Episode #33: How to harness self-reflection to do hard things, develop psychological richness and create optimal happiness, with Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener

We interview Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, a leading authority on strengths, culture, courage, and happiness, about his extensive research in these areas and his pioneering work in the application of positive psychology to coaching. We explore the concept of psychological richness and its practical implications for improving our quality of life, the distinction between happiness and optimal happiness, and why self-reflection and engaging in difficult things is so important for improving our well-being.

Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener is widely known as the “Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology” because his research has taken him to such far-flung places as Greenland, India, Kenya, and Israel. He has authored seven books, including the 2007 PROSE Award winner "The Courage Quotient," "Happiness," and the New York Times bestseller "The Upside of Your Dark Side," with Dr. Todd Kashdan, one of our first guests on Flourish FM. His most recent book is "Positive Provocation: 25 Questions to Elevate Your Coaching Practice," published in 2023. He has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed academic articles and chapters, two of which are “citation classics” (each cited more than 1,000 times).

 

Learn more and subscribe at flourishfmpodcast.com/robertbiswasdiener

Robert's website: robertdiener.com

 

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Time stamps:

01:49 - Optimal Happiness and Psychological Richness

03:09 - Defining Well-being and Happiness

04:42 - The Importance of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Aspects of Well-being

06:33 - Key Ingredients for Quality of Life

09:39 - Global Studies on Happiness

12:19 - Cultural Differences in Well-being

14:09 - Psychological Richness Across Cultures

16:17 - The Role of Distress Tolerance in Psychological Richness

18:18 - Clarifying Psychological Richness

20:44 - Emotional Agility and Psychological Richness

23:15 - The Balance of Positive and Negative Emotions

24:06 - The Role of Negative Emotions in a Full Life

25:25 - The Concept of Optimal Happiness

27:25 - Seeking Psychological Richness

28:54 - The Role of Negative Emotions in Psychological Richness

30:30 - Emotional Agility in Coaching

35:56 - Connecting Emotional Agility to Psychological Richness

36:59 - Transition to Discussing Positive Provocation

37:14 - Reflective Practice in Coaching

39:59 - Overview of Positive Provocation

40:40 - The Method of Reflective Practice in Coaching

45:01 - The Goal of Positive Provocation

00:45:26 - Psychological Richness as a Process

00:46:25 - The Importance of Reflective Practice

00:50:26 - Optimal Happiness in Achievement-Oriented Domains

00:53:14 - The Balance Between Satisfaction and Striving for More

00:53:54 - The Flourishing Question