They are called a persons best friend, they give a flight to our imagination, a soul to the universe. Why do you think books are called all of these things. My friends who are avid book readers tell me that they could not possibly imagine their lives without books. They say that the smell of a new book brings them happiness which is unparalleled. I am an avid reader myself and i can vouch for the fact that they are indeed ones best friends. I think for everyone a book means something different. For me it creates a universe which takes me away from the harsh realities. What does it mean to you? I have always loved the fiction books and can never understand how these amazing writers write such books. The genre may differ it can be romantic, thriller or haunted but they are definitely going to take you away from this world. What does a fiction book really mean? Webster Dictionary defines Fiction books as “Books written by the action of feigning or creating with imagination.” I am sure all you book readers must have already read a number of books but for all those who haven’t I am writing an article wherein I am going to state 12 books which according to me and some of the others avid readers have suggested :

1. Thousand Splendid Suns- “A man’s heart is wretched, wretched thing.It isn’t like a mother’s womb. It won’t bleed, it won’t stretch to make room for you” This gem by Khaled Hosseini is the first book i would really suggest you all to read. It makes you peep into lenses that speak of true narratives. Hosseieni will make you go through a journey of mixed emotions. One of my friends suggested this book, because it made her feel an unmatched pain that pinched her badly. The book helps you carve a portrait of life by drawing parallels between two different women who ironically meet at infinity. When i read this book at many moments I literally had tears in my eyes.
2. Battle of Bittora- This book by Anuja Chauhan is a witty,quirky, fresh and spicy book. It has all the drama of a Bollywood movie, romance of a chick-flick, humorous satire of north Indian Political setting, glamor of advertising world, where the author comes from. Its a story of a 25 year old girl Jinni, who is suddenly brought into the political arena and her amateur yet adventurous take on the how abouts of Indian politics. A romantic comedy that has plenty of humour and Bollywood “masala”, is perfect to suit the mood for a light comic read. So all the Bollywood freaks like me go ahead and buy yourself a copy of this comic book.
3. Jane Eyre- “I am no Bird and no net ensures me, I am a free human being with an independent will” Whoever has read this book knows why this couldnt have been let out from this list. This book written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte is still considered to be one of the best books to have been written till date. Its a book that implicitly questions several problematic social structures and conventions of the Victorian Period (such as those related to patriarchy,race, oriental gaze, womens agency etc.) and it gives us one of the most fearless female protagonists who isn’t perfect, but who has the potential to voice and complicate these important concerns.
4. Interpreter of Maladies- Jhumpa Lahiri an Indian American author has written this book with such intelligence it still baffles me. I read this book last year and instantly fell in love with this book. Its a book collection of nine short stories each with a different protagonist. Its a book everyone can resonate with. The book is about the lives of Indians and Indian Americans who are caught between the differing values and cultures which they had inherited and the new world. All the stories are really good but i especially like the Real Durwan one. Jhumpa Lahiri won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for this book so you can only imagine how wonderful the book must have been.
5. Gone Girl- “There are two sides to every story”. If you have seen the movie, the book is even better. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn has been one of the latest obsessions i have had. The book is a thriller novel which keeps you at the edge wherein you keep thinking as to why did the main protagonists husband kill her. The plot twists and the suspense which keep hitting you time and again make this book a must read. The book focuses on the devious media, the faltering relationship of a couple who were madly in love once and dishonesty.
6. Train to Pakistan-Khushwant Singh- For all those wondering minds Train to Pakistan is a historical novel written by Khushwant Singh which traces lives following the Partition of 1947 in a small village just at the edge of the border dividing Pakistan and India. Its is the most subtle portrayal of love, jingoism, death and above all, of “man’s:infinite potential to do good.This book has to be read by every fiction lover out there according to me. Khushwant singh writes simply but a strong poetic undercurrent of history resonates throughout the book. He is able to bring the naughts of war while teaching as a powerful history lesson in just over a hundred pages, which is what it makes it a modern  Indian classic.
7. Alice in Wonderland: You all must be wondering what this childhood novel is doing on this list, I had to mention this book since its something I still love and still would love to watch the movie or read this book. If you ask me in the Fantasy Genre which book a person must read I will say its Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was probably the first book which i read as a child and I have good memories about it. The pictures and everything make me reminiscent of my childhood. I love it specifically because it is so fascinating. A potion that makes one shrink in size and cakes that make one grow beyond normal. And the whole character development of Alice. Also the specific characters that play a huge role in the story, the hatter, the hare, the queen, the card soldiers, were always so fascinating to me and they still are.
8. 2 States: Chetan Bhagat- You can hate him or you can love him. I may not be a big fan of Chetan Bhagat but i have to admit 2 states is one book i absolutely loved reading. Its a story of 2 people Ananya and Krish, coming from 2 very different cultures and states namely Tamil Nadu and Punjab  who fall in love with each other and decide to get married. But for that they have to convince their parents first who just wouldn’t accept a person from a different culture to enter their family. Chetan Bhagat brilliantly portrays the cultures of these two states, relationship of Krish with his father and the college love. It also depicts the importance of family approval in indian marriages and just resonates with our feelings. If you are looking for a light hearted romantic novel I would say give this book a try, I am sure it won’t disappoint you.
9. Steig Larsson’s Trilogy: This trilogy with three novels ‘The girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, ‘the girl who played with fire’ and the ‘the girl who kicked the hornets nest’ makes for a scintillating must read for anyone who is interested in the crime and mystery genre. With an unconventional but genius protagonist, the twists and turns of the plot make for a gripping read, with the suspense building up with each part of the trilogy. The series revolves around Lisbeth Salander, an eccentric but gifted computer hacker and Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist, with the two of them teaming up to bring you an amalgamation of secrets, deception and crime. I know you all must be wanting to get the books now itself, go ahead and don’t miss on it.
10. To kill a Mockingbird- “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen For” This novel by Harper Lee is the book i currently have in my hands day in and day out. One of my friends recommended it to me and trust me you have to read this book. Its one of those books which you must read atleast once in your life. Harper Lee in this book explores the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The book focuses on the individuals gut instinct of right and wrong and the theme of morality runs throughout the book one thing Atticus one of the books protagonists makes sure to imbibe in his children and uphold.Everyone who reads this book is sure to take something back with him/her. The book teaches us important life lessons which most of the novels of today wont have. Thats why I would suggest you all to buy it its for just 200 bucks.
11. Sherlock Holmes Series: I know Benedict Cumberbatch is hard to resist and so i won’t ask you all to not watch the tv series but people the book series is even better. This classic series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has to be in the bucket list of any fiction junkie. Set in Victorian England, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the intuitively brilliant private investigator and his friend, biographer and sidekick, Dr. Watson, is sure to get your adrenaline rushing. The entire series, consisting of 4 novels and 56 short stories is worth a read and is bound to leave you awestruck at Holmes fantastic abilities for logical deduction and his astute use of forensic sciences. Despite Holmes being dispassionate and cold, one cannot help but admire and the supremely confident detective for his vast knowledge of crime and forensic sciences coupled with his sheer intelligence and determination making him into a formidable force.
12. Harry Potter series- How could i leave this piece of gem by J.K Rowling out of this list. A book which every person got hooked to, be it be a class 5 student or a woman aged 40. This series is something we all have loved watching and loved reading. I am a third year student and I still have many of classmates reading the whole series for probably the fourth or the fifth time. With the recent revelations of the Potter family by J.K Rowling I am sure reading the whole series is going to be even more fun. The sheer brilliance with which the author portrays this magical world of Hogwarts Witchcraft is commendable. Haven’t all of us once in our life had this wish of going to Hogwarts and meeting friends like Hermoine and Ron and fighting Voldemort? I often wonder how she must have written all those spells and the Parsel tongue. The magical creatures and the characters are portryed beautifully and the book gives a detailed account of the past and present of all the protagonists, not leaving us with any doubts. The popularity of this series throughout the world just affirms my reasons of having it in the list. You all have to buy this series no matter how expensive it is because worth it.

Bonus Book- Game of thrones Series 🙂

I hope i was able to motivate you to buy at least one of these books and give it a read, because its something that you are going to keep with yourself throughout your life and cherish it forever. Go ahead and buy them, read them no matter how mundane your life has become or how tiring the days are, books are there to make you relax and forget about the harsh realities of life.

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Creativity has been defined by Webster as “the ability to make new things or think of new ideas”. We have often been asked in our interviews how creatively can you solve this problem? Have you ever wondered why they ask this question? I often wonder why we are asked this question since i am pretty bad at coming up with creative ideas, but now i have come to realise its importance. What do you think will happen if an organisation hires people low on creativity will there be any growth in the organisation, all the people will come up with the same ideas and after point these ideas will become redundant leading to the decline of the organisation.

How creativity is conceptualised and the potential of creativity varies from people to people.Some people are highly creative while others are not. The field in which they express creativity may also differ, some may display their creativity in dance, while others may display it in music. People who do inventions are also called creative, coming up with a novel solution to a problem also implies creativity. When we think of creativity people such as Thomas Alva Edison, Henry Ford, Dhirubhai Ambani come to our mind.  I have seen people often making this mistake of correlating intelligence with creativity. They believe that people who are more intelligent are likely to be more creative. However researches have shown that isn’t true.

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I have discussed about Psychological Well being in my previous article. In this article I will be discussing about Social Well being and Emotional Well being. First i discuss about social well being followed by a discussion on emotional well being.

An individual is never separate from his/her surrounding the society in which he she lives. Social wellbeing refers to the ability to deal effectively and adapt and adjust successfully with the environment. The ability to sustain relationships over long durations also suggest social well being.

Social well being takes into account not only the individual characteristics but also the social surroundings of the individual. The possible dimensions of social well being include the following:

1.  Social Acceptance: Just like self acceptance which is the acceptance of both the good and bas aspects of ones personality, social acceptance is the acceptance of the people in general. Having positive attitudes towards people, acknowledging others and accepting the other people despite others complex and perplexing behaviour. People scoring high on this dimension believe that other people are capable of kindness and do not expect anything in return for their good deeds. they hold favourable views of human nature and feel comfortable with others. People who score low on this dimension believe that people do not care about other peoples problems.
2. Social Actualisation: Social actualisation is the individuals evaluation of the potential of the society. Socially actualised people care about and believe society is evolving positively. They believe that they are potential beneficiaries of the societal growth. They firmly believe that the society has the potential to grow. An individual who is not socially actualised believes that the society has stopped making progress and hasn’t improved for people like me.
3. Social Contribution: Social Contribution as the name suggests is the individuals evaluation of whether he is a socially vital member. It refers to the degree to which an individual believes that their contributions are valued by the society and that they lead to welfare of the society. People scoring high on this dimension believe that they have something valuable to give to the world. While a person who scores low on this dimension is likely to have believes such as “I have nothing important to contribute to the society.”
4. Social Integration: It is the evaluation of an individual of the quality of ones relationship to his or her society and community. It is the extent to which people feel that they share something with their neighbourhood, that the society reflects their beliefs and values.Feeling a part of the community, thinking that they belong and share commonalities with the community. A person scoring high on this dimension feel close to other people in my community, believes that “my community is a source of comfort”. A person scoring low on this dimension is likely to have beliefs such as “I don’t feel i belong to anything I’d call a community.”

Emotional wellbeing consists of perceptions of avowed happiness and satisfaction with life, along with the balance of positive and negative affects. This threefold structure of emotional wellbeing consists of life-satisfaction, positive affect, and the absence of negative affect (Diener and Suh, 1996).

Emotional well being consists of a number of aspects, which are as follows:

1. Positive Affect: In order to understand what the terms positive and negative affect means its also important to understand what “Affect” means. Affect is a persons immediate physiological response to a stimulus and it is typically based on an underlying sense of arousal. Positive affect refers to ones level of pleasurable engagement with one’s environment. It involves the experience of feelings such as enthusiasm, joy and happiness for life. An individual scoring high on Positive affect is likely to experience higher enthusiasm and energy levels, interest, joy and determination whereas people scoring low on this dimension are likely to experience lethargy and failure.

2. Negative Affect: It’s a general factor of subjective distress, which includes features such as negative mood states including fear, anxiety, hostility. There are feelings, which suggest that life in undesirable and unpleasant.

3. Life Satisfaction: while the positive and negative affect dimensions refer to the emotional aspects of emotional well being, Life satisfaction refers to the cognitive judgemental aspect of it. Shin and Johnspn (19’78) define life satisfaction as “a global assessment of a person’s quality of life according to his chosen criteria”. A person scoring high on this dimension is likely to feel a sense of contentment, peace and satisfaction from small discrepancies between wants and needs with accomplishments and attainments. Life satisfaction refers to the overall satisfaction in domains such as work, home, neighborhood, health, intimacy, finances and parenting.
4. Happiness: When we ask someone what happiness means to them they may come up with a variety of answers, people may identify happiness with a number of things which are likely to be very diverse. However according to positive psychologists happiness is characterized by love, satisfaction, pleasure and joy. Happiness is an important determinant of a persons emotional wellbeing.

Emotional Wellbeing is very important since a person who is not emotionally healthy is likely to be unhealthy even physically. They are likely to suffer from a number of issues such as:

• Low self esteem 
• Low Self efficacy
• Inability to enjoy life fully 
• Inability to maintain healthy relationships
• Suffering from health issues such as heart diseases

In order to achieve high levels of emotional well being the person should be encouraged to adopt lifestyle which is healthy and positive such as going for regular exercise, interacting more with people, facing the situation in hand instead of running away from them, avoiding junk food and anxiety foods (Chocolates, chips etc) when suffering from high levels of tension and rather dealing with it, discussing problems with people we can trust.

Keyes (2009) is a researcher who has done extensive research on wellbeing suggests that complete mental health can be conceptualised via combinations of high levels of emotional well-being, psychological wellbeing, and social wellbeing. Individuals with these high levels of wellbeing are described as Flourishing and those with low levels are termed as Languishing. A person scoring high on all three dimensions of well being are likely to have a positive life at school, home and work.

Thus its important that we strive towards achieving all three kinds of wellbeing.

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As i read more and more on positive psychology I am faced many a times with this term known as well-being. Well being is a multi-dimensional aspect with various meaning being assigned to it by various people. So as always i decide to look into the meaning that the Webster Dictionary gives to this word, which is “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.” Well being is so diverse and an important determinant of our lives. Your career well-being, financial-well-being,physical wee-being are important in determining the kind of life you live the things you hold important in your lives.

Wee-being may be broadly classified into three major categories which are as follows:

• Psychological Well-being
• Social Well-being
• Emotional Well-being

Because these are very diverse in their own sense i will be explaining all in 3 different articles each focusing on one of these three types of well being. In this article i would talk about psychological well-being. Psychological well-being refers to the well being of the Psyche that is our mind. People have often equated life satisfaction with positive well being. However psychological well-being is not so simple. It encompasses a number of differing aspects. Carol Ryff(1989) has often been considered as the pioneer of research on psychological well-being.

After intensive research Ryff suggests that some of the favourable outcomes described by positive psychologists can be integrated into an integrated model of psychological well-being. This model of well-being has been investigated in numerous studies and the findings of the study reveal that all of the following six dimensions are independent though they are correlated constructs of well-being. The six dimensions of psychological well-being are as follow:

Personal Growth

This involves having feelings of continued development and potential, feeling increasingly knowledgeable and effective and being open to new experiences. A person scoring high this dimension would have feelings such as “I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how i think about myself and the world”, “For me life has been a continuous process of learning, changing and growth”.A person scoring low on this dimension has a sense of self-stagnation, feelings of inability to develop new attitudes or behaviours.

Self-acceptance

This dimension involves possessing positive attitude towards self, acknowledging and accepting the multiple aspects of life. A person scoring high on this dimension would have thoughts such as “I like most parts of my personality”, “when i look at the story of my life, i feel pleased with how things have turned out so far”. A person who is not self accepting would be dissatisfied with oneself, feel disappointed about many achievements in life.

Purpose in life

This dimension i am sure we are very familiar with . We all have a purpose in life, for some its not clear though or they may not have any purpose in life. People with a purpose in life have goals and a sense of direction in life, for them the past is meaningful and hold beliefs that give purpose to life. Low scorers on this dimension feel directionless have no outlook or beliefs that could give life a meaning.

Autonomy

In simple words autonomy refers to independence. People who are high one this dimension are self-determining, independent and regulated internally and they don’t follow the societal standards blindly and would evaluate themselves by personal standards. People who lack a sense of autonomy are often concerned with the expectations of others, evaluation of others is really important to them. They would easily confirm to societal pressures.

Environmental Mastery

This dimension involves feeling competent and able to manage a complex environment and the ability to choose or create a personally suitable community. A person high on this dimension thinks “In general, I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live”. A person scoring low on this dimension lacks a sense of control over the external world, they lack a sense of meaning in life.

Positive relations with others

It’s absolutely important that for a person to have high psychological well being they also have a good social support and fulfilling relationships. A person who scores high on this dimension is likely to have warm, satisfying and trusting relationships, they are capable of strong empathy, affection and intimacy. Low scorers are likely to be frustrated in interpersonal relationships, are not willing to make compromises to sustain important ties with others.

Thus its important for all of us to integrate all of these in our lives to the best extent possible, and i hope you are successful at it.

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In my previous article on wisdom, I talked about how wisdom has been regarded as one of the cardinal virtues by scholars all along. In this article i will talk about another of the cardinal virtues known as COURAGE. The Webster dictionary defines courage as the mental or the moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand fear, danger and difficulty. Giving an age-old definition of Courage by Aristotle- Aristotle defined it as “the disposition to act appropriately in situations that involve fear and confidence- a rationally determined mean between cowardice and foolhardiness. We can see that courage has always been considered important in a persons life. I would also like to provide a psychological definition of courage as given by O’Byrne et al, (2000) “Dispositional psychological courage is the cognitive process of defining risk, identifying and considering alternative actions, and choosing to act in spite of potential negative consequences in an effort to obtain ‘good’ for self or others, recognising that this perceived good may not be realised.”

Like wisdom, courage is considered to be important in many cultures. Reading the works of the Eastern philosophers and western thinkers we see that even the wisest people in the history of the world marvelled at courage. Why do you think courage is so important in ones life? Do you think the soldiers of our country would be able to fight at the borders if they didn’t have any courage, the women going through domestic violence be able to stand against it? The answer is no. It wouldn’t have been possible. It is important because it enables people to face their challenges. The conception of courage varies from people to people. A study conducted by O’Byrne, Lopez and Petersen(2000) found that there was a considerable variation in the meaning people assigned to courage. Some perceive it as an attitude while some see it as a behaviour. 3 types of courage has been identified by psychologists which are as follows:

Physical Courage: this is the type of courage that involves the attempted maintenance of societal good by the expression of physical behaviour grounded in the pursuit of socially valued goals. The kind of courage displayed by a soldier fighting for his country.

Moral Courage : it is the behavioural display of authenticity in the face of discomfort of disapproval or rejection.

Vital Courage : This refers to the perseverance through a disease or disability even when the outcome is ambiguous. People who actively fight cancer or a disease which has an uncertain outcome are believed to display Vital Courage.

So you may ask what actually determines Courage or what leads to courage? I am going to write about a certain factors that have been found to lead to courage. They are :

• Courageous behaviour is said to follow the identification of a threat after which there needs to be shift in the thinking of the individual as something that can be solved from as something that can never be solved.
• Behavioural expectations of an individual, the role models a person has in her life and the value systems a person holds also determine if, when and how courage unfolds.
• Personality traits of an individual also acts as important determinants of courage. People with a personality trait of social responsibility, empathic concern and risk-taking as well as altruistic moral reasoning determine whether a person becomes courageous or not.
• Hannah et al, 2007 have also given a model to explain how courageous behaviour develops. they state that factors such as the perception of risk is impacted by external constructs such as social forces and positive states like hope, efficacy, or the experience of positive emotions as well as internal characteristics of an individual such as opens to experience and values and beliefs such as valour, loyalty. Hannah et al posit that these factors have a collective effect on how risk is perceived and whether courageous behaviours are exhibited. They also state that through the experience of these courageous behaviours the individual may develop a courageous mindset.

Anne Frank, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, were all people who exemplify courage and inspire us. Thus its important for us to remember these words said by Rabindranath Tagore:

“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them”

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We have often heard people complimenting others saying that he is a very wise person that is why he is so successful in life. My parents have often told me to be wise when making decisions. What does this term wise really mean? Does it mean experienced or does it mean intelligent? Baltes and his colleagues(1990) define wisdom as the “ways and means of planning, managing, and understanding a good life” In simple words it would mean “It is an expertise in conduct and meaning of life.” I would like to give examples of wise people we have come across over the years: Mahatma Gandhi, Socrates, Mother Teressa, Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and even our beloved Oprah Winfrey.

Some philosophers and theologians consider it to be one of the four cardinal virtues (along with courage, temperance, and justice). It is considered as a cognitive and motivational disposition that in itself designates not only fitness for individuals achievements but also the idea of convergence of individual goal achievements with becoming and being a good person from a communal and social-ethical point of view. It can impact human choices and fuel pursuits that lead to an enhanced personal functioning and communal good. It like all other virtues is defined differently in different cultures.  Though some similarities exist across cultures, followers of Western and Eastern ideology differ on their views of what makes someone wise. In eastern cultures the emotional aspects take precedence over the cognitive aspects whereas in the western cultures the cognitive aspects is chosen over the emotional aspects. Thus personal qualities such as compassion, open-mindedness, humbleness, and others may be a part of a description of a wise person in the eastern cultures, while intelligence, problem-solving and planning may be more emphasised in Western Culture.

 Development 

How does one then develop it? Many of us  feel that wisdom comes with age, i.e. a persons age is directly proportional to the level of wisdom. Undoubtedly our grandparents are much more wiser than us. But is it only age? Psychologists offer different view points on what determines wisdom. Eric Erikson emphasised that wisdom is gained through resolving conflicts, especially those conflicts that involve integrity and despair.Theorists such as Sternberg(1998), Baltes (1993) however suggest that wisdom builds on knowledge, cognitive skills and personality characteristics and that it also requires an understanding of culture and the surrounding environment. wisdom grows as people learn to think flexibly to solve problems and such problem solving entails recognising ideas according to place and culture. Also creativity, openness to experiences, motivation and psychological mindedness determine Wisdom of an individual. Studies by Baltes and his colleagues also indicate that people who discuss dilemmas with loved ones and others and then are allowed the time for reflection show increased wisdom-related performances.

Wise people and their Characteristics

What characterises a wise person? The following characteristics have often been agreed upon to characterise a wise person:

1. Creative
2. Open-minded
3. Compassionate
4. Reflective
5. Willing
6. Non conformist
7. Non selfish
8. Patient
9. Disciplined
10. Humble

In the end I would like to conclude by quoting Aristotle who stated that:

“KNOWING YOURSELF IS THE BEGINNING OF ALL WISDOM” 

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When talking about the concept of Optimism one usually thinks back to the old question of whether you view the glass as half empty or half full. The ones who answer the former are labelled as pessimists. And the ones who happen to answer the latter are deemed as optimists. But optimism in more than how one views a glass of water. It is more than an academic or philosophical concept. Optimism is worldview, which believes that this world that we live in is the best of all the worlds. And such a worldview is not only very much learnable, but is also something that is very much beneficial when learnt. But before I get to that, it is important to understand the contrasts between pessimism and optimism.

Martin Seligman in his 1990 book, “Learned Optimism”, highlighted this vital difference between how pessimists and optimists view their respective worlds. He talked about them in terms of explanatory styles, as in how different people will explain different situations or challenges. The three main points here are, permanence, pervasiveness and personalisation.

Now to the benefits of optimism. Optimistic people have healthier hearts and better cholestrol. A 2013 study from the Havard School of Public Health proposes that optimism may protect against cardiovascular diseases as well as lead to higher density of lipoprotein cholesterol, which is a good cholesterol. Optimists also handle stress more smoothly and achieve more in life. According to a study conducted by “positivity” researcher Barbara Fredrickson, people who were made to engage in public speaking had heart rates return to normal quicker when they were exposed to a positive video beforehand. Optimistic people also have better immunity. University of Kentucky professor, Suzanne Segerstrom tracked first year law students, for repeated immunity checks, as they went about their college life. She discovered that students who showed optimism had better cell-mediated immunity and the ones who didn’t have poorer cell-mediated immunity. Optimism is also linked with reduced levels of strokes. A survey conducted between 2006 and 2008 by the Health and Retirement Study, found that with every point increase in optimism, there was a 9% decrease in acute stroke risk. People who are optimistic regulate emotions better and are less prone to depression and PTSD. In his study on war veterans, earthquake victims and other people surrounded by stress, Dr. Dennis Charney discovered this remarkable result. Finally, optimistic people tend to live longer. Dr. Nir Barzilai of the Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research reveals so after a series of studies on ageing and optimism. This has also been corroborated by many other researches, most notably by Martin Seligman himself.

So, now that I have sufficiently listed out the benefits that optimistic people all over the world seem to enjoy, it is vital that I stress upon the fact that I made earlier. Unlike a lot of other personality traits, that are usually innate and often persist over a lifetime, optimism is something that anyone can learn. In fact training oneself to look at the brighter side of life is a very simple process indeed. Here I will list out two tricks that I learnt from a person called Dennis Waitley, who has been an audio programme called, “The Psychology of Winning”. Dennis Waitley has worked with several high-profile athletes and other professionals and advocates the following two tricks as vital for developing an optimistic outlook.

1. The first is very simple, don’t compare yourself to anyone who has something better than you. People often make themselves feel bad by comparing themselves to someone in their life who has it better that themselves. Be it someone who gets a promotion before you do or someone who has a better car. Such a negative comparison is a guaranteed way of making you feel unhappy and downright pessimistic.

Instead of thinking about the people who are ahead of you, try to think about people who are behind you. Compare your situation with someone who has it worse than you in their lives. This is a warranted method for manufacturing optimism in one’s life. So, if a fellow co-worker gets a bonus, don’t think about him or her and compare your situations, instead compare it with people who have salaries less than you.

1. The second trick is to think about how far along you have come. Usually when faced with a difficult or challenging task, people become pessimistic by focusing on all the things that they have to accomplish yet. Instead of looking at the amount of work you are still left with, concentrate on how much you have already covered. The CEO of Levis Strauss used to keep a book where he would list down the accomplishments of his company. He recounted this as one of the major motivators of his life.

As you can see, optimism is not just a simple analogy about whether a glass is half-full or half-empty, nor is it about making lemonades from lemons. It is a way of life. A world view, which scientifically leads to people leading happier and longer lives. I end this article with one of my favourite quotes on optimism, a quote by Dr. Suess,

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

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The most commonly known definition of Resilience is “Bouncing back”. We all our told to never take stress when faced with an adversity, we are told to bounce back. But have you ever asked the question bounced back to what; from what?

Herbers and Reed(2009) define resilience as ” a class of phenomena characterised by patterns of positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity and risk.” From this definition we can infer two things about resilience:

1. there needs to be a significant adversity or risk that the person faces. A person won’t be called resilient if he/she is able to face his exams. But a child who has faced from a lot of physical abuse and social deprivation and still is able to lead a healthy and successful life will be called resilient.
2. Also the second aspect is that the person should be judged as doing at least okay with respect to a set of expectations for behaviour.

We see many people going into severe depression or suffering from significant stress which is very disheartening. But we have also heard of stories wherein people who have suffered from a lot of stress and abuse and trauma in their lives are leading successful lives, and we feel happy when we hear such stories. These are people whom we may call resilient.

There is a considerable amount of debate that goes in between the psychologist in terms of “Bounced back to what”? Its important that these questions be answered in light of a persons culture and expectations of the community. Cultural forces determine whether the person focuses on positive educational outcomes, healthy within family functioning or psychological well being. Some cultures value healthy family relationships other cultures value professional success.

Dr. Emmy Werner sometimes called the “mother of resiliency” has done several  extensive researches to study what leads to resilience amongst people. She states that two primary characteristics account for resiliency in children which are:

1. they are born with outgoing dispositions and,
2. they are able to engage several sources of support.

Resilience though being a hereditary trait, some psychologists suggest that resilience can also be acquired and taught to children. The following strategies can be developed in childhood and we should strive to adopt as many of these:

1. Fostering secure attachment relationships between infants and parents through training programmes
2. Healthy nutritional habits has also been linked with increased resilience.
3. Parents should ensure that they minimise the family discords
4. Being part of many pro social organisations such as schools and clubs, enrolling in such clubs also leads to increased resilience since the group membership leads to increased sense of social support
5. People should also nurture high self-efficacy in their lives and have positive thinking along with a belief in their capabilities.

At last i would like to conclude by saying:

“Tough times don’t last; tough people do”

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Let me start by sharing a story with you. Years back a girl was born with visual and hearing impairment. However she was determined to get educated despite all odds. She lived a life helping others and inspiring people. Mark Twain, Graham Bell, William James admired her. You may have by now guessed whom I am talking about, yes it is none other than Helen Keller who’s determination and faith helped her overcome all odds. She could have easily been deterred by her physical problems and would have then been lost into oblivion but she didn’t she was persistent and determined to fight it all.

We all are aware of how important determination is in our lives. Its the force that drives us to accomplish our goals. It acts as a motivating source to all of us and comes before goal attainment. Do you think in the absence of determination we would have been able to accomplish anything in life? I don’t think so. If i was not determined to top in my class 12th boards I may not have, because then i would not have been motivated and would have acted in a very careless and lazy manner. Isn’t that true for you also?

Many famous people we know of from Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs to our very own SHAHRUKH KHAN. We all know how Shahrukh Khan stared don’t we he worked his way through television to attaing the biggest fan following, you know he hardly ever sleeps. Our prime minister Narendra Modi from a tea boy to the position he handles today. Both of have them have worked hard and were determined to attain success.

Determination pushes an individual towards action and results in important outcomes such as perseverance, and development of coping mechanisms. It enables an individual to overcome all obstacles and work towards their goals. Researches have shown that determination can be learned. It has been seen that when children and employees are out under positive environment and provided with the essential resources they may become more determined to achieve goals.

Thus I would suggest you all to be determined in whatever you do no matter how big or small the job is.

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What exactly is happiness? Has anyone given it a thought? Just for one moment sit back while reading this article, think and try to define this very popular concept known as happiness. I am sure you may have come up with a lot of ideas. When i think about happiness what comes to my mind is good grades in college and a high paying job in my future. What comes to your mind? Happiness is very subjective it means different things to different people. When i asked my parents what happiness meant to them my mom said a healthy life for her daughters and her husband, for my dad it was being able to support my family throughout and being able to fulfil all our wishes. For some happiness is money, for others it may be good health. Think of a poor kid on the streets, for him getting a packet of chips or a chocolate on a day, or for a poor family sitting on the streets getting a good meal a day may be happiness and for an animal being able to roam around freely in the wild may mean happiness. Thus It varies from person to person. Happiness may also vary as we grow. In childhood getting gifts and chocolates meant happiness, during college-grades and co-curriculars, during early adulthood- a good job, after marriage a happy family and during old age being free of diseases and self actualisation may mean happiness.

How do you then think a person may become happy? I believe the following may make people really happy and these are easy thing which we can adopt in our day to day lives and see whether we feel happy or not:

• Helping others: Going out on a hot summer afternoon with juices and water bottles to give to the beggars on the streets may really make you happy. Also not only helping a poor person but also your friend who may need your help, helping them to solve the situation may bring a lot of happiness to, a sense of satisfaction.
• Paying Gratitude: As part of my psychology practical, i did a study to see the effects of gratitude on happiness. The participants were asked to write a thank you note to one person they feel gratitude for. After the activity we found a substantial increase in happiness levels of people when measured using a psychological instrument. Most people stated that they wanted to thank the other person but couldn’t do so as it never occurred to them but after writing that thank you note they felt this unusual happiness.
• Think positive: This according to me is one of the most important thing that leads to happiness. Thinking positive and seeing the bright side of the stressful situation in hand may actually lower down the stress levels and you may be able to solve the problem more easily.It will also lead to increased amounts of happiness. Not putting much thought into what went wrong and thinking more about how you can learn from it, and not thinking too much about future or past and living in the moment may lead to happiness.

Effects of Happiness:

Happiness has a number of positive effects on our lives to which we never put a thought to. Happiness has been linked with greater life satisfaction, psychological and physical well-being, increased longevity and freedom from illness. At school and workplaces it is associated with reduced stress and improved performance.

Guys please be happy as much as you can 🙂

At last i would like to conclude by quoting Jacques Prévert who says

“Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.”

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