Repairing Your Relationship “Fender-Benders”
July 11, 2016 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
My wife and I have always had a strong friendship. We are pretty good at communicating with one another and we don’t often fight. But, lately things have been off. Argghhh. We’ve been getting in to stupid conflicts and I just don’t feel like we are “hearing” or “seeing”... Read More
Get Rich Quick: A New Currency That Grows As You Spend It!
February 10, 2016 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
Money can buy us only so much in life. The Beatles reminded us that it can’t buy us love. And research coming from the field of positive psychology has shown its limitations for buying happiness. But, with the recent advent of character science, we have been discovering how to... Read More
Positive Schooling: A Heaven for Holistic Development
January 18, 2016 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
From the moment of birth forward life is a dynamic tension of self-expression and meeting the requirements of others. At times, others’ expectations of us are at odds with our authentic self. In those moments, which occur over and over, we resolve the tension in one of two ways. ... Read More
“Characterizing” the Workplace: Using Character Strengths to Create Sustained Success
August 18, 2015 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
Introduction Organizations cannot succeed in a sustained manner with only 1 in 5 of its employees fully engaged and motivated and with 1 in 5 employees either dreading work or wishing they could just stay at home instead (Asplund, Lopez, Hodges, & Harter, 2007; VIA Institute, 2015). Business is... Read More
From Arrogance to Appreciation
March 24, 2015 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
How do we learn to navigate this journey called life? It is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, joy and anguish, clarity and confusion, love and hate. We rely on two basic processes. First, we learn “best practices” by observing others. We observe them directly and through... Read More
Grit that Produces Growth Beyond Graduation
February 20, 2015 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
The structure of schools has changed drastically and today schools can be places of desperation. Students who desperately want to be somewhere else. Teachers who desperately want students to engage more with lessons. Administrators desperately dealing with disruptive students, demoralized teachers, and unhappy parents and citizens. Grit is a... Read More
A Character Game Plan… On and Off the Field
May 15, 2014 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
There was a recent article in the New York Times, “Manning or Leaf? A Lesson in Intangibles”, that reviewed one of the biggest moments in NFL draft history- the choice between two of the top quarterbacks at the time- Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. The coaches and administration had... Read More
Feeling Depressed? Use your Strengths to Find Happiness!
May 6, 2014 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
Last week I had “one of those days”. I felt down and unmotivated. The stresses of life had piled up and I just felt like staying in bed. I hated the feeling. Then I thought to myself, “What good are my character strengths if I can’t use them to... Read More
Healing Power of Character Strengths
June 28, 2012 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
We are all born into this world with genetically determined tendencies – both physical and psychological. Then the world starts layering on its influences. Good diets help our physical characteristics unfold. Nurturing parents help our psychological-being unfold. Then life events pitch to alter, direct, and mold even further. Certain... Read More
What is Humanity’s Biggest Challenge Today?
November 29, 2011 by Dr. Neal Mayerson ·
I recall a morning in 1997 when I opened the newspaper to read that a sheep, named Dolly, had been genetically cloned. The enormous power of genetic cloning was upon us and I shuddered inside thinking of how ill-prepared we were to handle this power for the common good.... Read More