Life Coaching: a positive psychology approach

What is positive psychology?
Positive psychology focuses on strengths and flourishing. It is about taking the average life experience and making it better, making it extraordinary.

Why positive psychology for coaching?
The majority of people get through life, despite ups and downs. There are plenty of people functioning fine, not experiencing noteworthy distress, but who are not really taking full advantage of what life has to offer. They are getting through their days, are lost in their days, subject to a routine they ended up in, not aware of how to relish the time they have, or whatever the case is. These people likely have fun, have relationships, and enjoy things, but it is not what it could be. It is not exceptional. Positive psychology is about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary.

If positive psychology is about fulfillment, maximizing potential, and life satisfaction, and life coaching is for improving yourself and your life, they are a perfect match! Aside from the shared ideas and purposes of positive psychology and coaching, positive psychology uses research. This means that there is scientific evidence showing the effectiveness of strategies, which is very important if you are hiring a life coach and want your coach to be working with you in ways that are effective and yield change. Positive psychology also has a host of research to improve the nature and effectiveness of the actual coaching relationship, too. Lastly, positive psychology complements other approaches to life coaching. It works well in conjunction with a cognitive-behavioral approach, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and neuroscience.

What are some basic ideas of positive psychology?
Positive psychology focuses on what makes individuals and communities thrive; it explores the virtues and psychological traits that lead to flourishing. Positive psychology assumes that people want to leave meaningful lives. The Character Strengths and Virtues book, developed by Seligman and Peterson, identifies the six core virtues of people:  wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence. When developed, these contribute to leading a fulfilling and meaningful life. Additionally, positive psychology evaluates the role of negatives in our lives, and how we can best respond to them to maximize our potential and not let them interfere with our growth or life experience. Grit, a trendy topic during the past few years, comes from the field of positive psychology.