by Eleanor Chin, MAPP, Senior Editor, Zone Positive

This is part one of a two-part article

 “Hope is the thing with feathers—that perches in the soul—and sings the tune without words—and never stops at all.” ~ Emily Dickinson

I saw a bumper sticker not long ago that said “Hope is hip.”  Whether you’re a Gen Y or faithful Flower Child, apparently hope is in again.  

 Hope is not only hip, it helps us be more resilient by supporting optimism. Research shows that optimism is a characteristic associated with good physical health, overall happiness, and longer life. Hope comes with ...

by Kathryn Britton, ACC, MAPP

Imagine for a moment that you have a client who is preparing to interview for a new job. Let's call her Janet.  Janet is thinking about ways to impress her prospective employers and make herself stand out so she'll be hired.

But hang on.  How does she know she really wants that job?

Janet is trying to leave a toxic work environment where her boss stands so close when he yells that she can feel his spit hit her face. Her peers rarely greet her, and she feels vaguely in competition with them for opportunities, ...

by Eleanor Chin, MAPP, Senior Editor, Zone Positive

 

International Positive Psychology Association World Congress, Philadelphia

Have you ever felt like you’ve just been witness to a historic event? I mean history-making. As in, a friend of mine was at Grant Park on the night of Obama’s election. Sure, my wedding and the birth of our daughter were big personal landmarks that I’ll never forget. But personal landmarks aside, sometimes you get to be there when history is made.

I feel fortunate to have just attended the historic first gathering of a new international organization in positive psychology—the First ...

by Eleanor Chin, MAPP, Senior Editor, Zone Positive   We’ve created Zone Positive to be one convenient place for coaches to find resources on positive psychology.   So why do we think that positive psychology and coaching make good partners?

Reason 1: Coaching and positive psychology are very compatible. Like a dating service, we matched them based on a few qualities they have in common:

1. Both coaching and positive psychology practitioners build on the foundations of what energizes people rather than trying to fix what’s broken.

2. Both disciplines are based on the belief that the skills leading ...