Flourish

Martin Seligman is the inventor of positive psychology and a major figure in the well-being movement. This makes him a significant figure in world culture. A happier society requires us to attend much more to the quality of our inner life, and to proven methods for improving it. This is important stuff. - Observer

I was immediately chamred. Seligman's intentions are admirable and exciting. He is consumed by his mission, which is to take psychology on from its traditional role in alleviating misery, and broaden it into positive psychology - the entirely different art of teaching us how to be wiser, stronger, more generous to others, more self-disciplined, and more capable of dealing with difficulty and rejection. The book is full of nuggets about why positive approaches work. Admirable and exciting. - Sunday Times

Since Martin Seligman launched the positive psychology movement more than a decade ago, his methods have attracted a global following, including David Cameron... The rise of 'positive psychology' has been all but unstoppable, with Seligman's book Authentic Happiness its key text... Now, in his book Flourish, happiness is out and well-being, or 'flourishing', is in. - Psychologies

His most personal and boldest book so far... Seligman's book is a paean to applied science, a blue-print for how to translate empirical evidence from the laboratory to the real world... Unlike many authors, he offers detailed and tested solutions as well as compelling arguments for how societies can aim to raise the amount of positive emotion, meaning, good relationships and accomplishment in their citizens... Everyone stands to benefit from his initiatives. If they are happy, flourishing or enjoying well-being, people won't care about the labels that researchers attach to those good feelings. - Nature

Seligman describes several exercises that are easy to do and result in a significant and lasting effect on people's self-reported sense of well-being. (For example, each night, write down three things that went well that day and why.) Coming up with these exercises is high art - the description of their effect is compelling and left me promising myself to do them... readers who persevere will remember many of the points that Seligman made in this book - and will act on at least some of them... Some of his insights could really lead to greater well-being for society as a whole. - Huffington Post

Martin Seligman did the world a service by focusing his profession's attention away from correcting negatives and towards promoting positives...flourishing is to be welcomed. - Financial Times