Coaching Blog

The Role of Positive Psychology in Planetary Consciousness

Posted by Julia Stewart

Planetary Consciousness

At the International Positive Psychology Association's 6th World Congress this year, positive psychology pioneer, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi*, gave a talk called, Towards a Planetary Consciousness.

He asked, "What is the contribution Positive Psychology can make to the global society evolving on this planet--which could result either in an unprecedented flowering of life, or in its total extinction?

That's a heavy question for what is often referred to as, "the science of happiness", but it's similar to questions being asked worldwide by thought leaders as the Climate Crisis heats up and critical resources run out. Currently, large percentages of the world's populations are without reliable food and water, while natural disasters are on the rise, and the resulting conflicts, migrations, political turmoil, economic instability, and wars have left many feeling anxious about the future while also mourning what's already been lost.

By the way, this is a massive coaching opportunity: helping people develop the resilience they need so they can flourish in an increasingly difficult future.

Csikszentmihalyi is neither a marketer nor politician. Nor is he a spiritual teacher who promises to help you evolve your consciousness, so there was no soaring rhetoric nor sweeping promises in his talk. He's a scientist who is opening up a conversation on where positive psychology might help help in developing universal values that may help people thrive, without forcing one culture's values upon others. It's unusual even to hear a scientist use the word, "consciousness" because it is so difficult to define.

"Unless we find good solutions, the future will be a pretty bad place to live for our children and grandchildren."

Positive psychology deviates from previous psychological study by looking at what constitutes "the good life", a question usually asked by philosophers. Csikszentmihalyi said scientists need to explore the teachings of spiritual leaders such as Zoroaster and the Buddha to find what works best in today's world and share their findings with the leaders of the future.

Clearly this is an important issue for leadership coaches, who will want to pay close attention to the research that results from this focus. We all will.

 

Thinking about becoming a positive psychology coach? Download the FREE eBook:

 

Free Become a Positive Psychology Coach eBook

 

* If you're not quite sure how to pronounce "Csikszentmihalyi", here's a useful mnemonic: "Chick sent me high."

Topics: future of coaching, Positive Psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Values, Climate Change, become a positive psychology coach, IPPA

Positive Psychology Coaching: Strengths and Flow

Posted by Julia Stewart

Strengths

Positive psychology coaches often work with strengths and the experience of "flow", a term coined by positive psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

A sense of flow occurs when we use our strengths in challenging situations. Within flow, we experience engagement, enjoyment and afterward we wonder, "Where did the time go?" That old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun." is about flow. Read how flow shows up in a coaching session here.

So what are strengths? Well, if you grew up in the 20th Century, you probably are well aware of your weakness, because people back then assumed that was the road to success. For instance, I have ADD, so one of my weaknesses is distractibility. My teachers used to scold me for not paying attention. However, ADD has a few advantages that are genuine strengths. They include flexibility, openness, and the ability to notice things that others miss. The 21st Century shift toward strengths is opening up whole new worlds for people. It certainly did for me!

Our strengths are our innate abilities. They are things that we do so easily that we take them for granted and may even assume everyone possesses the same talents we have. But they don't. We each are endowed with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses that require a individual path to success.

It's long been assumed that working on our weaknesses is the road to success. That can work, but it's hard, slow going, and often unsatisfying. When we focus more on our strengths, improvement tends to be quick, feels easy, is ever so much more fun, and is uniquely ours.

Positive psychology coaches focus on helping clients become aware of their strengths and leverage them for great results. We don't necessarily ignore weaknesses, because sometimes improvement in those areas can be helpful, but strengths get center-stage attention. Much more empowering!

Would you like to discover your strengths? UPenn has several assessments you can take for free. Learn more about strengths and find a link to their web page by clicking the button below. 

Would you like to transform your life or career by leveraging your strengths for more fun and success? Find credentialed positive psychology coaches here.

Visit Positive Psychology Coaching: Strengths

 

Topics: Certified Positive Psychology Coach, Positive Psychology, positive psychology coaching, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, FIND A COACH

Positive Psychology Coaching: How Flow Appears In Coaching Sessions

Posted by Julia Stewart

Flow by VANCUSO

Have you ever participated, as a coach or client, in a coaching session when both the coach and client got on a wave length together that resulted in incredible insights and progress? After which, the client probably felt the coach did something amazing, while the coach may have felt s/he barely did anything, at all. If so, you may have experienced a "group flow" state.

Individuals go into flow states when they use their strengths in challenging situations, but groups of two or more people can also create group flow under specific circumstances. During flow, people are unusually creative, often feel that guidance is coming from without, and they may lose track of time. To learn more about flow, watch this TED video of positive psychology pioneer, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (rhymes with 'chick sent me high'), who coined the term, Flow.

Creativity researcher, R. Keith Sawyer, wrote a fascinating article on group flow for the Greater Good Science Center, based on his study of jazz ensembles and comedians. I've adapted his ideas here to describe the conditions that can foster group flow during a coaching session.

Conditions that promote flow during coaching:

1. A shared goal. In great coaching, both client and coach have a shared intention of moving the client towards achieving an important goal. To do this, the coach needs to let go of any personal goals s/he has to provide value, look smart, or get the client to do what s/he thinks is best. The coach also needs to create a safe, trusted environment for the client.

2. Engaged listening. Both coach and client need to listen deeply to themselves and to each other, putting aside preconceived notions about how the goal should be reached and checking in with each other frequently to make sure they are still on the same page. The coach takes the initiative here, modeling listening with intent, which can trigger the client to do the same. The coach also triggers deep engagement by asking awareness-building questions.

3. Forward motion. Acknowledgment, curiosity, and positivity all keep the session moving forward even when neither the coach nor the client knows exactly where they're headed. This means moving from "Yeah, but" thinking to "Yes, and" thinking, while remaining genuinely curious and avoiding judgments and closed-ended questions that can stop forward movement.

4. Undivided attention. Both coach and client need to be in private, non-distracting environments so they can attend fully to the shared present-moment conversation. Email, smart phones, other people and more can all derail a great coaching session.

5. Freedom and autonomy. Coach and client are equal partners who believe in each other, because the client needs the freedom to be exactly who he is while coaching. Flow emerges when they trust and respect one another enough for the client to find the answers that truly work best for him. 

6. Supportive egos. Sometimes it seems as though the coach and client think together with one mind for a few minutes. To do so, they both need their egos present, but not running the show. Trying to get rid of the ego leads to dysfunction, but too much ego just gets in the way. To move egos aside, trust must be strong enough for coach and client to experience moments of intimacy.

7. Equal partnership. Coaching is different from most professions in that it is an equal partnership between the professional and client. The coach doesn't fix or advise and the client doesn't need to be healed by the coach. This equality fosters full participation by the client, which leads to resourcefulness, resilience and greatness.

8. Unspoken understandings. Coach and client need to reveal just enough information about themselves that they feel sufficiently known by one another. This implicit knowing allows communication to jump ahead quickly, rather than consume time with polite posturings. Hours, weeks, or even months of processing can take place within minutes.

9. Spontaneous conversation. The coach needs to let go of the coaching models and structures s/he learned in coaching school and just coach from the hip, so to speak. While the client needs also to let go and allow flow to occur. That's one of the many reasons why practice and mastery are essential for the coach and why an excellent fit between coach and client makes such a big difference.

10. Risk. Both coach and client need to be willing to fail in order for flow to show up. If they play it safe, many of the above conditions will evaporate. The coach must be willing to explore the unknown even if it means asking cringe-worthy questions, while the client needs to be courageous enough to answer honestly. There is no other way to find the best outcomes. 

The above conditions don't happen automatically. The coach needs to know how to create trust and safety, while navigating the energy of the coaching conversation, in order to create this transpersonal experience. But when done well, coaching is often awe-inspiring.

Want to learn more about coaching and flow? Join the Certified Positive Psychology Coach Program or download the CPPC Fact Sheet below.

 

Get Certified Positive Psychology Coach Fact Sheet

Photo by VANKUSO

Topics: coaching clients, coaching questions, greatness, Certified Positive Psychology Coach, Positive Psychology, positive psychology coaching, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow

Positive Psychology: How Coaching Clients Can Create More Happiness

Posted by Julia Stewart

Coaching with positive psychology

Do you know which types of happiness will create lasting value for your coaching clients? Everyone has a slightly different happiness style. What works for one person may not do it for another. Depending on your happiness style, you may want to master the following to create engagement and flow.

Positive Psychology founder, Martin Seligman has identified 3 happy lifestyles, each more enduring than the last:

  1. The Pleasant Life
  2. The Engaged Life
  3. The Meaningful Life

The engaged life is one in which you're challenged to use your greatest strengths and slip into a brain state called, 'flow'. Great performers, athletes, inventors and more have described this state of flow in which everything else disappears. Turns out, flow is an important element of happiness and flourishing.

Flow is an equally important element of positive psychology coaching, as well. When we create this peak state with our clients, coaching feels easy and client results are amazing. If you learn to coach this way, you will immediately upgrade your coaching results. Fabulous coaching practically sells itself because clients like to share their amazing success with others. Learning what flow is will get you started, but join a class to discover how to do it, yourself.

Flow is very much connected to what you are doing and how you do it. When you master a skill, you have more opportunities to reach flow than when you have just beginner skills. That is why we train our positive psychology coaches to coach masterfully. They have more fun, create incredible outcomes for their clients, and enjoy much more success.

Watch this TEDTalk with the 'Father of Flow': Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to understand how flow is the secret to happiness:

 

 

Learn more about positive psychology coaching and flow:

Learn About Positive Psychology for Coaches

Topics: coaching clients, TED, Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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