哈佛大学---幸福课-英文字幕

PositivePsychology–Lecture1

TalBen-Shahar

HiGoodmorning.It'swonderfultobebackhere.Wonderfultoseeyouhere.I'mteachingthisclassbecauseIwishaclasslikethishadbeentaughtwhenIwassittinginyourseatasanundergradhere.Thisdoesnotmeanitisaclassyouwishtobetaught,nordoesitmeanthatitistherightclassforyou.ButIhopetodoingthenextcoupleoflecturesisgivingyouanideawhatthisclassisaboutsothatyoucandecidewhetherornotitisforyou.Icameherein1992AndthenIhadaminiepiphanyhalfwaythroughmysophomoreyear.IrealizedthatIwasinawonderfulplacewithwonderfulstudentsaroundme,wonderfulteachers.Iwasdoingwellacademically.Iwasdoingwellinathletics.Iwasplayingsquashatthattime.Iwasdoingwellsocially.Everythingwasgoingwell.

Exceptforthefact.ThatIwasunhappy.AndIdidn'tunderstandwhy.Itwastheninamatterofmoments,thatIdecidedthatIhadtofindoutwhyandbecomehappier.

AndthatwaswhenIswitchedmyconcentrationfromcomputersciencetophilosophyandpsychologywithasinglequestion:howcanIbecomehappier?OvertimeIdidbecomehappier.WhatcontributedmosttomyhappinesswaswhenIencounteredanewemergingfieldButessentiallyresearchthatfallsunderorwithinthefieldofpositivepsychology.Positivepsychology,studyingit,applyingtheideastomylifehasmademesignificantlyhappier.Itcontinuestomakemehappier.AnditwaswhenIrealizedtheimpactthatithadonmethatIdecidedtoshareitwithothers.That'swhenIdecidedthatIwantedtobeateacherandteachinthisfield.Sothisispositivepsychology,psychology1504.Andwe'llbeexploringthisnew,relativelynewandfascinatingfield.Andhopefully,wewillbeexploringmorethanthefieldourselves.

WhenIfirsttaughtthisclassthatwasbackin2002,Itaughtitataseminarandhadeightstudents.Twodroppedout.Thatleftmewithsix.Theyearafter,theclassbecameslightlylarger.Ihadoverthreehundredstudents.AndthenthirdyearwhenItaughtitwhichwasthelasttime,Ihad850studentsintheclass,makingitatthatpointthelargestcourseatHarvard.Andthat'swhenthemediabecameinterested.Becausetheywantedtounderstandwhy.Theywantedtounderstandthisphenomenonthat"hereyouhaveaclass,that'slargerthanIntroductiontoEconomics".Howcouldthatbe?SoIwasinvitedbythemediaforinterviews,whetheritwasnewspapers,radio,television.AndIstartedtonoticeapatternduringthoseinterviews.SoIwouldwalkintotheinterview.Wewouldhavetheinterview.Andafterwards,theproducerortheinterviewerwouldwalkmeoutandsaysomethingtotheeffectsof"wellthankyouTalfortheinterview.ButyouknowIexpectedyoutobedifferent".

AndIwouldask,asnonchalantasIcouldofcourse.Ididn'treallycarebuthadtoaskanyway,"howdifferent?"Andtheywouldsay,"Wellyouknow,weexpectedyoutobemoreoutgoing."Nextinterview,theendoftheinterview,samething."Thankyoufordoingtheinterview.ButyouknowTal,Iexpectedyoutobe

different."Andonceagain,nonchalantofcourse."Wellyouknow,weexpectedyoutobeless,lessintroversit."Nextinterview,samething."Howdifferent?""Well,youknow,moreextroverted.Moreoutgoing."Nextinterview."Well,youknow,lessshy."CozIgetverynervousininterviews.

Interviewafterinterview,literallydozens.Moreoutgoing,morecheerful.Lessintroverted,moreextroverted.Andonandon.Buthereisthebestone.SothisisoneofthelocalchannelsherearoundBoston.Iwasgoingtotheinterview.Wehadaquitelonginterview,whichIthoughtwasactuallyprettygood.Andattheendoftheinterview,theinterviewerisaveryjollyguy.Hewalksmeoutandputshishandsonmyshoulder,andsays,"thankyouverymuchfordoingtheinterview."Andthentheusualcomes."ButyouknowTal,Iexpectedyoutobedifferent."AndIsaid,"Howdifferent?"Justsoyouunderstand,bythistime,myself-esteemisshort.ButstillwithsomeresemblanceofnonchalanceIasked,"howdifferent?"Andhelooksatmeandsays,"WellIdon'tknowTal.Iexpectedyoutobetaller."Taller?What?Fiveseven,wellokfivesixandahalfisnotenoughtoteachhappiness?AndIthoughtaboutit.Ithoughtaboutitalot.Thewholepatternfromthebeginning.

AndIthinkIunderstandwhytheyexpectedsomeonedifferent.Youseetheyhadtoexplaintothemselvesaswellastheaudience,"howcomethislectureislargerthantheIntroductiontoEconomics?"Andthewaytoexplainitmustbethattheteacherisveryoutgoing,extremelycharismatic,verycheerfulandextrovertandofcourse,tall.Well,thereisoneLmissingthere.But...Yeah.Ifonly.Sotheproblemthoughisthattheywerelookinginthewrongplacefortheexplanation.Inotherwords,theywerelookingatthemessenger.Whattheyneededtolookatwasthemessage.NowhowdoIknowthat?YouseebecauseIseeotherpositivepsychologyclassesonothercampusesaroundthecountryandaroundtheworld.

Thereareover200hundredcampuseshereinUnitedStatesthatteachpositive

psychology.Onalmosteverycampuswherethisclassistaught,it'seitheroneoftheorthelargestclass.It'saboutthemessage.Iseemoreandmoreorganizationstakinguppositivepsychologyintheir,asconsultantcompanies,someofthemtheleadingbigconsultantcompaniesaretakingiton.Moreandmorehighschoolsareintroducingpositivepsychologyclass.*****Elementaryschoolsareintroducingit.Thegovernmentsaroundtheworldareexpressinginterestinthisnewemergingfield.Why?Becauseitworks.Becauseitreallyworks.Youseethiswholerealmonlifeflourishing,onhappiness,onwell-beinghasbeenuntilrecentlydominatedbytheself-healthmovement.Whatdowehaveintheself-healthmovement?Wehavebooksthatareveryinteresting,thatareveryaccessible.Wehavespeakerswhoareveryoutgoing,verycharismaticandtall,attractingthemassesintotheseworkshops,seminarsandlectures.But,thereisaverybig"but"here.Manyofthesebooks,manyoftheseworkshopsandseminarslacksubstance.Veryoften,overpromisingandunder-delivering.

Sothesearefivethingsyouneedtoknowtobehappy.Thethreethingstobethegreatleader.Theonesecretofsuccess,happinessandaperfectlovelife.Overpromising.Under-delivering.Ontheotherhand,wehaveacademia.Whatdowehaveinacademia?Wehavealotofrigor,alotofsubstance.Wehavedatasanalyzed,reanalyzedandmeta-analyzed.Thingsthatactuallywork,goodstuff.But,andthereisalsoaverybig"but"here.Veryfewpeoplereadrefereedacademicjournals.ImeanThinkaboutit:howmanypeopleoutsidethisroomofcoursehavereadthelasttwelveissuesoftheJournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology?Mostpeopledon'tevenknowwhatthatmeans.TheheadofmyPHDprogramsactuallyestimatedtheaverageacademicjournalarticleisreadbysevenpeople.Youknow...Andthatincludestheauthor'smother.SoyouknowIsayhalfinjestbutit'sactuallyreallysad.Because...certainlysadforme,asanacademic.Becausethesethingsaregood.They

Butnotaccessibletomostpeople.Andthisiswherepositivepsychologycomesin.Andthisisalsowherethisclasscomesin.TheexplicitmandateofpositivepsychologyaswellasofthisclassistocreateabridgebetweenIvorytowerandmainstreet.Inotherwords,itistobringtherigor,thesubstance,theempiricalfoundation,thesciencefromacademiaandmergeitwithaccessibilityoftheself-helporNewAgemovement.

Inawaythebestofbothworlds.Andthisexplainsthepopularityofthefieldofpositivepsychology:sciencethatworks.Thisclasswillbetaughtontwolevels.Thefirstlevelitwillbetaughtasanyotherclassinpsychologyoranyoftheclassesyou'vetakenhere.You'llbeintroducedheretostudies,toresearch,torigorousacademicwork.You'llbewritingpaper,academicpaper.You'llbetakingexams.Justlikeeveryotherclass.Butthenitwillalsobetaughtatthesecondlevel,whichisforeverypaperthatyou'llread,everypaperthatyou'llwrite,you'llalwaysbethinking,"Ok,howcanItaketheseideasandapplythemtomylife?HowcanIapplythemtomyrelationship?HowcanIapplythemtomycommunity?"Twolevels.Theacademic.Applied.Ididnotjustintroducewhetherit'sinthereadingsorinthelecturesideasjustbecausetheyareinterestingforthesakeoftheidea.Itisalwaysanideathatisbothrigorousandcanbeapplied.Justafewwordsabouthousekeeping.

SomeofthequestionsthatIhavealreadyreceivedfromyoubeforetheclassstarted.Sothis,unfortunately,isthelasttimethatIamteachingpositivepsychologyoranyotherclassforthatmatteratHarvard.Hopefullywithintwoyears,probablynotnextyear,butwithintwoyears,therewillbepositivepsychologyclassoffered,butIcertainlycannotguaranteeit.Aboutfeedbackandquestions.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,anythingthat'snotclear,ifyouagreeordisagreewithsomething,emailmeoremailyourTF(TeachingFellowatHarvard,justlikeTAatotherschools)andwe'll

toitpublicly.Alwaysanonymously.Unlessyouspecifiedspecificallythatyournamecanbementioned.Sometimesyoumaybelisteningtoalectureandthenhalfwaythroughitthereisanemergency.Thereissomethingthatyoureallyhavetoask,somethingthatcannotwait.Inthatcase,pleasejustputyourhandup.Cozit'sjustlikewhenyouhavetogotothebathroom.Justcan'tstop.Can'twait.Andwhenyougottago,yougottago.Sowe'lltakeapositivepsychologybreakforthat.AndjuststopmehalfwaythroughandI'llansweranyquestion.Allthepowerpoints,aswellasthevideosoftheclasseswillbeonline.Willbeavailablewithincoupleofdays.Wellthepowerpointswillbeavailablebefore,sayforthislectureitwillbebeforesothatyoucanusetheminclass.Thevideos,unfortunately,cannotbemadeavailablebefore.Wetried.Couldn'tfigureitout.Soitwillbeavailablewithinadayortwoafter.

Andthereasonwhytheyareupthere.Firstofall,Idopreferthatyouattendlecture.Idopreferthatyouarephysicallyhere.Yougetthingsintheenergyoftheroomwithsomanystudentssoyouwouldn'tjustgetfromyourcomputer.ThereasonwhyIdoputthemupissothatyouhavetheopportunityifyouwanttoseeitagainorifyouhavetomissaclass.That'sperfectlyfine.Andalsobecause,andthisisalsothereasonwhythepowerpointsarealwaysavailable,Iwantyoutobeengagedinthematerial.Iwantyoutobeengagedinwhateveritisthatwearediscussinginclass.NotnecessarilythinkingaboutgettingdowneverywordthatIsayonpaper,rememberingeverything,memorizingeverything.IwantyoutotakeratherthanpassivenotesofwritingdownwhatisonthepowerpointoreverywordthatIsay.I'dlikeyoutotakeactivenotes.Andthatmeansbeingengagedwiththematerial.Forexample,ifyouheardsomethingandideaandyousay,"Oh,that'sinteresting."Starit.Writeitdown.Or"OkIthinkI'llstartapplyingthis."Writeitdown."OrIwanttotellmymomaboutthislater."Or"Iwanttotalktomyroommatesormyteamaboutthisidea."Writeitdown.Activenote-takingisopposedtopassivenote-takingfortworeasons.

Firstofall,asIsaid,thisclassisaclassaboutmakingadifferenceinpeople'slives.Iwouldnotbeteachingtheclassjustforitsacademicbeauty,althoughthereisalotofacademicbeautyinthisfield.Sowritedownifyouhaveanideathatyouthinkyoucanapply.Thesecondreasonwhyweshouldthatisbecauseyou'llremembermore.Betterattention,betterunderstandingofthematerialifyouareactivelyengaged,asopposedtojusttakingdownpassivenotes.Throughouttheclass,startingnextweek,we'lltakewhatIcalled,"time-ins"asopposedto"time-outs".it'slikeatime-out.It'sthetimewherewestoptheclassandyoulookinward.Andthisisliterallyatimeofsilenceinaclass.

Iwillstopforaminuteortwo.Andyou'llhaveachanceeithertojuststareatmeoranyoneelse,orthinkaboutwhatwe'vejustdiscussed,orhaveaguidingquestionthatIwillprovideyouthatyou'lladdressduringtheclass.ThereasonwhyIhave"Time-ins"...ThisissomethingthatIamintroducingthisyearforthefirsttime.Wedidn'thaveitlasttime.It'sbecauseoverthelasttwoyearssinceIlasttaughtit,I'vedonealotworkintheareaofsilence.I'vereadalotofresearchinthisareaabouttheimportanceofquiettimeswhetherit'sinaclass,inalecture,whetheritisathome,whetheritisforaleaderinthebusiness,forrelationship,forchildrenstartingfrompre-schools.Nowmanyofyou,asyouaregoingthroughthese"time-ins"ifyoudecidetotakethisclassmaythink,"Well,isthiswhatI'mpaying40,000dollarsayearfor?Tositaclassandbequiet?"Firstofall,itwillonlybeaminuteortwoatatime,maybeonceortwicealecture.Butsecond,itismaybethemostimportantthingyou'lltakefromthisclass.Thenotionofembracingstillness.LetmereadtoyouanexcerptfromastudythatwasrunbytwoMITprofessors.Bytheway,allthenamesthatIreadandthatarenotonthepowerpoints,youdon'tneedtorememberorwritedown.Thisisjustforyouredification.

SoDavidFosterandMatthewWilson.BothofthemarefromMIT.Indeedthe

followingstudythatIthinkconfirmstheimportanceof"time-in",timetolookinside.Whattheydidistheyscannedthebrainsofratswhiletheywereinamazeandaftertheywentthroughthemaze.Andhere'swhattheyfound."Whattheresultssuggestisthatwhiletherecertainlyissomerecordofyourexperienceasitisoccurring.inotherwordswhentheyweredoingthemaze,whenyoutrytofigureout:'Whatwasimportant?WhatshouldIkeepandthrowaway?'duringperiodsofquietwakefulintrospection.Whattheyshowwasratswhowentthroughthemazeandwentthroughthemazeagainandagain,learnedfarlessthanratswhotooktimeaside,chilledoutalittlebitafteramaze,hadmoremargarita.Experience,embracestillness.Thishasimplicationsandtheyshowedimplicationstohumanbeingsaswell.Notonlythoseoftheratrace,allhumanbeings.Sowhattheysayisthat"replaymightconstituteageneralmechanismoflearningandmemory".Bothlearning,understanding,aswellasmemory,retention.Whenwereflect,whenwereplaythematerial,wearemuchmorelikelytoretain,torememberwhatwehavejustbeenthrough.Sotheimportanceoftimeasidecannotbeover-emphasized.

Inhiswonderfulbookofteaching,ParkerPalmer--it'scalledTheCouragetoTeach,saysthefollowing--Wordsarenotthesolemediumofexchangeinteachingandlearning.Weeducatewithsilenceaswell.Silencegivesusachancetoreflectonwhatwehavesaidandheard.Inauthenticeducation,silenceistreatedasatrustworthymatrixfortheinnerworkstudentsmustdo,amediumforlearningofthedeepestsort."Silenceissomethingthatismissingfromourculture.IknowthatmanyofyouhaveprobablyreadZenandtheArtofMotorcycleMaintenance,RobertM.Pirsig.Hehadasecondbookout,lesswell-known,calledLila(Lila:anInquiryintoMorals).AndLilaisananthropologicalstudyofNativeAmericans.Andoneofthedistinguishingcharacteristicsbetweenthesetwoculturesistheirapproachweresilence.WhathefoundwaswhenhewentandsataroundwithNativeAmericans.

Theywouldsitaroundthefireandhangoutfortwo,threehourswithoutsayingaword.Justsitaround.Lookatoneanother.Smile.Haveagoodtime.Introspect.Justbethereforhours.Whilehepointsoutthatinourculturewefeelveryuncomfortablewiththeabsenceofwords,withtheabsenceofsoundornoise.Wehavetofillupallthegaps.Thisisanimportantculturaldifference.Andwepayapriceforthislackofstillness.Apricethatwe'lltalkaboutalot,whenItalkaboutrelationships,whenItalkaboutvirtueandmoralityandwhenwetalkabouthappinessandwellbeingingeneral.Letmegivealittlebitbackgroundonpositivepsychology:howwecameaboutandhowthisclasscameabout.Inmanyways,positivepsychologyisthebrainchild,theproductandthegrandchildofhumanisticpsychology.Whatwehaveinhumanisticpsychologyisessentiallyareactiontotheexistingpsychologiesofthetime.Thefounders,consideredthefoundersofhumanisticpsychologyinfactcalledit"thethirdforce".Whythe"thirdforce"?

Becausethefirstforcewasbehaviorism.TheworkofSkinner(B.F.Skinner),theworkofWatson(JohnB.Watson),theworkofThorndik(EdwardThorndik).Thiswasthefirstforce.Thesecondforcewaspsychoanalysis.TheworkofFreud(SigmundFreud),Jung(CarlJung),Adler(AlfredAdler)tosomeextent.Thiswasthesecondforce.Andthethirdforce,humanisticpsychologycameasareactiontoit.Firstitisareactiontobehaviorism.Behaviorismlooksatthehumanentity,atthepersonasbasicallyacollectionofbehaviorsasabox,likeabilliardballknockedaroundbyreinforcements,bypunishment,byreward.Andwhathumanisticpsychologysaidwasthatwearemuchmorethanabilliardballbeingknockedaround.Wehavespirit.Wehaveasoul.Wehavecognitionsandthoughtsthatmatter.It'snotjustbehaviorthatisimportantforunderstandingaswellasimprovinglife.Andthenpsychoanalysis,thesecondforce.Thepsychoanalysisisaboutbasicallyunderstandingmostlythroughthesubconscious:that'showyouunderstandit;that'showyouimprovethequalityoflife.Therearedefensemechanisms,therearebiological

instincts,neurosis--andifyouunderstandtheseveryoftendarkforces,werebetterabletodealwithlife:understandaswellasimprovethequalityoflife.

Humanisticpsychologysayshumanbeingsaremuchmorethanthat.Muchmorethanbiologicalinstincts,muchmorethanneurosis,muchmorethanthepersonwhoexistsinaNewtonianrealitylikeabilliardball.Weneedtovaluemuchmorethehumanbeing.Weneedtogivemuchmoredignityandfreedomtotheperson.Therewasaproblem.Theproblemwashumanisticpsychologyissaidlackedtherigorousmethodology.Whileitbroughtinmanywonderfulideas,talkedaboutthestudyofwell-being,talkedaboutthestudyofoptimism,ofkindness,ofmorality,ofvirtue,oflove,ofrelationships,ofpeakexperiences,ofself-actualization,ofempathy.Allthesewonderfulconceptsthatwe'lltalkaboutthroughoutthesemester.Itwasn'tasrigorousaboutitsepistemology,abouthowweformideasandhowwelearn.Andthat'swhy,inmanyways,largely,notcompletelybutlargelymoreofintotheself-healthmovement.Interestingideas,goodideas,importantideas,certainlygoodintentions,buttosomeextent,withouttheacademicrigor.Andthat'swhyitlackedtheimpactonacademia.That'swhywedon'thavepartlyanyhumanisticpsychologyclassesofferedinuniversitiestoday.Thereareveryfewstillaround.AndthisiswhyalsoalotofitbecametheNewAgeessentially.Butstill,it'shumanisticpsychologythathasinmanywaysfatheredandmothered,aswe'llsee,positivepsychology.Solet'smeetthegrandparents.

PeoplelikeRolloMay.PeoplelikeCarlRogers.Andmorethananyone,AbrahamMaslow.WastheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationPresident.WastheprofessorjustdowntheroadhereatBrandeis(BrandeisUniversity).Andheintroducedthishumanisticpsychologyin1954.Hewroteachapter,called"TowardthePositivePsychology".1954.Inithesaidweneedtoalsoresearchkindness,goodnessandhappinessandoptimism.Inmanywaysitwaswayaheadofhistime.

ThenifMaslowisthegrandfather,thenKarenHorneyisthegrandmother.Initiallyapsychoanalyst,trainedthroughtheworksofFreud,sherealizedthefocuseshadbeentoomuchonthenegative--onneurosis,onpsychosisandsaidwealso,notonlybutalsohavetofocusonwhatisworkingonhumanorganism.Wehavetoworkandlookatthefinequalitiesandcultivatethose.Becausepartofbeinghumanisbeingthosethingsaswell.Inmanyways,broughtaboutthemovementtowardhumanisticpsychologyandthroughthat--positivepsychology.AaronAntonovsky,thethirdpersonIwouldconsiderthegrandfather,broughtintheideaoffocusingonhealth.Hehasanewconcept.Orheintroducedanewconcept.I'mstillhere.Don'tworry.Heintroducedanewconcept,whichhecalled--hisownneologism,"salutogenesis".Salutogenesis:saluto--(whichis)health;geneis(whichis)origin.Theoriginofhealth.Andthiswasanalternativemodel,totheconventionalwaysmodelofpathologies.Soinsteadofjuststudyingpathologieswhetherit'sinphysicalhealthorpsychologicalhealth,weshouldalsostudytheoriginofhealth.Inmanywaysthatiswhatpreventedmedicineisabout.Sothiswasanovelideabackin1970swhenheintroducedit.Andwe'lltalkalotaboutAaronAntonovsky.Nowtheparents.

MartinSeligman,consideredthefatherofthepositivepsychology,networkofscholars,startedthefieldin1998.LikeMaslow,hetoo,wasthePresidentofAmericanPsychologicalAssociation.Andashismandate,duringhispresidency,hehadtwoaims:thefirstaim--tomakeacademicpsychologymoreaccessible,--inotherwords--bridgeIvorytowerandmainstreet.Thiswasthefirstaimofhispresidency.Thesecondaimwasintroduceapositivepsychology.Apsychologythatwilllookatalsothingsthatwork,thatwerenotjuststudy--depression,anxiety,schizophreniaandneurosis.Apsychologyanetworkofscholarswhowillfocuson--love,relationships,self-esteem,motivation,resilienceandwell-being.Andheintroducedtheseideasandit'sallbeenliterallyuphillfromthen.BeforeMartinSeligman,thisallhappenedin1998andwe'lltalkaboutitalittlebitmorenexttime.

Thisallhappenedin1998.Longbefore1998,ourveryownprofessorEllenLangerdidresearchinalltheseareas,bringingthehumanisticspiritandcombiningitwiththeacademicscientificrigor.We'llbetalkingprobablymorethananyotherscholaraboutherworkinthisclass.AndanotherpersonfromHarvard,oneoftheparentsofpositivepsychologywasPhilipStone,whopassedawaytwoyearsago,yesterday.BothLangerandStoneweremyphysicistadvisors,introducedmetothefieldofpositivepsychologyintothisresearch.In1998whenIhadthefirstpositivepsychologysummit,ProfessorStonetookmealongwithhim.Iwasagraduatestudent.

In1999hetaughtthefirstpositivepsychologyclassatHarvard,oneofthefirstintheworld.Iwashisteachingfellow.Acoupleofyearslater,hetaughtitagain.AgainIwashisteachingfellow.AndthenwhenIgraduated,hesuggestedItakeoverhisclass.Andherewearetoday.Sothisis1504.Letmegiveyouasenseof,inthenexthalfanhourandso,asenseofwhatyouexpectinthisclass.Thefirstthingisthisclassisnotjustaboutinformation,itisalsoexplicitlyabouttransformation.WhatdoImeanbythat?Youseemostofeducationtodayisaboutinformation.Whatisinformation?Sowehaveacontainer,whichisourmind.Andinformationisabouttakingdata,takingscience,takinginformationandputtingitinsidetheform.Thatisinformation.Nowwhenthisformisfilled,that'swhenweareeducated.Moreinformation,moredata,better.Notenough.Becauseit'snotjustinformationthatdeterminesourwellbeing,oursuccess,ourself-esteem,ourmotivationallevel,therelationshipandthequalityofourrelationships.It'smuchmorethaninformation.Transformationisabouttakingthisformandchangingit.Trans,(whichis)change,form,(whichis)shape.Changetheform.Thisistransformation.ThisisthedistinctionthatIlearnedfirstfromattheschool.

ProfessorRobertKeganwhotaughtaboutthis.Informationinandofitselfisnot

enough.Thinkaboutthisexample.Yougoforanathleticmeet.Youraimistogetintothetopthree--tobeamedalist.Youcomeinnumbereight.What'stheanalysis?What'stheinterpretation?--Terrible.Ijustfailed.Youfeeldeflated.Enervated.Ontheotherhand,theexactsameevent.Youcameeightwhenyouexpectedtobetopthree.Youcaninterpretitas"Ok,sowhathaveIlearned?Ineedtoworkevenharder."Youbecomemoreenergized.Youlearnedfromtheexperience.Inotherwords,thesameobjectiveinformationwhichis"Igoteighth;Iexpectedtopthree".Thesameinformation,verydifferentinterpretation.Oneisadisaster,theotherinterpretationisanopportunity.Oneleadstolossofenergy,theotheronetoincreasingenergy.Orthinkaboutanotherverycommonexample.Weknowofmanypeoplearoundtheworldwhoseeminglyhaveeverything,whoaredoingwell,whohavemorethantheyneed.Andyettheyareunhappy.

Andthentherearepeoplearoundtheworldwhohaveverylittle.Andyettheynevercease,neverstoptocelebratelife.Andwehaveanotherwayaroundaswell.Peoplewhohaveeverythingandappreciateitandenjoylife.Peoplewhohaveverylittleandwhoseethemselvesasvictim.Inotherwords,it'snotjusttheinformationthatgoesin.It'salsotheshape,theinterpretation,theperception,thefocus.Andthatisdeterminedbytheshapeoftheform.ThisiswhatIrealizedwhenIwasanundergradhere.Seemingly,lookinginfromtheoutside,Ihadeverything.Doingwell(in)sports,academicsandsocially.Andyetmyperception,myfocus,myinterpretationoflife--notthatgreat.Iwasn'thappy.Theinterpretationmattersveryoftenalotmoreaswe'llseethantheinformationthatgoesin.OneofthesentencesthatI'llrepeatthroughouttheclassisthathappinessismuchmorecontingentonourstateofmindthanourstatusorthestateofourbankaccount.Andthat'swheretransformationcomesin.Andthat'swhyit'ssoimportantforwellbeing.Whatthatwilllooklikeinpracticeisthatwe'llcovernotsomuchinformation.We'lluncovermuchmoreandIdon'tmeanthatintheBerkeley(GeorgeBerkeley)senseoftheword.

Imeanthatintheacademicsenseoftheword.Inotherwords,whatwe'lldoisuncoverpotentialthatwehaveinside,thatwehaveinsideofusallal