Zach Gould 1/27/19

EDU 120: Book Discussion

Flourish by Martin Seligman

1. Explain Active and Constructive Responding and how it may apply to work we do in class.
Active and constructive responding are when responding to someone being attentive and using
the questions that seek interest and details about what a person is responding to really showing
personal interest in that activity. This can apply to work we do in class because when looking for
a job or internship its good to always show positive interest by asking questions that give details
and show your engagement.

2. Select two exercises discussed in these chapters to increase positive emotion or sense of
wellbeing. Practice them and share what the experience was like for you. How’s this helpful
related to your career planning or our course?

One exercise to increase positive emotion I tried was the signature strength exercise which
helped me rank my strengths to encourage me to use that strength in a new way. One of my
strengths seemed to be zest/passion/enthusiasm which I brought to my exec meeting of my
fraternity to make it more spirited so I would be engaged and focused. Another exercise in these
chapters was the Gratitude visit (although I just played it out in my mind and didn’t write a letter
and deliver it to the person), and thinking of the time my best 3 friends and I wanted to go on a
senior year spring break skiing trip but as 17 year old were too young to book anything and my
one of my friends parents sacrificed their already planned beach vacation and changed it to the
ski trip so they could sign off on our Airbnb and keep an eye on us if anything went wrong. This
thought process made me feel satisfied that others cared.

3. How might the PFA be a helpful tool in understanding career options that are meaningful?
How could this be applied?

The PFA can be a helpful tool in understanding career options by linking your emotional arousal
levels to what you are doing where you are. So, say you are in the Farrell Hall and have high
emotional arousal levels then maybe pursue a career in business, if when in Scales Fine Arts
Center your personal arousal levels are low, or vice-versa.

4. Seligman discusses prosperity. What is different about his view?

Seligman’s view on prosperity is not empirical based off GDP or standardized test scores but
rather promoting general well-being and having this well-being be as important in a person’s life
as the goal of education. His prosperity focuses on positive education and psychological fitness
as much as learning subject matter so that well-being is at the center of education.

5. What is GRIT? Explain the role of GRIT and self-discipline and how these relate to your work as
a student exploring career options? How can this information be applied?
 Grit is the combination of persistence and passion for an objective where as self-discipline is the
character trait that focuses on deliberate practice for an objective. Combined GRIT and self-
discipline are related to a student’s career options because the more that a student enjoys an
objective, their grit and self-discipline will improve, and they will be better at completing that
objective. So, it is crucial to find a sector or position where someone’s grit and self-discipline is
exploited so they do the best at something because they enjoy it.

6. Describe the five “fitness” dimensions included in the GAT. Practice one of the exercises under
Positive Emotions in Emotional Fitness. Describe your experience.

The Global Assessment Tool is a questionnaire to measure the psychosocial wellbeing of soldiers
in emotional fitness, social fitness, family fitness, and spiritual fitness. I practiced the section
positive emotions: the resource builders and thought of a clear example when I felt a positive
emotion. And this was satisfaction from getting a new pledge class as the recruitment chair for
my fraternity. After over a semester of rush I picked the best guys and my job is completed. This
exercise made me smile as I thought of little spirts of satisfaction throughout the process that
concluded by extending bids to the entire new pledge class. Every time I was
smiling/happy/satisfied it was because I knew I was on the right track to achieving my goals.

7. Discuss the elements of “Mental Toughness.” How does Ellis’ model contribute to
development of resilience? Use an example from your own thinking/ experience and walk
through the steps.
The elements of mental toughness contribute to resilience by focusing on optimism training as a
preventative matter before something arises, similarly to the soldiers in the bottom 15% as a
preventative mechanism before being deployed to help cope with potential issues after
returning home. This model contributes to the development of resilience by focusing on
optimistic thinking about possible events. One example of my thinking was when I was a
competitive tennis player and I would play a point poorly and get in my head on why I was
missing shots and this slippery slope leading to multiple double faults in a match. The largest
takeaway from the model is listing the benefits that will follow when the change is implemented
because it would get my mind away from “why do I keep hitting it in to the net” to “how can I
get more spin and for the ball to line up closer to the doubles alley,” this change allows me not
to drag on the error but grow from it to know that I need to change something up and how to
do so.

8. Explain the physical/ biological elements of Optimism. What is the role of well-being and
overall positive health?

Optimism’s health benefits stem from how optimists take action and have healthier lifestyles
because they believe their actions will make a difference where as a pessimist believes nothing,
they can do will help anything. Seligman uses smoking cigarettes as an example as in 1964 the
optimists were the ones who would give up cigarettes to live a happier life. The role of well
being with overall health is shown through the cardiovascular disease optimistic attitudes
survival rate being 11/16 rather than 1/16, so well being impacts overall positive health.
9. Explain the relationship between wealth and happiness.
As Seligman states in chapter 10 “GDP is blind when it comes to whether it is human suffering or
human thriving that increases the volume of goods and services,” so if people are wealthier it
does not necessarily correlate to happiness shown because life satisfaction in the USA has
stayed the same when GDP has tripled in the past 50 years and measures of ill being have
increased. This is also shown as the Forbes richest Americans are as happy as Pennsylvania
Amish.

10. How might people increase their satisfaction in any type of work; give examples from either
personal experience or current experience?

People can change increase their satisfaction in any type of work by adjusting what they care
about to be focused more on well-being. If a person cares about their well being rather than
making a ton of money quickly then they can flourish which will increase health, productivity
and peace. This can easily occur by thinking optimistically so that a person lets opportunities
come and doesn’t shut down ideas before even thinking them through. For example, as a
summer job I taught tennis and one of the best naturally gifted players I taught was too young
to speak and therefore couldn’t talk, complain, or really think, but just played. His older brother,
in comparison to age groups, was atrocious because his negative mindset made it so before he
hit the ball, he was convinced it was not going to land in the court.