If you are new to the Positive Psychology Podcast (or a bit behind) and you are a bit lost why not check out the top 10 of 2015?

Who doesn't want more happiness, optimism and balance in their life? Self-compassion, championed by Dr. Kristin Neff, is one of those things that almost nobody has enough of. We are very self-critical because we're afraid otherwise we might lose our edge. That is however not true so why continue beating ourselves up? In this episode we explore what self-compassion is, why it's often misunderstood and what we can do to get more of it.

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Thanksgiving is over but regardless of the time of the year it's really helpful to be conscious of all the resources that are at our disposal. It provides us with perspective and show us that whatever is bothering us, is not the only thing we have (or lost) in life.

In this episode we talk about 16 categories, some of which we don't usually think about, when thinking about what we have.

If you are unhappy with your own resources you can use this list to build resources the same way people traditionally think about building wealth.

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The holiday season has kicked off and people all around the world are wondering what to do about 'negative' family members. Waiting them to change has not helped so what now? Try to involve them in a strengths-based conversation. See how different the conversation pans out when we start asking more meaningful questions than 'how are you?' I invited Erica Virvo on for this demonstration because her fun and adventurous spirit has led her to experience the kind of life many people dream they could lead themselves (hint: she's not a trust-fund baby).

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Dr. Richard Wiseman is on a mission to make people go to sleep more often and more deeply. You will hear what happens we we sleep, what happens when we don't sleep enough, the benefits of sleeping, how to fall asleep more easily and a little bit about dreams.

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Today we look at authentic leadership and why it's important for anyone, regardless of whether you have a formal leadership position or not. We will examine the benefits of authentic leadership, the qualities these authentic leaders have and how they lead.

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While science is at the heart of positive psychology we sometimes need role models to understand how concepts like curiosity or growing beyond our comfort zones can be applied to our own lives. Nathaniel Boyle from the Daily Travel Podcast talks to us about how travel helps us to grow into our true selves.

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Willpower is essential to to reach our goals. Yet as Kelly McGonigal points out in her book The Willpower Instinct common ideas about willpower are often wrong. In this  episode we look at these misconceptions and how to overcome them.

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What can I do right in love? That's the question Nate Bagley asked himself before he embarked on the Loveumentary project, where he has interviewed over 70 couples who are in functioning relationships. We talk about what it takes, delicate balances and ridding ourselves from unhelpful relationship beliefs.

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In this short episode we look at what flow is and how you can cultivate it. Like last week's episode on mindfulness this is also about the quality of experience.  For more episodes check out http://strengthsphoenix.com/listen

Mindfulness is not just for vegan yoga practitioners or new agey types: CEOs do it (so if they have time you probably do too) as well and many others. This episode will cover what mindfulness is, what it isn't, why bother and how to develop it.

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Positive Psychology is not just interested in happy clappy topics - it's also interested in how we can deal with difficult situations. In this episode I am not sharing research but instead tell the story of the death of my father. It's a taboo subject and the notion that some things can be positive about death is barely ever talked about. I share some personal lessons I learned about death, what I hope will be different and what will be the next time someone close to me dies.

Negative thinking happens in the heat of the moment. How can we change that and what are concrete ways to change the inner dialogue? This is an excerpt from three positive psychology coaching calls designed to illustrate the positive psychology of changing your inner dialogue in action.

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Did you always want to study a foreign language but got discouraged or never even started? Or are you an expat who wants to connect with the locals but struggle? This is a passionate pep talk peppered with positive psychology concepts to help you think about language learning in fresh ways and also practical steps to get you going.

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Therapy with a positive twist: how does it work? How can we bring people to experience powerful breakthroughs and get them out of their heads? What's story and acting got to do with it? Dr. Dan Tomasulo, psychologist, therapist, MAPP and writer explores these questions with us today and gives us a backstage peek into the therapist's office.

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What is empathy, what do we know about it and how do we increase it?

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You will have an opportunity to think about how individualistic you are and which things you prefer to do by yourself.

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People like to talk about values but what are they exactly? And how can something so abstract actually be helpful in our messy daily life?

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What is a positive institution? What sets a good company or school apart from regular institutions? What can you contribute to make the institutions you are involved with more positive?

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Travel is a wonderful way to achieve personal growth. How does it relate to psychological well-being? How does travel allow us to explore and live our values? I will address these questions by sharing my personal take on travel and how it contributes to a more fulfilled life.

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Making positive psychology inclusive is not just a topic that is important for people with disabilities but all of us. Michael Wehmeyer talks about how implementing measures to think about and assist people with disabilities benefits society in surprising ways.

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Ryan Niemiec returns to discuss what mindfulness is, what the benefits are and how we can personalize the practice by tapping into our strengths.

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Emotional intelligence is made up of different skills. We will look at the different skills and how to cultivate them. We will also learn why decision making without emotions might not be as great as we think it is.

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Writing can help us deal with trauma and the negative effects of inhibiting things and keeping secrets. We will explore how writing can be a great coping mechanism. Furthermore examples are given of how writing contributes to positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement.

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A fixed mindset might be what's standing in your way. Learn what a growth mindset is and how to acquire it.

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Constructive journalism is about news that is not junk food to your mind. Based on the work of Cathrine Glydensted we explore what constructive journalism is, how you are impacted by the news and what you can watch out for to ensure a more quality news diet.

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What are high-quality connections? What do they feel like and what benefits do they have? What different lenses exist to make sense of our relationships?

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Based on the work of Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté we will explore the ABC of resilience, thinking traps and how to question them and icebergs.

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Quite a mouthful: what the heck is transcendent behaviour? What happens if we behave that way and what makes us more likely to behave in a transcendent way?

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Based on the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi we will explore the creative personality, conditions that enable creativity and the creative process.

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What kind of questions does positive psychology ask about the body? How can you increase your awareness of your own body? Is self-image just about attractiveness?

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What contributes to feelings of self-worth? What is self-esteem and self-efficacy and how can you get more of it?

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What is beauty? What does biology have to do with it? Of what use is the ability to appreciate beauty in our world? And what about shallow beauty?

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Why bother developing a personal spirituality? How can we engage in personal spirituality?

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What is spirituality, what are its benefits and what is sacred? In this first part we look at what positive psychology knows and doesn't know about spirituality.

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Positive psychology has to be highly practical to be of use. So in this episode I share how I implement positive psychology into daily routines and how it shapes lots of important decisions. I hope that by hearing real-life examples it will get you to think about the different ways in which you can apply the ideas you like in your own life.

How can we make good habits and break the bad ones? Braco Pobric tells us a couple of happiness secrets and relates them to real-life experience.

Positive aging is usually not a topic we care about when we are young. However during this talk with Piers Worth it turns out that what determines positive aging are things that happen often way earlier than we might think.

The proof is in the pudding. So how can we use our strengths and the principles of positive psychology at work? Michelle McQuaid talks to us about how we can recognize strengths in the working day and use them even if our boss is not interested in supporting our strengths journey.

What is courage? What different kinds of courage exist and how can courage be cultivated?

What is hope and why would companies be wise to cultivate it? How do we increase our hope and what can be done to teach kids at school?

'Be yourself' is the kind of advice we hear all the time. But how do you do that? Dr. Maria Sirois talks to us about what authenticity is, what the benefits and dangers are and how we can get started on our journey to a more authentic self.

How can decade-old problems and truly challenging issues be solved? By looking at conflicts which were resolved peacefully the principles of transformative action were discovered. In this episode we will outline how these principles could inform alternative ways of thinking and tackling terrorism.

Back to the basics. What is psychological well-being really and how do you know that you are mentally healthy?