Martin Seligman

"I want to give you another way to create a durable love vibe in your company—this time, through one-on-one “gratitude conversations.” This is my modification of an exercise called gratitude letters developed by Martin Seligman, one of the fathers of positive psychology. In my version, think of a particular person you work with who deserves your gratitude, and write notes to yourself detailing why you’re grateful. For example, maybe that person is good at solving thorny problems, or is a customer service all-star, or is simply fun to be around and uplifts the tenor of the whole organization."

"When we put our kids to bed at night, we’d ask them the same question many parents do: How was your day? Sometimes, we’d hear the good, sometimes the bad, and sometimes the ugly. Then we met Martin Seligman, and he suggested asking children a slightly different question: What was the happiest moment of your day? We tried it. The change was dramatic—no bad, no ugly, just the good. And maybe because our kids knew the question was coming, they kept their antennas up all day with the expectation that the happiest moment could happen at any time. What an easy way to create an optimistic frame of mind!"

"When that happens, I use one or more of the five techniques in my return-to-center tool-box. They are Albert Ellis’s rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), Aaron Beck’s cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Marsha Linehan’s dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Martin Seligman’s positive psychology, and mindfulness."