Quotes from Christopher Peterson

There is abundant reason to believe that optimism - big, little, and in between - is useful to a person because positive expectations can be self-fulfilling.

How can we create a cultural legacy of happiness? Let other people matter.

"Life is unfair" "The goalposts will move" and above all: "other people matter"

In short, if one is entitled to everything, then one is thankful for nothing.

Smith observed that society can function purely on utilitarian grounds or on the basis of gratitude, but he clearly believed that societies of gratitude were more attractive in large part because they provide an important emotional resource for promoting social stability.

Jaynes (1976) suggested that task persistence is a uniquely human strength. With some exceptions, most animals do not persist at any given task longer than 20 minutes before moving on to the next task.

intelligence is a combination of mental ability and the accumulated knowledge that arises from that ability.

We are grateful to people who occasionally help out, but we elevate them to a higher moral plane when they consistently do so, when we can count on them to show up rain or shine, not just when the boss is looking or free coffee is being served ... Along these lines, we value people who are loyal to their groups, who do not jump ship at the first rough weather.

Teamwork is a dance—engrossing to perform and exciting to watch.

We are reminded of the comment by Linus in the comic strip Peanuts: "I love humanity—it's people I can't stand.

gratefulness is an attitude that underlies successful functioning over the life course.

Indeed, lack of self-control may be at the root of all emotional disorders, so named because the person is controlled by anxiety and depression rather than vice versa. Everyone experiences negative emotions; what determines whether they escalate to full-blown disorders may simply be whether the person has the ability to circumscribe them.

An aha experienced decades ago by one of us is relevant to this point. Halfway through a grueling clinical internship, CP [Christopher Peterson] complained to his supervisor, "No one [meaning the patients] ever says thank you for anything I try to do." The response from the experienced psychiatrist stopped CP mid-whine: "If they [the patients] could say thank you, how many of them do you think would be in a psychiatric hospital?

Humility, rather than involving the presence of certain thoughts or behaviors, might better be construed as the absence of narcissism, self-enhancement, or defensiveness.

Appreciation of beauty is a strength that connects someone directly to excellence. Gratitude connects someone directly to goodness.

Of course, perseverance does not guarantee success, but success is often unattainable without it.

I have a responsibility to improve the world in which I live.

Nix et al. (1999) showed in experimental studies that whereas task success can produce happiness, only success at autonomously motivated tasks maintained or enhanced vitality. Finally, in new research, Bernstein and Ryan (2001) argued that subjective vitality can be affected by contact with nature.

Everybody should give some of their time for the good of their town or country.

Knee-jerk disobedience and anticonformity are no more praiseworthy than the most mindless loyalty to a group.

In addition, the care perspective legitimates emotional responsiveness, in the form of empathy or being moved by the plight of another, as a source of knowledge and appropriate motivation. The strong emotional sense that one must prevent harm or right an interpersonal or social injustice is seen as a moral voice as undeniable as our justice-based codes and laws regarding moral conduct.

Parenting is important in the development of a child's moral reasoning. Most specifically, parental stage of justice reasoning, the use of induction, democratic family decision-making processes, and authoritative parenting style are related to higher stages of children's justice reasoning development.

We classify the positive traits that protect us from excess as strengths of temperance. What are the types of excess of special concern? Hatred—against which forgiveness and mercy protect us. Arrogance—against which humility and modesty protect us. Short-term pleasure with long-term costs—against which prudence protects us. And destabilizing emotional extremes of all sorts—against which self-regulation protects us.

Several studies have found that people are less likely to persist on difficult or unsolvable problems if they have already exerted self-control on a prior task, such as attempting to control their thoughts or emotions or resisting the temptation to eat chocolates and cookies. Some recent evidence suggests that the capacity for self-control is enhanced by positive emotions, and there is evidence that people in good moods persist longer (and perform better) at solving tasks.