Interdisciplinary Psychology:

Introduction to Positive Psychology by William Compton, was a comprehensive, user friendly textbook that maps in out in detail the major landmarks of Positive Psychology, which center around the three elements of: Positive connections to others, positive individual traits and life regulation qualities (7).  In writing this book it was very apparent that Compton was not trying to present himself as a personal authority who knew the answers.  In the beginning of the book he qualifies the research presented by saying,

          The first activity I chose to lift my mood is exercise. Exercise makes me feel good while I am doing it and that positive feeling stays with me. I decided to incorporate an exercise routine for my mornings. I am so happy that I did it! What a wonderful start to my day. This has served as a way to focus my mind and my energy in the morning. I decided to jog on my treadmill for 20 minutes and listen to music while doing it. It was really hard to wake up and get myself to do it. I was motivated by knowing I was going to have to write this paper and now the jogging has become routine. I noticed that I am more relaxed during the day and I am generally happier with myself when I exercise. I plan to continue this routine.

“An Introduction to Positive Psychology”

William C. Compton

            “The future is not a place we are going to, but one we are creating.  The paths are not to be found but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.” (Unknown author). To me this quote is the essence of the books message. It is a message that is both encouraging and inspiring. No one is a victim of circumstance or of their past because we all have the ability to overcome and create the “good life” for ourselves. This book takes an in-depth look at positive emotions; techniques that promote positive emotions, what areas of our life positive emotions influence, and how positive emotions are incorporated into a person’s life satisfaction.

I have always felt things have a way of just working out. Being optimistic lends a hand in maintaining this attitude so I haven’t given much thought about purposefully increasing my happiness. In this first intervention, I have experienced a better mood more often and I find that I have a higher degree of functioning in daily life.

With my first mood increasing activity I decided to analyze an activity I have been doing since October. I have been walking everyday for two miles and doing yoga 3 times a week. I initially started this with the goal of improved health and weight loss. In the past week and a half I have been specifically paying attention to any mental benefits of exercising and seeing if my mood has been lifted at all.

Introduction to Positive Psychology

An innovative change is overdue for modern psychology and its tunnel vision which focuses almost singularly on diseases and mental illness. Seeking the good life is a universal goal for humanity, however, due to the difficulty of understanding happiness and its causes, psychology has focused its work on more easily defined challenges. There could be significant benefit if the intense focus on illness, disease, and negative emotion could shift more towards helping people achieve happiness through Positive Psychology techniques. Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build model succinctly sums up the benefit: “positive emotions broaden our awareness and then build upon the resultant learning to create future emotional and intellectual resources.”