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A review by tortaorca
Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being by Martin Seligman
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
As I continue my research in understanding positive psychology for work, I've found that many of these books fail to strike that delicate balance of academically digestible, yet not overly pandering. Most of the time you'll see the latter, with loads of lengthy anecdotes explaining why such and such is the case, with these examples almost exclusively focusing on the top 1% of any field. When you cut these stories out, you're left with the same thesis repeating itself ad nauseum for the entire book. My ratings reflect this: even if the theory is exceptional, I cannot forgive how watered-down and overly self-help-y these books tend to be. It's all juice and no pulp.
Flourish by Martin Seligman is not one of those books.
Each chapter shows a unique application for positive psychology rich with intriguing data and the occasional personal story. Refreshingly, these are not about somebody climbing Everest or beating all of Wall Street. Although Seligman is a titan in his field, he does not stray away from the little wins about his walking club, or how gardening with his family. All of this makes Flourish a far more relatable book with less emphasis on how to win life and more so on contemplating it. The contents positive psychology reaches in this book range from insider secrets around psychiatry, the benefits of exercise, and even our mindset around policy-making at the federal level.
Overall, Seligman proves in this book that what he's talking about here is way more impactful than a basic pep talk. He refuses to sacrifice the academic foundations of his research for a higher page count, and the implications of his life's work are at bare minimum, groundbreaking. Give this one a read, it's a rarity in this genre.
Flourish by Martin Seligman is not one of those books.
Each chapter shows a unique application for positive psychology rich with intriguing data and the occasional personal story. Refreshingly, these are not about somebody climbing Everest or beating all of Wall Street. Although Seligman is a titan in his field, he does not stray away from the little wins about his walking club, or how gardening with his family. All of this makes Flourish a far more relatable book with less emphasis on how to win life and more so on contemplating it. The contents positive psychology reaches in this book range from insider secrets around psychiatry, the benefits of exercise, and even our mindset around policy-making at the federal level.
Overall, Seligman proves in this book that what he's talking about here is way more impactful than a basic pep talk. He refuses to sacrifice the academic foundations of his research for a higher page count, and the implications of his life's work are at bare minimum, groundbreaking. Give this one a read, it's a rarity in this genre.