What Is Positive Psychology?

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Courageous Optimism combines self-determination, self-efficacy, and courage to act despite fear.

Heroism is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to risk everything in service to others.

Courageous Optimism transcends the badge, empowering everyday people to act heroically when it matters most.

In January 2024, while I was a graduate student in the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania under the supervision of Dr. Martin Seligman, he asked me a poignant question over lunch. It was another reflective moment in time following an active shooter incident somewhere in the U.S., with a widely reported police response of officers actively pursuing the gunman, charging upstream from the victims fleeing from the building and imminent danger. Dr. Seligman asked me, “What allows a police officer to run towards gunfire, when everyone else is running away?” My initial response lacked any substantiation and was merely anecdotal. After a deliberative exchange of ideas, he noted the ambiguity and asked, “What is the academic theory?” I was spellbound and had no reply. While I thought he was sure to tell me the answer, and for anyone who knows Marty, he always has an answer, he instead gave me a challenge.

I spent months reading through........

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