The Big 5

I've been kicking around, for awhile now, this idea of the Big 5. That managing our health and happiness requires regular and dedicated attention to 5 key areas:

Nutrition

Movement

Awareness of key values and motivators,

Daily consideration of time stewardship, and

Connection

The Big 5 Self-Assessment, available for free download here , allows the user to consider one's awareness of these domains and commitment to taking good care of his or her physical and mental health. I'm hoping for feedback as I continue to sketch this out and consider clinical applications.

Claiborne Pell and Happiness

Give someone a fish, and he or she will eat for a day....teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime. One of the greatest leadership ideas to come out of Washington was the notion that getting students through college and graduate school creates leverage. Obviously you hope to create a tax payer at a higher level, but i'm also thinking here of Gross National Happiness
- the leverage associated with creating a society of happier, more engaged people.

Former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island Claiborne Pell passed away yesterday. Under his leadership, thousands of students were able to access higher education through the Pell Grant. In fact it's because of grant and student loan programs that I'm able to do what truly makes me happy now.

...now if only they'd taught html classes when I was in school.....

Intro

After decades of focus on pathology, psychology has just recently begun to take seriously the factors that promote human happiness and resilience. Values, friendship – these have not been on the table for serious discussion. The emerging field of positive psychology, however, is taking up the challenge. Determining what makes some people happier than others, and what makes each of us happier at some points than at others.

And there is plenty of sloppy thinking on the topic. My purpose with this blog is offering a review of the best of the scientific literature on happiness. What are the known brain-behavior relationships governing motivation and happiness, and how do concepts such as values map on to these relationships?

I’ve been bouncing these ideas off colleagues and friends for years, and now I hope to interact with you. You’re someone who is interested in brain-based happiness…and I’m interested in that. Speak to me.