Grow Your Career with Positive Psychology!

Cori Ashworth, M.Ed. C.A.G.S.

Career Continuum

Agenda

• Review Background on Positive Psychology• Identify Positive Psychology Principles for Career

Application• Ways to Make Incremental Change in Your Current

Work• Online Measure for Your Use• Q and A

Positive Psychology Background

Dr. Martin Seligman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

• Started Non-Illness Based Model• Identified Positive Aspects of Personality• Measures Positive Personality, Building a

Body of Literature and Solid Data

Three Levels of Happiness

• Pleasure/ Immediate Enjoyment

• Engagement/Flow

• Meaning/Greater Good/Big Picture

Level 1 Engagement

• Level of everyday enjoyment• Creature comforts• Congenial company• Fun !• Pleasurable activity

Level 2 Engagement

• Conscious activity• Engage in the activity for its own sake• State of Mind-Flow• Flow-Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi, 1990• No sense of time• Sustained focus and determination• Stretches your capacities• Autotelic self in operation

Level Three Engagement

• Use your signature strengths as much as possible- combination of something you like to do and do well

• Apply these strengths where you can in service to support others and organizations

• Combine engagement and meaning for the greatest impact

Ways to Make Incremental Change in Your Current Work

• Identify your signature strengths

• Identify ways to use strengths to accomplish organizational goals and growth

• Apply strengths with teams, colleagues and initiatives with others

• Appreciate the small, good events at work

The Pivot

• Remain centered and watchful; you have the locus of control

• Look for the alternative ways to view events and people (Fortunately, unfortunately exercise)

• Take a moment, and then decide how to move forward; diminish reaction, increase reflection and then initiate action

VIA Questionnaire

• Measures signature character strengths• 24 strengths identified-leadership, bravery, curiosity

are examples of signature strengths• Top 5 are the most important• Transferable to many areas of life

• Website: www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

Next Steps at Your Current Work Site

• Identify your strengths• Identify when/where you use them now• Identify opportunities to use them more• Look for the 3 levels of happiness in your current

work situation• If at 70/30-good level of operation• If not, consider how to increase it or alternatives

Q and A ??????

" You are your own best resource and your own worst enemy. Operate from belief in yourself."

Cori Ashworth

Cori AshworthCareer Continuum

– Career Coaching– Management Coaching– MBTI– Focus on Women in Management