Positivity Matters in Times of Crisis

One of the things that surprised me most about positive psychology research is that I rarely get to research places that start out happy. In fact, the majority of my research has occurred in high-crisis or challenge situations. I started with depressed Harvard students, then worked with banks around the world during the financial crisis. I have done work in the wake of school shootings, during the Boston bombings, and with schools in Flint, MI, in the midst of cyclical poverty and a water crisis. More recently, my research led me to the healthcare industry that is reeling financially.

What I’ve learned over and over again— even in the most severe