Positive psychology - that sounds suspiciously like calendar wisdom like "Give every day the chance to be the most beautiful of your life".
In fact, it is based on an influential therapy concept that was founded in 1998 by the US psychologist Martin Seligman: Instead of focusing only on their weaknesses and problems, people should specifically deal with their strengths - and with those things in life that fulfill them and make you happy.
This is exactly where the New York psychologist and Seligman student Dan Tomasulo comes in: He teaches methods of how positive psychology can be applied in everyday life - and one of the most important means of doing this is confidence.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Everyone knows people who are particularly pessimistic: colleagues, friends, relatives.
Whenever I deal with such a person, I always feel like this negativity is draining my strength.
Would it make sense to stay away from these people to increase my confidence?
Dan Tomasulo:
I don't think there is a general answer to that.
But suppose there is a person who threatens to spoil everything for you with his doubts - you have your glass of fresh, refreshing water full of joy and hope in front of you, and the pessimist always wants to sprinkle his salt into it.
Well there are several ways to deal with it.
One possibility would be to say to yourself: I have my glass here with 170 milliliters of water;
a little salt can't make everything too salty for me.
Or I imagine that I will make a bathtub out of my glass.