Tory leader David Cameron says there is more to life than making money, arguing that improving people's happiness is a key challenge for politicians.

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• Tory leader David Cameron says there is more to
  life than making money, arguing that improving
  people's happiness is a key challenge for
  politicians.

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• Economist and Labour Life Peer Richard Layard
  founder-
• director of the LSE Centre for Economic
  Performance
• argues that public policy should be informed by
  what we
• understand about happiness.
• Author of Happiness, Lessons from a new science
  (2005)

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• Dr. Martin Seligman one of
• the key figures behind the
• Positive Psychology
• movement.
• Author of
• Authentic Happiness(2002),
• Learned Optimism (2006)

www.authentichappinness.com
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Happiness is?
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So what?
How does this fit? What does this mean for us
as educators? How does it map onto current
priorities/policy? How does it/could it relate
to UFA practice?
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Create all the happiness you are able to create,
remove all the misery you are able to remove.

• Jeremy Bentham 1830

The principle of Greatest Happiness, any
decision, public or private can be judged by its
impact on those affected by it. The right
decision is the one which leads to greatest
overall happiness.
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Whoever said money cant buy happiness isnt
spending it right.(Lexus Autos car Ad.)

• Average income has doubled since 1950s
• Increase in standard of living
• Better health
• Shorter working week
• Butwe are no happier.
• In fact depression, alcoholism and crime have
• increased since WWII.
• 15 of US population have experienced major
• depression by age 35. (research quoted in
  Layard200 )

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Happiness is not just subjective

• Damage to R frontal lobes produces elation
• Damage to L frontal lobes produces depression
• When good feeling is experienced there is
  activity in L frontal lobe.
• When bad feeling is experienced there is activity
  in R frontal lobe.

Subjective reporting of mood tallies with brain
scans
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So, what makes us happy?

• Family relationships
• Financial situation
• Work
• Community and friends
• Health
• Personal freedom
• Personal values
• ? over last 50 years

Age, gender, IQ and education are shown to have
negligible effects
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Everything can be taken from a man but one
thing, the last human freedom - to choose ones
attitude in any given set of circumstances. Vikt
or Frankl
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Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on
the optimist as the pessimist, but the optimist
weathers them betterthe optimist bounces back
from defeatand picks up and starts again. The
pessimist gives up and falls into depression.
Because of his resilience, the optimist achieves
more at work, at school and on the playing field.
The optimist has better physical health and may
even live longer. Seligman Learned Optimism
(2006) p207
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The aim of positive psychology is to begin to
catalyse a change in the forms of psychology from
a preoccupation only with repairing the worst
things in life to also building positive
qualities. Seligman and Csikszentmihaly (2000)
From distress, disorder and dysfunction To Well
being, health and optimal functioning
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The waxing of the self ? choice ? expectation ?
dissatisfaction The waning of the commons ?
family unit ? religion ? state
The only way out is to either strengthen the self
and/or change the balance between the individual
and the common good.
Seligman (2006)
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What do you think when things go wrong?
How do you explain it to yourself?
Temporary it wont last forever Specific it
affects just this External its due to external
circumstances
Permanent it will go on forever Pervasive it
affects the whole of my life Personal its
entirely my fault
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The ABC model
Adversity how we react to adversity over time
turns into Beliefs these beliefs may
become so habitual we dont realise we hold
them and they have Consequences perhaps we give
up, become dejected, or maybe we take
constructive action.
Certain kinds of beliefs set up the giving-up
response, it can become a vicious circle.
Pessimistic explanations set off passivity and
dejection, optimistic explanations energise.
The ABC model was developed by Albert Ellis (1979)
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4 steps to take

• Realise the link between A, B and C.
• Try to catch yourself doing it.
• Distract and Dispute - deal with the pessimistic
  beliefs
• Distraction - think of/do something else.
• Dispute - much more effective long term. Argue
  the case!
• EVIDENCE? Whats the evidence for this belief?
• ALTERNATIVES? Is there a less destructive way to
  look at this?
• IMPLICATIONS? Decatastrophise - is it really
  that bad?
• USEFULNESS? Is this belief useful? (It may be
  harmful)

4. Energise - re-look at what happened in a more
positive way
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So what?
How does this fit? What does this mean for us
as educators? How does it map onto current
priorities/policy? How does it/could it relate
to UFA practice?
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A philosophical shift?

• Learning how to
• trust
• collaborate
• be optimistic
• be resilient
• play to strengths
• have fun
• form lasting relationships