Lori Steiner: I've heard you talk about an epiphany. She says it involves your daughter, the famous garden story. And so walk me through what happened, what she told you and where that epiphany came from. STEINER: It really was a momentary epiphany, changed my life both personally and professionally. The first one was that she was absolutely right that I was grouch; worse than that, I was proud of being a grouch.
When Marty Seligman started his long scientific career, psychologists concentrated on studying "misery and suffering" and what made people sad. But Marty wanted to discover what made happy people, well, happy. His research laid the foundations of "positive psychology" and the happiness science you hear week after week in this podcast.
Dr Laurie Santos talks to Professor Seligman about his decades of research; the power of optimism; and how he became less of a "grouch" to improve his own personal happiness.
Marty's latest book, TOMORROWMIND: Thriving At Work – Now and in an Uncertain Future, is OUT NOW.
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