As a student of psychology, I have spent time studying and learning all that I can about the discipline, but never have I come across anything about positive psychology. What little I have learned about the study of positive psychology sparked my interest because I can see the value in this particular area of study.

Typically, when I think of psychology, I think of helping people cure their mental illness and providing help in that regard, as well as looking at and basing aspects of people on the pathology model, but psychology is much more than that.

Psychology was founded on the mission of curing mental illness, but also with the forgotten missions of helping people live fulfilling lives and nourishing high talent. The value of positive psychology is seen in those two other missions.

Positive psychology is about encouraging people to accept their past and be excited and optimistic about their future, while also providing them with the ability to feel content in the present. Positive psychology does this by helping people nourish their social, emotional, and psychological lives, and when someone is thriving in all three areas they are known as flourishing.

I feel that this is important because this grants people the power to bring their life into balance and wield a heightened sense of well-being.

Learning about positive psychology presented me with words to feelings that I, and maybe all of us, have felt before such as flow. Flow is when you are deeply embedded in something that you enjoy, or love, and time slips by.

For me, when I am writing something I am passionate about, hours fly by in what feels like minutes.

Other areas that I experience this is when I am learning something new, or playing a game I like. The concept of flow changes for everyone.

Not everyone will enjoy the same things and that is okay. Positive psychology is geared towards each person as an individual and helping them figure out their strengths. Positive psychology has you look at what you love, what makes you strong, and provides you with the tools to further advance that which helps you thrive and achieve your “good life”, but this is only a taste of what positive psychology is about. I find this concept incredibly interesting because who wouldn’t want to know how to lead a life with heightened well-being by doing something that you love, or makes you feel strong?

Yet, positive psychology is not only about you, positive psychology looks at bringing people together. Instead of having “me” and “we”, positive psychology encourages the concept of “us”. Allow me to explain, instead of simply being focused on ourselves, or the greater good of the group, we instead look at both.

Through people we can find our strengths and our passions, but we can also help them find their strengths and their passions, and we can grow together as a community. We can learn to live in the present and savor the moments of our lives.

In closing, positive psychology provides people with the ability to look at their life and focus on the good, and positive psychology allows people to develop a sense of gratitude for everything positive they have, which leads to a heightened sense of well-being.

For those interested in learning more about positive psychology, the class is currently being taught by Dr. Patricia Rousselo, or as many of her students know her, “Patti.”