I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to do.
Martin SeligmanRead
I believe that traditional wisdom is incomplete. A composer can have all the talent of Mozart and a passionate desire to succeed, but if he believes he cannot compose music, he will come to nothing. He will not try hard enough. He will give up too soon when the elusive right melody takes too long to materialize.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Belief in one's abilities is crucial for success in any creative endeavor.
This quote by Martin Seligman emphasizes the importance of self-belief in the pursuit of creativity and success. Even with immense talent and passion, a lack of confidence can lead to failure, as individuals may give up too quickly on their creative endeavors if they doubt their ability to achieve their goals. Hence, cultivating a positive mindset and believing in one's capabilities are essential components of perseverance and eventual success in the arts or any field.
Themes
BeliefSuccessCreativityTalentPerseverance
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming self-doubt in the creative process.
More from Martin Seligman
All quotes →One of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I' gets bigger and bigger, and the 'we' gets smaller and smaller.
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The dirty little secret of both clinical psychology and biological psychiatry is that they have completely given up on the notion of cure.
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The belief that we can rely on shortcuts to happiness, joy, rapture, comfort, and ecstasy, rather than be entitled to these feelings by the exercise of personal strengths and virtues, leads to legions of people who, in the middle of great wealth, are starving spiritually.
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I believe psychology has done very well in working out how to understand and treat disease. But I think that is literally half-baked. If all you do is work to fix problems, to alleviate suffering, then by definition you are working to get people to zero, to neutral.
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The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.
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