are what motivates these individuals, getting to the next stage; work as- it's a race,a race to the top- this is what the rat racers mostly reside; the expectation- more prestige,more power,more money, more prestige,more power,again,advancement,attainment, achievement of the next goal; and they are looking forward to the next promotion. And this applies to different areas- it could be from PreMed to Med school to internship at the best place, to the chief,head of the department, to the chief of the hospital. It could be the race from being analyst to an associate to a partner It could be the race from being an assistant to an associate to a full professor. It can apply to any area,the red race. The lucky few who perceive their work as calling: the motivation is the thing in itself- it's about self-concordant goal, it's also about self-concordant journey; how do they perceive work- it's a mission,it's a vocation, it's what they are meant to be doing,it's what they want to be doing more than anything else in the world. They see it not as a chore,but it's a privilege to be engaged in what it is that they are doing. The expectations- their mission: a better world. And finally,what do they look forward to- more work.

　　More work where they can actualize themselves, where they can fulfill themselves, where they can be- to use the military cliche- all they can be. Now when you look at this, it's mostly impossible to experience a sense of calling and mission and a self-concordant journey every hour of the day. Just like it's not possible to be happy and to experience constantly experience that constant high. You know,for example,teaching is my calling. I certainly experience a sense of calling- it's the thing in itself; it's what I want to do professionally more than anything else in the world. At the same time, there are elements of teaching that I don't enjoy it as much. And I do feel that I fell a little bit toward "well,this is my job- I had to do it" such as going over my lecture notes five times before each lecture. The first time,pretty interesting; you know second and third it gets a little bit repetitive.

　　But I know if I want to produce a good and effective lecture- because that is my calling,teaching, I have to go over it many times. And I can tell the difference when I go over it once or twice versus five times. So that's important to me. But that part of my work- it is a chore,something that I have to do. However,remember the trickle effect. Because overall,there's a sense of calling. Overall,it's a self-concordant goal as well as journey. Even those parts are OK,not that bad. Or let's say you really enjoy a certain course. Let's take a hypothetical example,1504. And another hypothetical example, you happen to have a midterm in a week. You know,you may not enjoy every step of the way. You know going over the material for the second time or third time. However,if overall that experience is self-concordant, important to you,and you enjoy it, even that part will not be that bad.It will be OK, especially if you start seeing that during that process, you'll begin to make new connections, understand things,important things about yourself. Important thing also to keep in mind about calling is that well it does depend to some extent on the kind of work that you do. It depends much more on your perception of the work. So the research that I talk about in the book is about cleaners in a hospital who were able to see their work as a calling. Why? Because they interpret their work not as "I have to pick up the garbage and clean the toilet"- which they actually had to do,but more as "I'm taking care of these patients; because without my work, without me doing the excellent work,there'll be more pollution and more people hurt in the hospital. And these people who perceive- these cleaners who perceive their work had the calling orientation were much more likely to engage in a conversation with the patients in the hospital, were much more likely to help. And interestingly,many doctors from this same hospital perceive their work as a job.

　　Now you are more likely,again- not good,not bad it is- you are more likely to find a sense of calling in your work if you are a leader versus the janitor or the cleaning person in an organization.It's more likely. However,that does not mean that the person who cleans the hospital cannot find the calling and there are many examples. And the examples that Wrzesniewski talks about in the research are things such as comparing between cleaners and other cleaners, calling versus chore,between certain hair dressers to see their work as a