Did you know that you are a broadcaster and have a lots of influence over the people in your life? Former CBS news anchor turned Positive Psychologist Michelle Gielan discusses how changing what and how we broadcast is crucial for success, happiness and health. If Michelle's message resonated with you, you can get her audiobook Broadcasting Happiness for free if you go through http://strengthsphoenix.com/audible and sign-up for a trial membership.

You can find out more about Michelle at http://michellegielan.com/

If you want to take the success scale go to http://broadcastinghappiness.com/success-scale/

And last but not least if you want to download the manifesto she talked about go to http://transformativejournalism.com/the-manifesto/ . 

If you take your well-being seriously you have to prioritize and manage it. Today I will share how I do this focusing mainly on the tools I use, mostly smartphone apps.

You can find the full list of links on the page Apps to Manage Happiness

In our pursuit of happiness it is easy to become myopic. Why not freshen things up by trying, just for the length of this episode, to achieve utter misery? Randy Paterson is a psychologist and the author of the book How to be Miserable: 40 Strategies you Already use. He will shine a light on some of the strategies we use to be miserable (unless you are of course a regular listener, in which case, I trust, you have kicked most of these habits already ;-).

For more episodes visit

http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

For those of you who finally want to give Audible a try and support the podcast while doing so (at no extra cost to you) check out

http://strengthsphoenix.com/audible

Dan McAdams' work has illuminated how stories shape our identity. Today we dissect the elements of story to unearth the narrative we tell ourselves. Furthermore we will look at a life-stage model and how reaching or missing expected milestones can shape our identity.

You can find more episodes at

http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

To get a free audiobook of your choice check out

http://strengthphoenix.com/audible

Maria Sirois from episode 21 on authenticity returns to the Positive Psychology Podcast to talk about happiness after loss. Maria has written

A Short Course in Happiness After Loss: (and Other Dark, Difficult Times)

We talk about when happiness is appropriate after loss, what we can do when tragedy strikes and how we can support those we love going through a hard time. Maria also mentions Viktor Frankl who has written an amazing book called

Man's Search for Meaning

If you want to hear Maria's take on authenticity check out episode 21.

And last but not least if you need something a bit lighter to listen to after these serious topics you can search for Nicola Yoon's great novel Everything Everything on Audible, download it for free if you sign up to try out Audible's membership (which I have been using since 2006) and support the Positive Psychology Podcast at the same time.

Today we will talk about the philosophy of minimalism. It's not (yet) rooted in psychological evidence but based on what we know about what makes people happy and what doesn't it contains a lot of useful ideas. We will talk about what minimalism is and is not, what the benefits are as well as some guidelines to help you consider as you go about your life.

And in case you would like to learn more about minimalism (I recommend Leo Babauta's The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life) you can grab a free audiobook if you go through my website http://strengthsphoenix.com/audible

More episodes can be found at http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

Why not be brave and leave the first review in your iTunes store?

We will talk about the anatomy of habits, discuss BJ Fogg's work on tiny habits and then address some things which make successful habit implementation more likely. This episode is meant to revisit some of the aspects of the Happy Habits interview episode (number 26) and to add a different approach to habits that is easy and helpful. We will also talk about the obstacles and excuses that can trip you up.

For those of you who want to delve deeper into the topic of habits I can recommend two books:

• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin

If you go through this link you will not only get a new audiobook for free but you will also get the fuzzy feeling of knowing that you sponsored a month's worth of hosting fees.

Comfort and convenience

• We seek comfort through convenience.
• The time that convenience was designed to create for more important things is often taken up by more convenience
• Convenience is a never ending task.
• Our tolerance for discomfort steadily decreases which in turn is related to a lowering of our psychological well-being
• A way out is to allow more risk and failure back into our lives

Consumerism

• The number of ads outnumbers probably all other messages we get every day
• Without thinking about our relationship with consumerism it controls us
• Rethinking consumerism is not about saying goodbye to fun and joy
• It's about aligning what's important to us with how we spend our energy and resources
• This creates room for the great stuff

Antidotes

• gratitude
• savouring
• mindfulness
• thinking about values and what you do and don't do
• creation

Resources mentioned:

The Upside of your Dark Side by Todd Kashdan & Robert Biswas-Diener

Related episodes:

• Positive Money
• Savouring

You can download any Audible book for free (psychology or say the Harry Potter series) if you go through strengthsphoenix.com/audible . I am currently listening to Adam Grant's Originals, Brené Brown's Rising Strong and The Candy Machine by Tom Felling.

Audible does sponsor the podcast so should you decide to go through this link I will get a little something to cover the costs such as hosting at no extra cost to you. I love Audible and have been a customer since 2006 and a member with 1 or 2 books each month since 2010.

For more episodes of the Positive Psychology Podcast click

http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

One of the most interesting ways to implement positive psychology is by using techniques from the arts. You don't have to be a liberal arts college major to use and enjoy these techniques. Shannon Polly and I discuss how acting as if, posture, reading great speeches and improv theatre techniques help her Fortune 500 clients grow personally and develop and stronger executive presence. We also discuss how acting and authenticity relate to each other and have a special fun surprise at the end.

Shannon is a leadership development facilitator, coach, speaker, author and founder of Shannon Polly and Associates, with degrees in both music and drama. She is also among the first 150 people in the world to graduate with a Masters of Science in Applied Positive Psychology.

You can learn more about her work at

http://shannonpolly.com/

Character Strengths Matter: How to Live a Full Live

Shannon mentioned the comedian Yakov Smirnoff in case you're curious what a comedian with a positive psychology degree is like.

Amy Cuddy's TED talk on how body languages influences how we feel.

If you enjoy the talk you can download her audiobook for free if you sign up for a risk free trial at strengthsphoenix.com/audible

Sonja Lyubomirsky The How of Happiness

Michelle McQuaid's Strengths Challenge

You can download any Audible book for free (psychology or say the Harry Potter series) if you go through strengthsphoenix.com/audible

Audible does sponsor the podcast so should you decide to go through this link I will get a little something to cover the costs such as hosting at no extra cost to you. I love Audible and have been a customer since 2006 and a member with 1 or 2 books each month since 2010.

For more episodes of the Positive Psychology Podcast click

http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

Episode 10 was for the guys, this one is for the ladies. Niyc Pidgeon, a positive psychologist who works mainly with female entrepreneurs and I discuss the differences between coaching men and women, when coaching makes sense, self-care and what kind of interventions Niyc uses with her clients to make them even more successful.

Find out more about Niyc at http://www.niycpidgeon.com/

Niyc mentioned this book:

Second Wave Positive Psychology by Kate Hefferon, Itai Ivtzan, Tim Lomas and Piers Worth.

For more episodes of the Positive Psychology Podcast go to

http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen