Homemade dessert, thankful for safe travel, and happy to save some money on the heat bill.

Positive 1 A homemade pumpkin cake roll Positive 2 The traffic and wrecks on the freeway were terrible I am … More Homemade dessert, thankful for safe travel, and happy to save some money on the heat bill.

6/3/15 – Neighbors, Nieces Dance Recital, and Swamp Cooler

Positive 1 That wind didn’t do any damage to my yard though some of the neighbors weren’t so lucky. Usually … More 6/3/15 – Neighbors, Nieces Dance Recital, and Swamp Cooler

Tow Truck Lifts Spirits

I am so glad about the way our car broke down. My wife and I drove south to Sedona on … More Tow Truck Lifts Spirits

Report from IPPA Conference, Day 2

Day two of the 2nd Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association was simply amazing.  I learned SO much!  At one point I laughed to my friend “Teacher!  My brain is full!”  Here’s a report of the day’s events:

It began with Ed Deci speaking about self-determination and its relationship to positive psychology – in other words: the self-fulfilling prophecy.  He showed scientific proof that believing that you are doomed and things will never get better can actually bring that about.  Using a simple analogy (of my own), if one is drowning and they really don’t think anyone will come to rescue them, they can behave based on this belief by not paddling and dying before help could arrive.  But Deci really wowed the crowd when he reported that studies repeatedly proved that external rewards kill off intrinsic motivation.  For instance, when we try to control our children either by giving them a reward for doing well (the carrot) or punishing them when they do not do well (the stick), we inadvertently are hindering our child’s innate love of learning!  You can bet I will be blogging more about this. Continue reading Report from IPPA Conference, Day 2