What Psychological Research Tells Us About Living Well
The Science of Flourishing: What Psychological Research Tells Us About Living Well is a lyrical, intellectual journey that addresses a timeless and universal question: how can we live better and experience life more fully? With its contemplative tone, the book gently nudges readers towards reflection through real-life examples, helping them connect with both the beauty of fleeting moments and the grandeur of awe-inspiring experiences. It offers warm, uplifting wisdom and points to pathways for creating the conditions of a well-lived life.
Blending discoveries from the science of positive psychology with poetic storytelling, the book draws wisdom from philosophy, lessons from history, and inspirations from nature. It is a whole-of-life inquiry—a prism through which to explore our shared longings for meaning, vitality, and joy.
The book is, above all, a symphony of science in 12 movements offering a gentle, profound promise: life, in all its beauty and complexity, can be lived and celebrated more fully.
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: This is Not a Book on Happiness
- Antifragility: Experiencing the Fullness of Life
Wrong Ways to Get the Right Things in Life
When Self-Help is No Help at All
Positive Psychology and Psychology’s Forgotten Mission
Happiness with a Sprinkling of Suffering
What Does Not Kill You Sometimes Makes You Stronger
Choosing Possibilities Over Positivity - Attentiveness: Cultivating Mindfulness, Flow, and Savouring
Distractions, Dstractions, and More Distractions
The Myths of the Attentive Goldfish and Multitasking
Mindfulness: The Honing of Attention
Flow: The Ordering of Consciousness
Savouring: The Amplification of Positive Experiences
Create Your Life by Crafting Your Moments - Virtues: Celebrating Your Inner Goodness
The Unintended Consequences of Greater Awareness
Not Nearly Ever Enough
Virtues as the Roots of Goodness
Virtues in Action
Strengths in Balance
Celebrating Your Virtues - Identity: Crafting Your Life Story
A Brief History of Storytime
The Self as Fiction
Life-Story Themes
The Coherent, Redemptive Tale of You
The Unwritten Story of You - Resonance: Enhancing Connections with Others
A Symphony and Synchrony of Two
Calls for Connection in an Increasingly Lonely World
Attunement: Creating Connections Through Conversations
Active-Constructive Responding: Capitalising on Goodness
Enriching Your Conversations - Community: Belonging to Groups that Matter
The Fixation on the Self and WEIRD People
Cultures of Community
What It Means to Truly Matter
Why Mattering Matters
The Shared Roots of Our Humanity - Nature: Connecting with the Natural Environment
A Walk in the Woods
Nature’s Healing Effects on the Body
Nature’s Healing Effects on the Mind
Change the Environment and Individual Well-Being Will Follow
Mother Nature Beckons - Meaning: Harmonising Pleasure with Purpose
Counting Down the Weeks
Savouring the Sweetness of Life
Living to Our Fullest Potential
Planting Seeds for Trees We May Never See Grow
Understanding Life Backwards, but Living It Forward - Habits: Creating Rhythms for Vitality
You Become What You Repeatedly Do
A Day in the Life of Some of History’s Greatest Minds
Greatness is a Gradual Slope
Move Like Your Thinking Depends on It
Slumber Your Way to Eureka Moments
Eat Well, Live Better
One Per Cent More, One Per Cent Better - Humanities: Nourishing the Mind with Culture
A Weekend with the Arts
The Positive Humanities
The Museum Effect
A Song for Every Feeling
A Gateway to Infinite Minds
Florebo Quocumque Ferar - Legacy: Being Optimistic, Hopeful, and Audaciously Agentic
The 3,000-Year War
To Better Tomorrows
Agency Unifies and Drives Us
A Reason for Optimism
Rainbows of the Mind
Homo Prospectus Marches On - Transcendence: Experiencing the Extraordinary
A Vista from the Heavens
The Overview Effect
Awe and the Self-Transcendent Emotions
Wisdom and the Wellspring of Human Understandings
The Psychologically Rich Life
The Journey’s End is Also Its Beginning
Conclusion: The End is Where We Began
About the Book Cover and Symbolism
Glossary
References
Index
Eugene Tee, PhD, MAPP, is Professor at the Department of Psychology, HELP University, Malaysia. He holds a PhD in Management from the University of Queensland and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Eugene’s academic and practical work spans both emotions and positive psychology. He is the founder of Emotivity, and the author of The Science of Feelings, recognised by the National Book Awards as the Reader’s Popular Choice and by the National Book Council of Malaysia as one of the 50 Best Malaysian Titles for International Rights.
Basic Information
- 978-629-7646-46-6 (Paperback)
