Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0) Archives » International Network on Personal Meaning

The Role of Wu-Wei in Flourishing

Tim Yu — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 01:41:40 +0000

A “flow” state occurs when one is fully, competently engaged with a challenging task to the point of forgetting oneself and the passing of time. In contrast, a state of “Wu-Wei” is defined by two dimensions: (a) Fully focusing on the present without any task or goal in mind, and (b) in perfect harmony with what is naturally unfolding at the moment. This can take place while walking in the woods, fishing by oneself, or practicing Qi Gong or Yoga.

Wu-Wei also result in a state of self-transcendence by forgetting oneself and the passing of time, but through a different path of “action without action” and characterized by the emotion of peace and harmony (i.e., mature happiness rather than feelings of excitement). Wu-Wei is primarily situated in the default mode network of the brain.

Personally, I can accomplish more through Wu-Wei than action because most of my impactful insights and life-changing decisions came from mindful meditation or biblical contemplation. I also have experienced mature happiness through Wu-Wei rather than pleasurable activities because not only can I have a blessed time of inner peace and deep joy in communion with God, nature, and others, but surprisingly also have chaironic happiness.

References

Clough, R. B. (n.d.). The daoist wu wei love of rocks and walden. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/24153106/The_daoist_wu_wei_love_of_rocks_and_walden

Clough, R. B. (n.d.). Wu wei – Augustinian-Daoist transcending through humility. Academic.edu. https://www.academia.edu/24152170/Wu_wei_Augustinian_Daoist_transcending_through_humility

Moleski, M. (2012). Attending to mysteries: instilling Polanyi’s epistemology with the wisdom of Wu Wei. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/4302659/Attending_to_Mysteries_Instilling_Polanyis_Epistemology_with_the_Wisdom_of_Wu_Wei

Tinery, J. (2014). A meditation on the art of not trying. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/science/a-meditation-on-the-art-of-not-trying.html

Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 52(2), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022511

Wong, P. T. P. (2012). Toward a dual-systems model of what makes life worth living. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 3-22). New York, NY: Routledge.

Wong, P. T. P. (2020). Made for Resilience and Happiness: Effective Coping with COVID-19 According to Viktor E. Frankl and Paul T. P. Wong. Toronto, ON: INPM Press.

Wong, P. T. P., & Bowers, V. (2018). Mature happiness and global wellbeing in difficult times. In N. R. Silton (Ed.), Scientific concepts behind happiness, kindness, and empathy in contemporary society. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Xing, Y., & Sims, D. (2011). Leadership, Daoist Wu Wei and reflexivity: Flow, self-protection and excuse in Chinese bank managers’ leadership practice. Management Learning, 43(1), 97-112. DOI: 10.1177/1350507611409659

This article was drawn from: https://www.meaning.ca/isepp/rifs/

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Announcing the Certificate Program for Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0) and Meaning Therapy

Tim Yu — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 16:41:10 +0000

Breaking News!

The long awaited certificate program for existential positive psychology and meaning therapy will soon be offered jointly by the International Network on Personal Meaning (INPM) and the Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute. Dr. Paul Wong, a pioneer in the emerging field of existential positive psychology (aka positive psychology 2.0, or PP 2.0) states that, “Over the years many positive psychology coaches and master of applied positive psychology (MAPP) students have told me that my existential positive psychology (PP 2.0) approach, as a special brand of positive psychology, has changed their lives and practices for the better.”

That is why we want to invite more positive psychology students, researchers, and practitioners to enroll in this newly-available certificate program, which is on the cutting edge of both applied positive psychology and existential psychotherapy.

We are witnessing rising suicide rates in young people (Nationwide Children’s, 2023) and increasing number of people asking for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID; Paperny, 2022). Meaning therapy is designed to address these personal existential crises and other global existential threats such as climate change, the pandemic and the power of Artificial Intelligence.

What is the New Science of Flourishing Through Suffering?

A new science of flourishing through suffering has emerged to find solutions for the existential challenges of the 21^st century (see Wong et al., 2021, 2022). Specifically, this new paradigm for wellbeing consists of the following shifts:

The new positivity is to see the light, be the light, and to kindle a light of meaning even in one’s darkest hours.
When life gets difficult, go deeper by sinking one’s roots deeper into the dark, rich soil of suffering through resilience and levels of processing.
Aim high and aspire to grow tall and flourish by faith and the discipline of self-sacrifice and daily self-improvement.
Learn to integrate polarity through dialectical Yin-Yang interactions and non-duality.
Learn to overcome and transcend inherent limitations and inescapable suffering through self-transcendence and a resilient mindset.

You can learn all the above skills and other innovative interventions in this certificate program. Positive psychology 2.0 reveals the road less travelled, how to transform suffering into blessings, and the value of striving towards the highest transcendental values of faith, hope, and love (Wong, 2023).

Level one – The Four Foundational Courses

Four introductory courses will be taught by Dr. Paul T. P. Wong this fall:

Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy: The key to mental health and flourishing
Integrative Meaning Therapy: How to harness the positive potentials of suffering and turn it into healing and thriving.
Existential Positive Psychology: The new science of global wellbeing and human flourishing through research on indigenous manifestations of existential universals.
The Meaningful Living Project: A grassroots movement towards positive mental health.

You will learn the theoretical and empirical foundation of this emerging field step-by-step, interventions, and research on new positive psychology assessments. Sign up for a complimentary free Positive Living Newsletter to receive additional announcements about this unique certificate program.

References

Nationwide Children’s. (2023, February 15). Youth suicide rates increased during COVID-19 pandemic, especially among particular subgroups. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/newsroom/news-releases/2023/02/bridge_ruch_youthsuicide_pandemic

Paperny, A. M. (2022, December 12). Canada prepares to expand assisted death amid debate. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-prepares-expand-assisted-death-amid-debate-2022-12-11

Wong, P. T. P. (2020). The maturing of positive psychology and the emerging PP2.0 [Book review of Positive Psychology (3rd ed.) by William Compton and Edward Hoffman]. International Journal on WellBeing, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i1.885

Wong, P. T. P. (2023). Spiritual-existential wellbeing (SEW): The faith-hope-love model of mental health and total wellbeing. International Journal of Existential Positive Psychology, 12(1). https://www.meaning.ca/ijepp-article/vol12-no1/spiritual-existential-wellbeing/

Wong, P. T. P., Cowden, R. G., Mayer, C.-H., & Bowers, V. L. (2022). Shifting the paradigm of positive psychology: Toward an existential positive psychology of wellbeing. In A. H. Kemp (Ed.), Broadening the scope of wellbeing science: Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives on human flourishing and wellbeing (pp. 13-27). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18329-4_2

Wong, P. T. P., Mayer, C.-H., & Arslan, G. (2021). COVID-19 and existential positive psychology (PP2.0): The new science of self-transcendence [Editorial]. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800308/full

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The Suffering Hypothesis: How the New Science Supports the Ancient Wisdom of Meaningful Suffering

Tim Yu — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 20:19:20 +0000

The above title sums up the main thrust of all my academic and professional activities this year. It is never easy to change people’s deeply entrenched negative view of suffering, but I have at least turned the corner, thanks to the pandemic. Now, more people are interested in learning about the protective and transformative benefits of suffering.

Some people may wonder how my suffering hypothesis is related to Jonathan Haidt’s (2006) happiness hypothesis. Indeed, the two hypotheses are not only similar in linking ancient wisdom to modern science, but they are also inextricably related to each other as two sides of the same coin.

In other words, neither hypothesis can stand by itself, because the single-minded pursuit of happiness without paying attention to the dark side of life and our inherent vulnerabilities is self-handicapping (Fowers et al., 2017), whereas focusing on liberation from suffering will not be effective without the joy of living.

These two hypotheses represent two essential functions of the soul: (a) to satisfy the soul’s yearning for happiness through meaning work, loving relationships, and serving something or someone greater than we are; and (b) to satisfy the soul’s ultimate concerns and need to co-exist with evil, suffering, and limitations. These two functions need to work together to achieve healing and flourishing according to my dual-system model (Wong, 2012).

This is how we can avoid the extreme of either too much happiness or too much suffering because every extreme will trigger a strong reaction. It is through integrating happiness and suffering that we can find the middle way – to be safely happy and to suffer joyfully (Soper, 2020; Wong, 2011).

The New Science of Flourishing Through Suffering

The above discussion provides a backdrop for the need of the new science of necessary and meaningful suffering. Way back in 2003, I already proposed that the suffering hypothesis is necessary for happiness. Here is a quote from my original article (Wong, 2003):

“Why is happiness so illusive and intractable? Why is it that after thousands of psychological studies on this topic, most people still find happiness an empty promise? Why are progress and prosperity not translated into an increase in happiness and quality of life? How do we explain this paradox?

One hypothesis is that perhaps most people have been looking for happiness in all the wrong places, and they don’t really know what it looks like. They might not even recognize it when happiness lands on their lap like a butterfly….

(1) Life is always a mixture of happiness and suffering. No one is immune from pain and we all live under the shadow of suffering and death,

(2) There is often a complex and dynamic relationship between happiness and suffering. There is a Chinese saying: “The extreme form of happiness produces sorrow.” Just as happiness may lead to suffering, so does suffering lead to happiness.

In sum, there are no perfect pictures of happiness, no clear-cut unalloyed joy. A complete understanding of happiness needs to take into account the above two principles.”

During the last 20 years, much has changed in our society as well as in positive psychology (Wong, 2019, 2020a). My latest publication (Wong, Mayer et al., 2021) provides a glimpse of the progress made in testing and developing the suffering hypothesis. To illustrate this progress, here is a quote from that publication:

“Suffering Provides New Grounds for Hope and Happiness: Suffering teaches us life intelligence and calm-based mature happiness as an antidote to a shallow view of life. Wong’s has published extensively on tragic optimism and mature happiness (Wong and McDonald, 2002; Wong, 2009b, 2017c; Wong and Bowers, 2018). An existential perspective enables us to see life as it is and yet with a trauma-informed positivity.

Sustainable wellbeing can be achieved through learning how to make the best use of the dynamic and dialectic interplay between positive and negative life experiences in each context. The ancient Yin-Yang dialectic or the contemporary dual-system model (Wong, 2012) provides a blueprint of how to navigate between opposite forces, such as good and evil, and self and other, which are prevalent in life (Lomas and Ivtzan, 2016; Wong and Bowers, 2018; Deng et al., 2020; Wong, 2020c).

To succeed in life or achieve wellbeing, one needs to find the right balance between Yin and Yang. In other words, PP2.0 represents the complete circle or the wholeness of wellbeing in which Yin and Yang co-exist in optimal balance and harmony as shown in the Yin-Yang symbol.

Several papers in this issue show that suffering can lead to deeper joy, inner harmony, or calm-based happiness (Carreno et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2021; Robbins, 2021; Wasowicz et al., 2021); existential gratitude and altruistic behavior (Al-Refae et al., 2021; Jans-Beken, 2021; Kotera & van Gordon, 2021; Kotera et al., 2021); and a sense of tragic optimism (Leung et al., 2021; Mead et al., 2021) through dialectics and courage (Bai et al., 2021; Ferreira et al., 2021; Rajkumar, 2021; Van Tongeren & Showalter Van Tongeren, 2021).”

The Worst of Times and the Best of Times

This is probably the worst of times in terms of global disruptions and devastation, but it is also the best of times in terms of transforming people’s lives to a more meaningful and authentic existence (Frankl, 1946/1985). Life has meaning to the extent that suffering has meaning. How we respond to our fate and suffering determines whether become better or bitter, as Frankl (1946/1985) wrote in his classic Man’s Search for Meaning:

“The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances – to add a deeper meaning to his life.”

Frankl’s concept of the human search for meaning, or self-transcendence, was fully expanded by Wong (2014, 2016, 2020b, 2021a), as well as by Wong, Arslan and colleagues (2021).

This year is by far the most productive year for me to spread the message of flourishing through meaning and suffering. More than any other year, in 2021, I had a total of 10 articles published in refereed journal with two additional papers still under review. I also published 8 chapters, offered numerous webinars globally, and appeared in several podcasts (for details, please see my curriculum vitae).

In addition to organizing this year’s meaning conference and presenting two global webinars on how to thrive during COVID-19, here are three noteworthy events this year which helped attract more attention to existential positive psychology:

Establishment of INPM’s Research Institute on Flourishing and Suffering (RIFS) to advance research.
My presentation to Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program on The Surprising New Science of Suffering: What is Suffering? How Can We Turn it into Flourishing? (Wong, 2021b). See the full video recording here.
Appearing on Scott Barry Kaufman’s podcast – the world’s most popular psychology podcast – and speaking about existential positive psychology. See the full podcast here.

Conclusion: How do we Flourish Through Suffering?

In sum, suffering contributes to flourishing in four ways:

Suffering triggers one’s search for meaning as a better option than addiction, aggression, and suicide in very trying times.
It motivates people to voluntarily embrace sacrifice in order to become one’s best, thus making suffering more meaningful and worthwhile.
It teaches people how to manage or overcome painful emotions and experiences so that they can have greater likelihood to be happy and healthy.
It serves several protective and transformative functions, such as diagnostic, curative, redemptive, character building, and contributing to resilience and personal growth.

I am most grateful to be able to continue developing my suffering hypothesis. I could have died a couple of times, but God has spared my life so that I can bring meaning and happiness to the suffering people.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to all the members of the INPM community for their partnership and support. I wish you a blessed and safe holiday.

References

Fowers, B. J., Richardson, F. C., & Slife, B. D. (2017). Frailty, suffering, and vice: Flourishing in the face of human limitations. American Psychological Association.

Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning. Washington Square Press. (Originally published in 1946)

Haidt, J. (2006). The happiness hypothesis: Finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. Basic Books.

Soper, C. A. (2020). The evolution of life worth living: Why we choose to live. C. A. Soper.

Wong, P. T. P. (2003). Finding happiness through suffering [President’s Column]. Positive Living Newsletter. https://www.meaning.ca/archives/presidents_columns/pres_col_aug_2003_happiness-through-suffering.htm

Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 52(2), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022511

Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Viktor Frankl’s meaning-seeking model and positive psychology. In A. Batthyany & P. Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 149–184). Springer Science + Business Media.

Wong, P. T. P. (2016). Meaning-seeking, self-transcendence, and well-being. In A. Batthyany (Ed.), Logotherapy and existential analysis: Proceedings of the Viktor Frankl Institute (Vol. 1; pp. 311-322). Springer.

Wong, P. T. P. (2019). Second wave positive psychology’s (PP 2.0) contribution to counselling psychology. Counselling Psychology Quarterly [Special Issue]. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2019.1671320

Wong, P. T. P. (2020a). The maturing of positive psychology and the emerging PP2.0 [Book review of Positive Psychology (3rd ed.) by William Compton and Edward Hoffman]. International Journal on WellBeing, 10(1). Doi:10.5502/ijw.v10i1.885

Wong, P. T. P. (2020b). Made for Resilience and Happiness: Effective Coping with COVID-19 According to Viktor E. Frankl and Paul T. P. Wong. Toronto, ON: INPM Press.

Wong, P. T. P. (2021a). The Frankl cure for the 21st century: Why self-transcendence is the key to mental health and flourishing. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 41(2), 33-50. Doi:10.31234/osf.io/tbx3f

Wong, P. T. P. (2021b, October 18). The surprising science of suffering: Why is suffering necessary for flourishing? The Harvard Human Flourishing Program. http://www.drpaulwong.com/the-surprising-science-of-suffering-why-is-suffering-necessary-for-flourishing/

Wong, P. T. P., Arslan, G., Bowers, V. L., Peacock, E. J., Kjell, O. N. E., Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T. (2021). Self-transcendence as a buffer against COVID-19 suffering: The development and validation of the Self-Transcendence measure-B. Frontiers, 12, 4229. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648549

Wong, P. T. P., Mayer, C.-H., & Arslan, G. (2021). Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0) and the New Science of Flourishing Through Suffering [Editorial]. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800308/full

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Transcend the Pandemic: How to Redesign the Future of Work*

Tim Yu — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 13:54:28 +0000

*Based on my presentation at the symposium on the Future of Work at the annual Convention of Social of Consulting Psychology, Feb.4-7, 2021

Abstract

The coronavirus has drastically changed the world of work and demands a redesign for organizations and individuals in order to meet the numerous new challenges, such as working remotely and a reduction of resources. In this paper, I propose a self-transcendence model with five main modules: (1) Life is about what I can give rather than what I can get, (2) Replace egotistic pursuits with cultivating connections, (3) Replace the tendency to avoid suffering with the courage to confront challenges, (4) Replace manipulations with responsibility, (5) Focus on innovations rather than the shortage of resources.

Introduction

In a recent interview with a BBC reporter on how to cope with the pandemic, I said: “The biggest untold story in positive psychology is that suffering may terrify millions of people, but true happiness is unattainable without it. In fact, the pandemic may be a moment of spiritual awakening. I want to shout from the rooftop: ‘Stop running away from suffering and chasing after happiness, but pause and embrace suffering’. This would be the first step towards finding true happiness and transformation.” In this paper, I want to unpack the powerful idea that suffering can be a blessing in disguise.

Indeed, the pandemic has turned the world upside down. Its economic impact is devastating, with the majority of countries in recession and many industries crumbling (Jones et al., 2021). At the individual level, countless small businesses have gone bankrupt and millions of people have lost their jobs (Congressional Research Service, 2021). How can people stay positive and optimistic when so many things have gone wrong? What can psychologists do to help organizations and individuals rise from the ashes?

From my experience of working with many clients during the era of COVID-19, I have discovered that they felt much better when I told them: “We are all in the same boat, feeling anxious and stressed, because right now life is full of danger and suffering.” Much to my surprise, they responded with great interest when I shared with them the paradox that the more we try to avoid suffering the more we suffer, but when we are willing to embrace our feelings of loneliness, distress, and anxiety with courage, we begin to gain an upper hand of our painful emotions. They were eager to learn more about how they could cope with the pandemic and lockdown better.

Earlier, I pointed out that the pandemic also provides a rare opportunity for personal and organizational transformation if we learn the necessary lessons, such as tragic optimism (Wong, 2020a). In this paper, I want to lay out several principles of self-transcendence which can completely transform our outlook on life help us cope with the current crisis better.

More specifically, in the present paper, I want to emphasize that the new science of existential positive psychology (PP 2.0) is needed for the following reasons:

Humanity is facing many existential threats, from the pandemic to our inherent vulnerabilities.
We all need to accept and face our dark side of human existence, from tragic events to our Shadow or dark triad.
Much of human suffering is existential suffering. Even when we have everything to meet our physical or social needs, we may still be tormented with such existential questions as “Who am I?” “Does life as any meaning?” “What is the point of struggling when we all die in the end?”
Life is full of paradoxes. The powerful paradoxical truth is that “only in darkness can you see the stars,” according to Martin Luther King, Jr. In other words, the power of positivity in times of suffering is that we have the innate capacity to shine in the darkness.

Indeed, paradoxically, our character comes from overcoming trials and temptations, mature happiness comes from embracing negative emotions, and tragic optimism results from transcending trauma and despair. There are all kind of psychological and practical benefits hidden behind the surface of adversity. Thus, the new science of flourishing through suffering represents the future of positive psychology as I have advocated during the first decade of 21^st century.

A New Paradigm of Self-transcendence is Needed for the Future of Work

From the new perspective of existential positive psychology, the following diagram of an inverted pyramid shows the self-transcendence model for organizational success in the post-pandemic era.

It begins with the need to create a positive corporate culture of self-transcendence–losing oneself in serving the common good as a humble servant (Wong, 2012; Wong & Gupta, 2004; Wong & Page, 2003). This change is needed because the old hierarchical structure of command and control is not flexible enough for the brave new world when most people are working remotely and decisions often need to be made quickly on the frontline without going through the long review-and-approve process. Furthermore, in a digital economy, knowledge workers need to develop their leadership potentials to make good decisions as part of a small team in a flat organization.

Another reason for servant leadership is that even in small groups, there is still the problem that different individuals have different ideas; instead of rational discussion of which ideas are the best, the discussion often degenerates into a battle between oversized egos. As a result, valuable time is wasted. That is why it is important to learn how to reduce egotism through the practice of self-transcendence.

Self-transcendence is the natural antidote to the problem of egotism, especially when the ego is taking a beating in the current pandemic crisis. In the above quote, Viktor Frankl (1946/1985) clearly points out the paradox of self-transcendence – one needs to lose one’s ego in order to actualize oneself and advance the common good.

While Frankl discovered the truth of self-transcendence early in his career because of his painful experience with two world wars, Maslow discovered the same thing much later in his career. He found out from his observation that the pursuit of self-actualization is a dead end because actualized people can still be arrogant jerks without the awakening to B-values, such as truth, goodness, and beauty, which are needed to transcend egotism (Koltko-Rivera, 2006; Maslow, 1971).

In Maslow’s revised need pyramid, the highest level of development is self-transcendence. At this stage, a whole new world opens up when we go beyond the inherent limitations of the self as an isolated biological and psychological entity, as illustrated by the following figure.

When self-transcendence is applied to leadership, the implications are huge. In addition to opening up to the mysteries and wonders of the cosmos, thus, tapping into the boundless resources in the transcendental realm, a servant leader is devoted to serving others rather than feeding one’s own ego. Therefore, it is a natural antidote to all the problems coming from egotism – abuse of power, corruption, and violation of public trust. More importantly, self-transcendence demands a quantum shift in our life orientation from asking “What can I get from others?” to “What can I do for others?” Thus, the first principle of meaning is that life is about what I can give rather than what I can get.

A servant leader contributes to good work at three levels (Wong & Roy, 2018):

They empower individual workers to develop their full potentials and do their best in spite of difficulties.
They unite the team to achieve a common goal in spite of individual differences.
They contribute to the greater good of society.

The best part of being a servant leader is that one can have maximum flexibility and emotional agility (David, 2016) because one is freed from the self-made prison of greed and pride. Being selfless, a servant leader has nothing to lose but fear of failure.

According to Tao Te Ching (Anderson, 2021), the main text of Taoism, the way of a servant leader is to be like water. By not exalting oneself and willing to go to lowly place where nobody wants to go, one is able to benefit all the people within the sphere of influence.

In addition to servant leadership, the self-transcendence model includes four modules of values. Each module is referred to as a triangle because it consists of a set of three interrelated rules:

The Golden Triangle of innate motivation for connections with one’s true self and calling, with other people, and with God or a higher power.
The Iron Triangle of summoning up one’s courage to face life in its totality, to accept the dark side of human existence, and to transform all painful experiences into triumphs.
The Executive Triangle of taking the ethical and instrumental responsibility to do the right thing.
The Creative Triangle of finding a path where there is no path.

Altogether, there are 12 rules as summarized below. Each of these 12 rules can be translated into a skill or competence that enables us to transcend our inherent limitations, vulnerabilities, and external constraints. Thus, self-transcendence is a lifelong learning process of how to grow beyond oneself.

The Golden Triangle represents one’s spiritual yearning for connections, which make us fully functioning human beings. A more detailed graphic representation can be found below, which explains why a meaningful life is based on the universal values of faith, hope, and love. Without these three spiritual qualities, one will continue to feel a nagging inner emptiness no matter how successful one’s life is.

These three golden rules can be viewed as the three spiritual laws essential for human flourishing. Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model may be sufficient to achieve flourishing in times of peace and prosperity, but we need faith, hope, and love to co-create a bit of Heaven in the midst of the worst hell on earth. The golden triangle places us where we belong – a part of God’s creation and a part of the human family. Therefore, our wellbeing is inextricably linked to something much larger than ourselves.

The above meme is just another way to summarize the benefits of the three spiritual laws. Furthermore, the Golden Triangle is always accompanied by the Iron Triangle with courage at its center. Faith in the omnipotent God automatically endows us with the courage because God’s answer is: ” Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV).

The Iron Triangle recognizes that when control and commitment are no longer possible, one can always resort to the existential courage to accept our hard fate or misfortune and transform the meaning of suffering into a hero’s journey as ways of coping with what is beyond human control (Wong, 2017).

The executive processes, according to the self-transcendence paradigm, are anchored in a strong sense of responsibility – we are both ethically and instrumentally responsible for making the right choice and getting the job done, no matter how difficult the situation. Being a part of the central microprocessors, along with the golden and iron triangles, one receives divine support in one’s daily heroic effort. Thus, self-control, self-determination and self-awareness depend on ego strength (internal control) as much as on trusting in God’s guidance and protection (external control) in a two-dimensional space (Wong & Sproule, 1984).

The last set of microprocessors is known as the Creativity Triangle, whose main function is to find a way out in desperate situations through imagining all possible solutions and finding inspiration from giants in the past or from the treasure trove of ancient wisdoms, such as the Bible or Tao Te Ching.

According to Homer-Dixion (2011), the challenge for the 21^st century is not the shortage of resources but the ingenuity gap. That is why future leaders and workers need to rise to the challenge by dreaming impossible dreams and have the courage take good care of both the environment and the human need for resources.

Unlike the American brand of positive psychology, the self-transcendence paradigm of PP 2.0 focuses on integrating the bright and dark sides of life as two sides of the same coin. In my recent review on Compton’s positive psychology textbook (Wong, 2020b), I singled out Kaufman et al.’s (2019) research on contrasting the light vs. dark triad of personality as an example of PP 2.0. I also suggested the next step in research on the joint effect of light and dark sides of life is as co-variants working together on one’s wellbeing and flourishing.

Conclusions

Throughout my presentation, I emphasized that in the era of post-COVID-19, the inverted pyramid model of servant leadership and self-transcendence is needed because:

It creates an organizational culture based on connections, resilience, responsibility, and creativity.
It encourages a leadership style that optimizes flexibility in adaptation to change.
It empowers workers and develops the potential of human resources.
It inspires leaders and individuals to face an uncertain future with faith, courage, and ingenuity.
More importantly, it helps to achieve wellbeing and mature happiness (Wong & Bowers, 2018) through integrating a divided self and a polarized nation.

References

Anderson, R. (2021). The divine feminine Tao Te Ching: A new translation and commentary. Inner Traditions.

Congressional Research Service. (2021). Unemployment rates during the COVID-19 pandemic: In brief. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46554.pdf

David, S. (2016). Emotional agility: Get unstuck, embrace change, and thrive in work and life. Avery.

Frankl, V. E. (1946/1985). Man’s search for meaning. Washington Square Press.

Homer-Dixion, T. (2001). The ingenuity gap: Can we solve the problems of the future? Knopf Canada.

Jones, L., Palumbo, D., & Brown, D. (2021). Coronavirus: How the pandemic has changed the world economy. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225

Kaufman, S. B., Yaden, D. B., Hyde, E., & Tsukayama, E. (2019). The light vs. dark triad of personality: Contrasting two very different profiles of human nature. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 467. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00467

Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2006). Rediscovering the later version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Self-transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification. Review of General Psychology, 10(4), 302-317.

Maslow, A. (1971). Farther reaches of human nature. McGraw-Hill.

New International Version (NIV) Bible. (2011). New International Version (NIV) Bible (Original work published 1978). Biblica.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press.

Wong, P. T. P. (2012). Positive Management. Presented at the 3rd Australian Conference of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, Wollongong, Australia. https://www.academia.edu/2997735/Positive_management

Wong, P. T. P. (2017). Coping and stress. In A. Wenzel (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of abnormal and clinical psychology (pp. 886-890). New York, NY: Sage.

Wong, P. T. P. (2020a). President’s Column: 7 Reasons Why the New Normal May Be Good for You. Positive Living Newsletter. http://www.drpaulwong.com/7-reasons-why-the-new-normal-may-be-good-for-you/

Wong, P. T. P. (2020b). The maturing of positive psychology and the emerging PP 2.0 [Book review of Positive Psychology (3rd ed.) by William Compton and Edward Hoffman]. International Journal on WellBeing, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i1.885

Wong, P. T. P., & Gupta, V. (2004). The positive psychology of transformative organizations: A fresh perspective and evidence from the Anglo context. In V. Gupta (Ed.). Transformative Organizations. (pp. 341-360). Sage Publications.

Wong, P. T. P., & Page, D. (2003). Servant leadership: An opponent-process model and the revised servant leadership profile. Presented at the servant leadership roundtable. http://www.drpaulwong.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Wong-Servant-Leadership-An-Opponent-Process-Model.pdf

Wong, P. T. P., & Roy, S. (2018). Critique of positive psychology and positive interventions. In N. J. L. Brown, T. Lomas, & F. J. Eiroa-Orosa (Eds.), Routledge international handbooks. The Routledge international handbook of critical positive psychology (pp. 142–160). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Wong, P. T. P., & Sproule, C. F. (1984). Attributional analysis of locus of control and the Trent Attribution Profile (TAP). In H. M. Lefcourt (Ed.), Research with the locus of control construct (Vol. 3): Limitations and extensions (pp. 309-360). New York, NY: Academic Press.

The post Transcend the Pandemic: How to Redesign the Future of Work* appeared first on International Network on Personal Meaning.

Two Different Models of Human Flourishing: Seligman’s PERMA Model Versus Wong’s Self-transcendence Model

Tim Yu — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:33:33 +0000

©Dr. Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D.

Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model is limited by its failure to address existential suffering, which can undermine our best efforts to achieve flourishing. Wong’s model is developed from the framework of existential positive psychology (PP 2.0):

Existential anxieties and negative emotions are an inescapable aspect of life. The pursuit and expectation of positive emotions only leads to disappointment and unhappiness.
Sometimes, reality requires us to do things that we don’t particularly enjoy, either for making a living or fulfilling some moral obligation of social responsivity, such caring of a sick parent, or fighting against discrimination. Sometimes, reality, such as lockdown or hospitalization, can also prevent us from engaging in our favorite activities. Also, doing nothing or wu-wei in self-reflection or appreciation of life can contribute to wellbeing without instrumental action.
Maintaining good relationships requires mutual dependence, vulnerability, sacrifice, and loyalty. Relationships cannot be maintained for long if we use others as instruments for our own happiness. A common Western value is making friends only with those who can contribute to our happiness or success. Such an individualistic and instrumental view makes genuine or authentic relationships impossible.
All purposes or life goals are not equal. Some misguided ambitions, such as pursuing money, fame, power, or even for the common good, can be destructive for the self and society. A life purpose can be misguided when it ideologically or egotistically motivated at the expense of ethical and moral considerations.
Accomplishment can lead to either arrogance or envy and disappointment. Also, chronic disabilities or marginalization may prevent one from any measurable accomplishment. A better criterion may be whether we are dong what is constitutively and naturally good with all our heart and effort, given our external and internal limitations.

Therefore, my Self-transcendence model of flourishing based on existential positive psychology (Wong, 2020, 2021) is based on:

Having the existential courage to embrace all emotions and learn to maintain inner peace and contentment.
Assuming the responsibility to do what is right and good in spite of limitations and opposition by doing what we can, with what we have, at where we are and with creativity and faith in a better future.
Seeking genuine connections with our true self, with others, and with God.
Pursuing our calling or future goal with passion and perseverance. When our life goals are constitutively and naturally good, such goal strivings are intrinsically and objectively meaningful, significant, and fulfilling.
Accomplishment that is no longer just measured by worldly success in terms of recognition and monetary reward, but by a different set of metrics, such as human decency, making a difference in someone’s life, and growing each year to bear good fruits.

References

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press.

Wong, P. T. P. (2020). President’s Column: 7 Reasons Why the New Normal May Be Good for You. Positive Living Newsletter. http://www.drpaulwong.com/7-reasons-why-the-new-normal-may-be-good-for-you/

Wong, P. T. P. (2021). Existential Positive Psychology (PP 2.0) and global wellbeing: Why it is Necessary During the Age of COVID-19. IJEPP, 10(1), 1-16.

The post Two Different Models of Human Flourishing: Seligman’s PERMA Model Versus Wong’s Self-transcendence Model appeared first on International Network on Personal Meaning.

Vulnerability Awareness and The New Science of Transforming Suffering Into Resilience

Tim Yu — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 19:36:50 +0000

Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych

The courage to face our suffering is the first step towards turning away from toxic positivity and addiction towards healthy positivity. Awareness of our vulnerability is the first step towards positive transformation. These two counterintuitive ideas are the main inspirations for the new science of existential positive psychology (PP 2.0; Wong, 2021).

As human beings, no one is immune from the uncomfortable feelings of vulnerability. Somehow, we all have experienced moments of fear or even terror that we may be rejected, proven wrong, or replaced by others. Such feelings of inadequacy or inferiority may come from unfavourable social conditions, the critical voices of parents, or past trauma. They may even stem from our realistic assessment of our own physical or mental limitations in facing the enormous challenges of living through a crisis.

In the era of COVID-19 and during prolonged lockdown, more and more people become painfully aware of the emptiness and loneliness of their existence without the parties, pubs, sports, and entertainments. In fact, most of my clients during the pandemic want to know how they can find some meaning and purpose so that can fill their inner void.

One of my clients actually confessed: “So far, all I have done was to do well in school, get a good job, and married the woman I loved. I have succeeded beyond my expectations, but I still feel insecure and unhappy and I feel that there is something missing in my life.” This awareness brought him to me and to a journey of personal transformation.

In short, whatever the cause, they are haunted by the nagging feeling of the inadequacy and meaninglessness of their life, and they are earnest in their search for meaning and fulfillment.

According to PP 2.0, such deeply rooted feelings of vulnerability may be part of our DNA and may play an important part in our survival and flourishing. Last year, I explained in some detail this optimistic view in Let your vulnerability be your strength (Wong, 2019).

More recently, I wrote: “The silver lining is that in spite of all the gloomy predictions about the mental health crisis and economic fallout, something beautiful and good could emerge out of the devastation.” (Wong, 2020). Paradoxically, feelings of vulnerability and emptiness may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Now I am proposing a Vulnerability Awareness Scale (VAS) as part of my vision to develop the new science of transforming suffering into resilience and flourishing. My hypothesis is that the VAS is a better predictor of resilience, mental health, and mature happiness than traditional positive variables, such as signature character strengths (VIA) and high social-economic-status.

I invite you to complete the VAS as honestly as you can as part of the process to develop a valid and reliable psychological measure.

Click here to view the VAS

References

Wong, P. T. P. (2019). Let your vulnerability be your strength [President’s Column]. Positive Living Newsletter. http://www.drpaulwong.com/let-your-vulnerability-be-your-strength/

Wong, P. T. P. (2020). 7 Reasons Why the New Normal May Be Good for You [President’s Column]. Positive Living Newsletter. http://www.drpaulwong.com/7-reasons-why-the-new-normal-may-be-good-for-you/

Wong, P. T. P. (2021). Existential Positive Psychology (PP 2.0) and global wellbeing: Why it is Necessary During the Age of COVID-19. IJEPP, 10(1), 1-16.

The post Vulnerability Awareness and The New Science of Transforming Suffering Into Resilience appeared first on International Network on Personal Meaning.

What is the Greatest Need Today?

Webmaster — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 19:37:00 +0000

Abstract

In a democratic society, people are free to choose, but are not free from the consequences of their choices. A sense of responsibility towards the self, others, and a higher authority serves the important function of guiding people to make the right choices. Therefore, the survival and wellbeing of individuals and society depends on the responsible use of freedom. Most areas of self psychology, such as internal control and self-efficacy, are predicated on the assumption of human beings as responsible instrumental agents (Wong, 2019a), but the important role of responsibility in wellbeing remains under-researched. It seems most appropriate that for the 18^th anniversary of 9/11, this paper maps out major areas of responsibility for further research and draws extensive support from the book, Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility by Ken Shelton and Daniel L. Bolz (2008).

Introduction

It has been more than 10 years since I first read Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility. Recently, I reread this book for the purpose of writing this President’s Column on the theme of responsibility. To my surprise, almost all the important things that needed to be said about responsibility were already well-stated in this book. I was so impressed with the richness of this edited volume that I was determined to write a review.

This book is an anthology of 70 essays on the topic of responsibility, written by many individuals from different walks of life, such as past U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, John McCain, Pope John Paul II, Desmond Tutu, Christopher Reeve, Oprah Winfrey, Dallin H. Oaks, Norman Schwarzkopf, Rudolph Giuliani, Jack Canfield, Tom Peters, Howard Gardner, Alexander Pattakos, and Paul T. P. Wong.

It is awkward for me to write a book review when I am also a contributing author. Therefore, I decided to write an essay on the responsible use of freedom and cite relevant materials from this book. I took on this challenging task because I was deeply convinced that this book should be in every person’s hand at this critical time, when the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Unfortunately, this book is already out of print, but the quotations used will illustrate how this book was quite the treasure trove.

Historically, freedom has gained an upper hand in the struggle between democracy and authoritarian regimes. But the current political crises in Washington and London and the existential threat to the free world from authoritarian regimes can be attributed to the eroding of personal responsibility in the West.

My thesis is that freedom without responsibility leads to anarchy; responsibility without freedom leads to tyranny. Neither is desirable. The only acceptable condition is when freedom and responsibility co-exist as inseparable twins, with responsibility being the big brother. Without either one of the pair, the system is not sustainable.

Even the strongest authoritarian regime is fragile because, no matter how brutal the oppression and how complete the surveillance and control, eventually it will collapse. The truth is that no government can forcibly suppress the basic human yearning for liberty, self-determination, and the freedom to worship God or a Higher Power.

America, the first successful experiment in democracy, remains the ideal form of human government and the magnet for all lovers of freedom and all the oppressed in the world. However, this experiment is doomed to fail, when anarchy prevails in the form of carnal indulgence and nihilistic violence.

The recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong lends some credence to my hypothesis about the basic human need for freedom. On one occasion, almost two million people took to the streets, risking the danger of teargas and baton attacks by the police. It reminds me of the early stages of the massive student protests in Beijing that ended in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

It is most telling that Hong Kong protestors marched to the American consulate for protection from the prospect of bloody oppression by the Chinese Communist Party. These young protestors have paid a high price in taking a stand for freedom and democracy because they believe that it is their last chance to fight against an oppressive totalitarian government in Beijing, even if they know that they have little hope of success.

It goes without saying that Hongkongers, like everybody else, want to live a normal, peaceful life—going to school, getting a job, raising a family, and pursuing their own dreams. They don’t believe that such liberty is possible when Hong Kong becomes just another city in China, because many of them are descendants of refugees, escaping to Hong Kong from persecution in China. To them, no sacrifice is too great to protect the last haven for freedom within Chinese territory.

Many years ago, I wrote: “Never in the history of humanity had so many freedoms been won for the individual in so many countries. Yet, liberty without responsibility poses the greatest threat to democracy” (Wong, 2001). Freedom is never free. Countless people have given their lives in the struggle for democracy.

On this 18^th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, let us remember that life is short and freedom is fragile; we need to make responsible use of our time to build a stronger democratic society and defend our precious freedom. Mark Victor Hansen (2008) put before us the never-ending challenge of fighting for freedom and democracy:

You are coded at a DNA level to be free. Once you are free and love it, you want to help free every person everywhere. Abe Lincoln freed the American slaves in 1865. Yet today, over half of the world’s population is politically enslaved. More are economically enslaved. (p. 10)

This paper will focus on three main themes of responsibility—responsibility to the self, to others, and to God, supported by selected quotes from Responsibility 911.

I have always argued that responsibility is a master virtue (Wong, 2019b), responsible for all other virtues identified by Peterson and Seligman (2004) as illustrated by Figure 1.

Future research will show that the above three kinds of responsibility will map these three broad categories of virtue perfectly—head virtue, heart virtue, and spiritual virtue. It is my hypothesis that the most effective way to safeguard democracy is for all free people to internalize and practice personal, social, and spiritual responsibility.

Figure 1. How responsibility is related to different virtue (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).

The Statue of Responsibility

Figure 2. Daniel Louis Bolz, director of the Statue of Responsibility Foundation and co-editor of Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility.

Viktor Frankl has long contended that meaning in life is predicated on the responsible use of freedom of choice and personal responsibility. His vision of erecting a Statue of Responsibility was to remind people of the fragility of democracy without responsibility. Responsibility 911 was originally published to promote the Statue of Responsibility project, sculpted by Gary Lee Price (Figure 3), with Daniel Louis Bolz as former CEO (Figure 2).

Figure 3. Gary Lee Price Sculpting the Statue of Responsibility.

This is what Frankl (1985) wrote in his bestseller, Man’s Search for Meaning:

Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

As stated eloquently by one of the editors, Daniel Bolz (2008):

As Dr. Viktor Frankl stated, “Freedom is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half the truth. The positive aspect of freedom is responsibility.” There comes a time in a nation’s history when its core values must be revisited, re-energized, and re-enthroned, in order for that nation to endure. We live in such a time. We all know what America stands for. Our beacon of hope and freedom reaches out to all. For democracy to thrive under the banner of freedom, responsibility must co-exist with liberty. (p. 12)

For me (Wong, 2008), the value of the Statue of Responsibility lies in its symbolic value rather than its artistic appeal:

Can you visualize the Statue of Responsibility of two intertwined hands? It symbolizes one person helping another person. This statue is a powerful reminder of all the victims of oppressions and all the starving people in poverty-stricken countries. They are our neighbours. They are us. When we learn to fully appreciate the gift of freedom, not only as an inalienable human right, but also as the innate human capacity, then we are on our way towards creating a compassionate, responsible society. (p. 33)

Obama (2008) reminds us of both the exceptional freedom America offers, and the important principle of responsibility that comes with such freedom:

America is an unlikely place—a country built on the defiance of the odds; on a belief in the impossible. It’s now your turn to keep this daringly radical notion of America alive. No matter where you’re born or how much your parents have; no matter what you look like or what you believe in, you can still rise to become whatever you want; still go on to achieve great things; still pursue the happiness you hope for. (p. 128)

You need to take on the challenge because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because it’s only when you connect to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. Keep these principles alive in your own life. (p. 130)

Another way to look at responsibility is that it is part of our human nature and innate capacity. Our salvation, individually and collectively, depends on responsibility, which can be considered as nature’s way for survival and flourishing even in dangerous times. Here are the four immutable natural Laws of Responsibility:

The law of cause and effect: Your every action or decision has consequences.
The law of karma: You reap what you sow, both good and bad.
The law of effort: Your productivity depends on your efforts.
The law of habit: You are what you do repeatedly, leading to either success or failure.

Personal Responsibility to Oneself

The first responsibility is towards oneself. One’s survival and wellbeing depend on it. People with a conscientious personality will take their work more seriously, but everyone needs to develop a sense of ownership for their own lives and achievements. A sense of entitlement can destroy us.

Our capacity for freedom is the source of our greatest achievements and worst punishments. Responsibility is the key to prevent us from the broad way of self-destruction and guide us to the narrow path of striving to become our best.

Jack Canfield (2008) gave us the most important success principle—take responsibility for your life:

One pervasive myth in American culture today is that we are entitled to a great life—that somehow, somewhere, someone (certainly not us) is responsible for filling out lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time, and blissful personal relationships—simply because we exist. The truth is that there is only one person responsible for the quality of the life that you are living, and that person is you! If you want to be more successful, you have to take 100 percent responsibility for everything that you experience in your life. This includes the level of your achievements, the results you produce, the quality of your relationships, the state of your health, your income, your debts, your feelings—everything! (p. 23)

It behooves us to meditate on John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s quotation as inscribed at the Rockefeller Center, which clearly states the principle of personal responsibility:

I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity, an obligation; every possession a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

Do you want happiness and success? Do you want freedom from addiction and slavery? Then wake up from your semi-slumbering state of wandering through life and take full responsibility for your wellbeing and future each and every day. Stop wasting your time and wasting your talents and potentials. Get actively involved in life and discover your meaning for living. When everything fails, the human capacity of meaning-seeking and meaning-making can be the bridge that takes us from desperation to hope for a better future.

For Viktor Frankl (1985) and myself (Wong, 2012), responsibility equals meaning. Following Frankl, Wong defines meaning in terms of Purpose, Understanding, Responsibility, and Enjoyment (PURE). Frankl’s genius was identifying responsibility as an important half of the freedom-responsibility pair, essential for launching the quest for meaning and self-transcendence.

As the first tenet of logotherapy, freedom-of-will is a necessary step for a meaningful life; it hypothesizes that people who believe in the inherent human capacity for freedom and responsibility, regardless of circumstances, will show higher autonomy, authenticity, and live more meaningful lives than those without such beliefs (Wong, 2014). Thus, apart from a deep sense of responsibility, all the activities designed to achieve meaning in life would not survive the horrors of human existence.

Social Responsibility to Others and Society

Society as a whole cannot function or exist in harmony without civil responsibilities that counteract individuals’ selfishness and greediness. Fighting only for individual rights will threaten social stability and wellbeing. Social justice is another urgent issue, to which psychologists can no longer turn a blind eye. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things.”

Most pages of Responsibility 911 are devoted to this theme, underlying the importance of social responsibility in a civil society. We are not only accountable to others for our words and actions, we are also our neighbors’ keepers, as depicted by the Statue of Responsibility.

Howard Gardner (2008) pointed out that we are responsible not only for good work, but also for the wellbeing of others:

Most of us think in terms of our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and a comfortable life. Yet, we all have certain responsibilities. We’re expected to assume responsibility for our health and welfare; for those who depend on us—spouses, off-springs, and as they age, grandparents and parents; for those at our workplace, profession, neighborhood, community, and society. (p. 44)

Finally, we are all responsible for climate change. If we cannot protect our planet, humanity along with other animals will no longer have a home to live. Gifford Pinchot (2008) posed this environmental challenge to us:

Make every individual an ecological champion. Environmental responsibility can’t be tucked away in a staff group; for peak performance, nearly everyone must feel the urge to serve both the customer and the environment. The primary job of leaders is lighting the fire that drives people to make the right decisions on their own and keeping the system from putting that fire out. Good leaders are making bold statements of ecological concern that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. (p. 159)

Human Responsibility to God or a Higher Power

A belief in God and supernatural punishment for moral and social transgression is favoured by evolution biology; such a belief was wired in the human brain to promote ethical behaviour and cooperation (Johnson, 2005). This hypothesis has plenty of empirical support in both ancient and modern societies. In an atheist society, there is less moral constraint; some if not all evils are permissible.

Throughout history, the greatest evils were committed by individuals playing the role of god without any fear of supernatural punishment. Human survival depends on our humility to recognize our creaturehood and the belief that we are held accountable for our behaviours by a higher authority.

Pope John Paul II (2008) emphasises that all people in this world hunger and thirst for human rights and dignity. He asked this rhetorical question:

How can a state call for trust and collaboration while proclaiming itself atheist and taking up positions against the faith and beliefs of its citizens? Justice, wisdom and realism all demand that the baneful positions of secularism be overcome. Every person must have the opportunity within the context of our life together to profess his or her faith and belief, alone or with others, in private and public. (p. 63)

Bishop Desmond Tutu (2008) also pointed out that if we want to make this messy world a better place, we need to collaborate with God. We need to relieve human sufferings, help the underprivileged, and serve others: “Remember, God has no one, except you” (p. 56).

Corporate Responsibility

Multinational corporations, especially big technological companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have increasingly become a major force in shaping entire countries and public life. Their policies and products can affect every aspect of society. That is why Wong, Ivtzan, and Lomas (2016) have emphasized the importance of social responsibility in good organizations.

Peter Senge (2008), founder of the Society of Organizational Learning, argues that profits cannot be the only motive for business. Excellent corporations must have a higher purpose:

Our work is all about making a better world. You take any area of real concern—like long-term environmental issues—it’s difficult to have improvement without a significant change in the way businesses operate. (p. 90)

Finally, Anita Roddick (2008), founder and CEO of the Body Shop, hits the right note on free trade. She emphasizes the importance of making moral business decisions, such as safeguarding the environment and protecting human rights, as far more important than just making more profits.

The world is like a runaway train on a collision course, accelerating its speed each day, because corporations want to produce faster, better gadgets to make more profits, without wondering whether it is good for human society. Waterworth Owen (2008) had this observation:

“Stop the world; I want to get off” is the wish of many feeling disillusioned with the manic “society of speed” we have created, or perhaps lacking the necessary courage, pray to find themselves lucky enough to be thrown clear of the collision. This need for speed pervades entire cities and many societies, every crook and cranny. (p. 19)

The Challenges of Responsibility

I have thought long and hard on the subject of responsibility (Wong, 2004). Regardless of one’s philosophical position on the thorny issue of free will and determinism, we do experience the freedom of choice in everyday living. Our choice may have been shaped by our culture and past experiences; nevertheless, we are conscious of our own intentions and agency in making the decision. It is in choices and actions that we reveal our authentic self:

This lofty view of freedom ensures human dignity and lasting hope, regardless of the situation. With freedom, everything seems possible and every dream can come true. We choose; therefore, we exist. We cannot escape from the reality of having to make choices. Deciding not to choose is still a choice. Since there is no escape from freedom, we might as well learn to use it wisely. The real issue in life is not what happens to us, but how we choose to react; not what circumstances we are in, but how we choose to live in these circumstances. It is in choosing that we reveal our humanity or lack of it. How empowering the gift of freedom! At the same time, how sobering it is to realize the awesome responsibility freedom entails. Since we do the choosing, we are responsible for the consequences of our actions. The immutable law of action and consequence operates in the natural realm as well as in the spiritual sphere. (Wong, 2004)

Jean-Paul Sartre (1973) affirmed the limitless possibilities of individual freedom. To Sartre, freedom is the fountain of hope, the foundation of all human values in an absurd and chaotic world. Freedom constitutes us as human beings. Freedom, not biology, is our destiny. Through the exercise of freedom, we can transcend our genes, our past history, and the environment. Our capacity to choose how we exist determines what kind of people we will become. Thus, “existence precedes essence”.

It is important to remind ourselves that desperate times do not automatically justify desperate violent action, as long as there is the option for responsible resolve to find creative solutions. The only exception that justifies rebellion is when life becomes unbearable under a brutal dictatorship. Hence, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” has become the rallying cry for all the uprisings and revolutions.

The relationship between freedom and responsibility is indeed complex, and so much hangs in the balance. The challenge facing psychologists is this: How do we foster the responsible use of freedom, and how do we develop leaders capable of promoting the common good without taking away people’s fundamental human rights for liberty and dignity?

Conclusion

I want to conclude this essay by quoting two passages from Responsibility 911:

When one dares to choose responsibility, one needs to be prepared for the arduous journey ahead. It is never easy to live responsibly, but the alternative is much worse. Only through carrying out our responsibility toward self and others, can we find fulfillment and selfhood. From a larger perspective, we need to embrace the heart of darkness, the unbearable burden of our history, the horrors or a million innocent deaths, the unspeakable evils of tyranny, the bottomless abyss of human suffering – the endless drumbeats of terror and kills hammer a thousand nails into our hearts. But that is part of being human. We need to own up what is wrong in order to fix it. It is our willingness to accept the enormity of the human problems that test our resolve and courage to move forward. (Wong, 2008, p. 34)

Carter LeCraw (2008), CEO of American Values Investments, reminded us of the Founding Fathers’ vision of values-driven investments as evidenced by the last line of the Declaration of Independence: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

LeCraw (2008) reminded his readers that the future of America and the free world depends on taking responsibility to carry out their vision:

These brave and visionary men committed (invested) their entire fortunes to build America; therefore, let us pledge our fortunes, our investment dollars, towards building a better America and thus strengthening freedom and liberty around the world. (p. 180)

It is my hope and prayer that you will get a copy of Responsibility 911 and meditate on its precious lessons on responsibility, as I have done in this essay. Remember, the greatest need today is the responsible use of freedom, which remains the most effective weapon we have to protect freedom and democracy and defeat nihilism, terrorism, and totalitarianism.

I all urge all my readers to think on the Responsibility Manifesto, and to let it guide their daily decisions and actions. I also encourage them to complete the Responsibility Scale as an exercise to find out how accountable and conscientious they are, and to what extent they take ownership for their lives.

References

Bolz, D. L. (2008). Introduction: Freedom’s call. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 12-14). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Canfield, J. (2008). The success principle. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 23-27). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man’s search for meaning. New York, NY: Washington Square Press.

Gardner, H. (2008). Who is Responsible for Good Work? In Shelton, K., & Bolz, D. L. (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With Great Liberty Comes Great Responsibility (pp. 44-47). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Hansen, M. V. (2008). Preface: Freedom isn’t free. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 10-11). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Johnson, D. D. P. (2005). God’s punishment and public goods. Human Nature, 16(4), 410-446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-005-1017-0

LeCraw, C. B. (2008). Values-driven investing. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 177-180). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

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Owen, G. P. W. (2008). The new 3Rs: Respect, responsibility, and rights. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 16-22). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Pinchot, G. (2008). Ecology of success. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (pp. 156-160). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

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Wong, P. T. P. (2001). Freedom, responsibility, and justice: The cornerstones of the good life. Positive Living Newsletter. Retrieved from https://www.meaning.ca/archives/presidents_columns/pres_col_jul_2001_cornerstones-good-life.htm

Wong, P. T. P. (2004). The meaning of responsibility and the Statue of Liberty. Positive Living Newsletter. Retrieved from https://www.meaning.ca/archives/presidents_columns/pres_col_aug_2004_statue-of-liberty.htm

Wong, P. T. P. (2008). Freedom and responsibility. In K. Shelton, & D. L. Bolz (Eds.), Responsibility 911: With great liberty comes great responsibility (p. 31-34). Provo, UT: Executive Excellence.

Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling and therapy. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 619-647). New York, NY: Routledge.

Wong, P. T. P. (2014). Viktor Frankl’s meaning seeking model and positive psychology. In A. Batthyany, & P. Russo-Netzer (Eds.), Meaning in existential and positive psychology (pp. 149-184). New York, NY: Springer.

Wong, P. T. P., Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2017). Good work: A meaning-centred approach. In L. G. Oades, M. F. Steger, A. Delle Fave, & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 233-247). West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

Wong, P. T. P. (2019a). Assessing Jordan B. Peterson’s contribution to the psychology of well-being: A book review of 12 Rules of Life. International Journal of Wellbeing, 9(1), 83-102. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v9i1.829

Wong, P. T. P. (2019b, June 16) Meetup Lesson 2: Responsibility as the master virtue and the foundation for wellbeing. PowerPoint slides presented at the Meaningful Living Group Second Meetup for 2019, North York, ON. Retrieved from https://www.dropbox.com/s/xr4a03ywdsrn6pj/Meetup%20Lesson%202019%20Lesson%202%20Responsibility%20as%20the%20master%20virtue%2020190612.pptx?dl=0

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Emotions and Positive Change: Thinking Beyond the Good/Bad Dichotomy

Webmaster — Fri, 04 Oct 2019 19:36:31 +0000

My current research concerns how people suffering from emotional distress undergo significant, positive, and enduring change. Although the people I interviewed for my qualitative study were adult males with addictions, I hope that sharing a few of their experiences will inform the work of researchers and clinicians, regardless of the population they work with.

According to Wong (2006), “The recovery process needs to move beyond healing of brokenness to personal transformation and full integration into society” (p. v). With this in mind, I interviewed seven participants who self-identified as having experienced personal transformation while participating in residential addiction treatment. Although many described their transformation as including a new awareness of their physical health, the importance of family, and performing work that reflects their personal values, for brevity’s sake I will focus on their emotional processes of change. Their stories suggest that both positive and negative emotions play a role in positive change. These findings are consistent with much of the addiction and trauma literature and are presented below in chronological order.

Before Treatment: Intoxication and “Hitting Bottom”

Emotions played an important role in why participants used drugs or alcohol to the point of intoxication prior to treatment. Eric used alcohol to help deal with painful memories of being raped by his former partner: “I didn’t know how to process the trauma and I didn’t know how to be intimate with my [present] partner.” Sean struggled with loneliness, in spite of being a successful engineer, husband, and father of three: “I would get a weekend and I’d just go, and I’d find somebody I didn’t know and just get high and drunk.” Sean described a sense of “disconnect” in his marriage at the time and the need to be with people. He said he enjoyed drinking “with other like-minded people or people going through [similar problems].” Scott was “riddled with guilt and shame” during the height of his online gambling addiction: “I was getting up in the middle of the night gambling and doing it while my wife was at work.” For Scott, the pleasure derived from online gambling became a temporary escape from having to deal with his mounting losses and the guilt and shame associated with hiding it from his wife.

Wong (2012) views suffering as an opportunity for personal growth. This perspective, however, is not shared by the majority of researchers in mainstream psychology. Typically, emotions are held as symptomatic of an underlying pathology. In the addiction field, Khantzian’s (1997) self-medication hypothesis is a good example and relevant here because of its focus on emotions. His theory explains addictive behaviour as a dysfunctional attempt at self-regulating emotional pain. According to the theory, individuals engage in addictive behaviours as a means of achieving emotional stability. Khantzian’s (1985) earlier research found that individuals can use the same drug to address very different emotional needs. For example, “low-energy” individuals use cocaine in response to boredom and fatigue, while “high-energy” individuals use cocaine to amplify feelings of elation. Regardless of whether the emotion is boredom or elation, the self-medication hypothesis posits drug use as a means of relieving emotional suffering. Furthermore, the individual with addiction sees regaining control over their emotions as a way to find relief from emotional suffering (Khantzian, 1997). Many of the participants in my study described their use of drugs and alcohol as a form of emotional self-regulation, variously described as “seeking that next level of escape,” “elevating my mood,” and “numbing” emotional plain.

Research examining the subjective accounts of intoxication takes a decidedly less pathological perspective, focusing on its espoused benefits. For example, many explain their attraction to intoxication based on powerful feelings of transcendence, the human bonding effect of engaging in the ritual of substance use, a sense of belonging, and the heightened self-esteem associated with becoming an “expert” in some aspect of substance use (Gray, 2007; Gregoire, 1995; Hunt & Evans, 2008; McBride et al., 2001; Trujillo, 2004). Ed’s story confirmed how alcohol provides a sense of belonging: “I was a very anxious young man, very socially awkward.” Ed recalled feeling instantly less self-conscious and more social after having his first drink of alcohol. Ed continued to drink heavily for the next 30 years until he experienced the shame of being arrested for an altercation with a police officer at a hockey tournament dinner, in full view of countless friends and family.

Ed’s arrest and subsequent incarceration ultimately led to his decision to get help and is an example of “hitting bottom.” Hitting bottom is typically described in the addiction literature as the potential beginning of positive change. Research has recognized the important role that the experience of hitting bottom plays in the recovery process (Banonis, 1989; Glatt, 1972; Hutchison, 1987; Ludwig, 1985, 1988; Smith, 1998). Hitting bottom has been described as an accumulation of distressing events which can motivate an individual to quit the lifestyle of active addiction, a state of despair in which life becomes intolerable (Blomqvist, 1999), and a point past which people refuse to go (McIntosh & McKeganey, 2000). In my current research, participants identified significant, negative events as their motivation for treatment, such as attempted suicide, a heated argument leading to a called-off wedding engagement, and acute pancreatitis because of excessive alcohol consumption. All of these accounts of hitting bottom involved grief and loss, shame, sadness, hopelessness, or some other negative emotion.

During Treatment: Emotional “Turning Points”

A turning point refers to a moment in time when a person with an addiction decides to give up his or her substance use and enter into recovery (Taieb et al., 2008). I distinguish between hitting bottom and turning points, although much of the research on addiction uses the two terms interchangeably. Here I equate hitting bottom with the decision to seek relief from painful, negative emotions associated with addiction and trauma. A turning point, on the other hand, is the decision to enter into long-term recovery from addictive behaviour. Hitting bottom can lead to a turning point, but not necessarily.

Participants identified both negative and positive emotions as part of their turning points leading to positive change. For example, Ed experienced fear followed by a sense of belonging. In the early days of his treatment, he recalled feeling as if “[I] don’t belong here… I remember being scared.” During the next weeks of treatment, Ed came to realize that “other people are going through this. You’re not alone. It’s not just me.” For Ed, having this insight was “where the transformation started happening.” James recalled how sharing his childhood experience of physical and sexual abuse with the peer group led to a greater sense of control over his past. James told his story for two-and-a-half hours, a full 90 minutes longer than scheduled. The experience was emotional: “I was crying. There was a time when I didn’t talk for 10 minutes.” James returned home and shared his story with his co-workers and girlfriend. He described the effect of storytelling on his sense of self as “I’m getting my ownership back.”

One participant, Nick, shared how an encounter with a deer led to his transformation. Sitting alone one night at a spot looking out over Malaspina Strait, Nick found himself “doing a prayer to myself and asking for a sign.” When he opened his eyes, a deer slowly emerged out of the darkness: “[It] looked at me. Looked down, looked at me again, [and then] just walked away.” Nick had already seen a humpback whale, bears, and deer during his stay at the facility: “There was nature all around.” But this was different: “It was just me and the deer… it was personalized.” Nick’s story is an example of awe, a powerful, positive emotion. Maslow (1964) found that brief but intense emotional experiences—awe—often accompany peak experiences. Emotion theorists have variously defined awe as a distinct emotion (Ekman, 1992), an emotion similar to surprise and amazement (Frijda, 1986), a motivating emotion (Izard, 1977), a vaguely negative state (Lazarus, 1991), and a sense of adventure toward living (Schneider, 2009). Awe involving nature often involves a sense of diminished self and a spiritual presence, such as a higher power (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). Although spirituality is beyond the scope of this essay, participants in my research often described powerful emotional experiences in ways normally equated with spirituality.

After Treatment: Vulnerability

According to Wong (2019), shame, guilt, and fear lie at the heart of psychological vulnerability. Vulnerability is commonly understood in a negative sense as being at risk for physical or psychological harm. However, being vulnerable is also an opportunity to undergo personal transformation. Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) understood the association between negative emotions and transformation. According to their research, guilt is often what initiates self-reflection, leading to positive change. Rather than eliminating guilt, Tedeschi et al. (2018) recommended that clinicians work with clients to “weave it into their lives with the experience as part of their new reality” (p. 69). Similar research on shame has provided further support for the notion that emotional vulnerability can be potentially transformative, leading to greater resilience and wellbeing (Mayer & Vanderheiden, 2019; Wong, 2017).

Ian’s story is a good example of the transformative power of emotional vulnerability. Ian explained he developed a certain arrogance from years of being a successful businessman and living the fast life of partying and substance use: “I wouldn’t want to be told anything really by anybody.” He described his treatment in the following way: “[It] made me drop a chip on my shoulder and made me more apt to take in what [others] had to share about their personal experiences.” For Ian, meeting men who shared his problems with drugs and alcohol was an eye-opening experience: “Everybody is playing the same game.” Ian decided during treatment, “I’m going to be cool with sharing my emotions.” After returning home from treatment, Ian found himself “doing a lot more listening than talking… just taking a break from doing your thing all the time.” Ian shared a touching story about “Tommy,” an older gentleman he had recently befriended. Tommy was very proud of having Ian as his friend. One day, Tommy brought Ian to the soup kitchen to meet his friends. Reflecting on his day with Tommy, Ian said it was about “taking time out of my day… to just go do something for a guy that, you know, has been through similar things.” For Ian, spending the day with Tommy was a chance to be vulnerable again, “man to man.”

Conclusion

Ultimately, individuals with addictions pay a high price for artificially altering their emotions with drugs and alcohol, sacrificing health, relationships, and employment (Thompson, 2012). My research suggests that emotions are not something to be overcome. Instead, emotions, regardless of whether they are negative or positive in nature, can act as signposts pointing the way to significant, positive change. I have shared just a few of the many instances where emotions played a role in the transformation of participants. I am most appreciative of the research of the existential psychology and positive psychology research on emotions, notably Paul Wong (see his recent article on vulnerability), Kirk Schneider and his research on awe, as well as Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener (2014) and Tim Lomas (2016).

References

Available upon request.

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Integrating Addiction Research

Webmaster — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 15:51:34 +0000

Psychologists Brent Slife and Richard Williams (1995) pointed out that if you asked six psychologists why your neighbor was rude to you this morning, you’d likely get six different answers.

The field of addiction is a case study of the struggle Slife and Williams described. A handful of addiction psychologists have proposed that we need to integrate the sprawling variety of theoretical and practice models in the field. Integration is necessary, they argue, to provide guidelines for theory development, research, and practice.

The Confusing State of Addiction Psychology

If you were to survey the literature on addiction and its treatment—more than 60 journals and countless books—you’d find many ways of making sense of the problem. This literature tells us that addiction is a disease, self-medication for an underlying condition, a counterfeit search for spirituality, a maladaptive coping skill, a result of faulty thinking, rational consumer behavior, a consequence of family dysfunction, or some other explanation.

After examining 24 separate theories of addiction, psychologist Robert West (2006) concluded, “There was little sense of progress in our understanding [of addiction]; little sense that we are engaging in ‘incremental science’” (p. 1). Theorists were at the same table, but they were playing solitaire. Rather than confront conflicting evidence, they ignored research that did not fit with their favorite idea. The result was that there was no agreed upon framework to guide theory, research, and practice.

Mainstream scientific psychologists typically interpret addiction as the effect of the drug on the person. But social scientists, especially in Europe, make sense of addiction through their postmodern epistemologies. They propose that addiction is a social construction. Anthropologists, for example, became interested in the subject beginning in 2001. They believe that how we define and treat addiction is a paradigm of our 21^st century way of making sense of health care, such as privileging brain science, using technologies, and pathologizing users.

Therapy follows from theory, so it’s not surprising that treatment programs are as varied as the theories. Psychologists Reid Hester and William Miller (2003) famously examined 99 therapies for addiction. As expected from such a confusing situation, treatment outcomes were less than inspiring. Curiously, only a handful of experts have publically stated the obvious. Heyman (2009) remarked, “If addiction has not been properly defined, then it is likely that these [treatment] efforts are not accomplishing as much as they could” (p. vii). Ballinger, Matano, and Amantea (2008) concluded that the variety of treatments has resulted in a “lack of consensual outcome criteria for successful treatment, as well as the personal preferences of clinicians” (p. 180). Bickel and Potenza (2006) put it succinctly: “Why is addiction so difficult to treat” (p. 8)?

Integration as a Way of Bringing Order

Integrating the different approaches is complicated, if for no other reason than different perspectives operate on different assumptions. If addiction is a disease, for example, then voluntary control is undermined. On the other hand, if addiction is self-medication, then drug users make a choice to use the drug.

West suggested that individual addiction experts are reticent about integration because it demands veering into territory that they have little training in. It is not the case that addiction psychologists are merely being irresponsible. It’s a problem of our time. We have so much information today that each of us is forced to become a specialist. Integrating behavioral economics, for example, into a coherent theory demands having some understanding of the complicated mathematical equations of economics as they describe consumer behavior. Similarly, integrating neuroscientific studies is daunting if the theorist has little training in neuroscience. Imagine integrating not merely two or three theories but 24-plus models.

Yet complexity does not absolve us from the task. West has done the most sophisticated work thus far integrating theories. He proposed a theory of addiction, which, he argued, “synthesizes” the 24 theories he examined. We can call his idea motivational dominance. West assumed that “the human mind has evolved to be inherently unstable” (p. 167). Stability comes from continual adjustments from various influences on motivation: plans, responses, impulses/inhibitory forces, motives, and evaluations. The benefit is, of course, that the mind is highly adaptable to fluid circumstances. The problem of addiction is that it provides an abnormal motivation for drug using; that is, most of the influences that have evolved to keep the mind balanced are subordinated to the addictive motivation. West admitted his work is preliminary, and he made some progress in a second edition of his work with Jamie Brown (West & Brown, 2013), but much more work remains.

Still, motivational dominance does not make sense of many models, such as those that propose addiction is a social construction or individual accounts that focus on boredom, loneliness, and loss of community.

A more promising route to integration is by using personal meaning as the organizing construct. One benefit is that a meaning approach has its roots in existential psychology. As May and Yalom (2000) stated, existential psychology is not a school of psychology, in the manner of behaviorism or cognitive psychology. Rather, it arises from a way of making sense of the human condition, known as existentialism. This is why we can have existential psychology, existential philosophy, existential theology, and existential art, but no one has ever heard of behaviorist theology or cognitive art. Meaning is thus an overarching construct, unconstrained by the assumptions of any school of psychology.

Another benefit, as Wong (2012) reminded us, is that a foundational principle of existential (and humanistic) psychology is its openness to different perspectives. The problem of reducing a phenomenon to any one perspective is obviated because a meaning approach is inherently integrative. It recognizes that we derive meaning from our biology, behavior, cognitions, affect, and relationships. A meaning approach “is holistic by virtue of its focus on meaning and conceptualizing humans as biopsychosocial spiritual beings” (p. 628).

Addiction and Meaning

The meaning construct is, as far as I know, the only framework that allows us to make sense of addiction research from mainstream psychology, the social sciences, and individual accounts.

Through the lens of meaning, addiction is a response to living a life that lacks personal meaning. This description accepts that addictive drug use affects the brain. It accepts that some people at some times use drugs to self-medicate. It accepts that habit influences drug use. It accepts that the social stigma of addiction has a role in developing and maintaining the problem. What it proposes, however, is that if we want to understand addiction as it actually is, we have to recognize that it operates beyond neural adaptation, self-medication, maladaptive coping skill, consumer behavior, cultural interpretation, and other current models.

If addiction is a response to a meaningless life, then the solution is obvious. Those suffering from addiction have to get a life. For someone actively pursuing a meaningful life, addiction serves no purpose. The blessing of this approach is that even those burdened with ongoing medical, financial, and family hardships as a result of drug use can still flourish in recovery.

References

Ballinger, B., Matano, R. B., & Amantea, A. C. (2008). A perspective on alcoholism: The case of Charles. In K. J. Schneider (Ed.), Existential-integrative psychotherapy: Guideposts to the core of practice (pp. 177–185). New York, NY: Routledge.

Bickel, W. K., & Potenza, M. N. (2006). The forest and the trees: Addiction as a complex self-organizing system. In W. R. Miller & K. M. Carroll (Eds.), Rethinking substance abuse: What the science shows and what we should do about it (pp. 8–24). New York, NY: Guilford.

Hester, R. K., & Miller, W. R. (2003). Handbook of alcoholism treatment approaches: Effective alternatives (3rd ed.). New York: Allyn and Bacon.

Heyman, G. M. (2009). Addiction: A disorder of choice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard.

May, R., & Yalom, I. (2000). Existential psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini & D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (6^th ed., pp. 273-302). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.

Slife, B. D., & Williams, R. N. (1995). What’s behind the research? Discovering hidden assumptions in the behavioral sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

West, R. J. (2006). Theory of addiction. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

West, R., & Brown, J. (2013). Theory of addiction (2^nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Wong, P. T. P. (2012). From logotherapy to meaning-centered counseling and therapy. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theory, research, and applications (2^nd ed., pp. 619–647). New York: Routledge.

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Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0) Archives » International Network on Personal Meaning

The Role of Wu-Wei in Flourishing

Announcing the Certificate Program for Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0) and Meaning Therapy

Breaking News!

What is the New Science of Flourishing Through Suffering?

Level one – The Four Foundational Courses

References

The Suffering Hypothesis: How the New Science Supports the Ancient Wisdom of Meaningful Suffering

The New Science of Flourishing Through Suffering

The Worst of Times and the Best of Times

Conclusion: How do we Flourish Through Suffering?

References

Transcend the Pandemic: How to Redesign the Future of Work*

Abstract

Introduction

A New Paradigm of Self-transcendence is Needed for the Future of Work

Conclusions

Two Different Models of Human Flourishing: Seligman’s PERMA Model Versus Wong’s Self-transcendence Model

References

Vulnerability Awareness and The New Science of Transforming Suffering Into Resilience

Recommended Readings for the Existential Positive Psychology (2.0) of Flourishing Through Suffering*

What is the Greatest Need Today?

Abstract

Introduction

The Statue of Responsibility

Personal Responsibility to Oneself

Social Responsibility to Others and Society

Human Responsibility to God or a Higher Power

Corporate Responsibility

The Challenges of Responsibility

Conclusion

References

Emotions and Positive Change: Thinking Beyond the Good/Bad Dichotomy

Before Treatment: Intoxication and “Hitting Bottom”

During Treatment: Emotional “Turning Points”

After Treatment: Vulnerability

Conclusion

References

Integrating Addiction Research

The Confusing State of Addiction Psychology

Integration as a Way of Bringing Order

Addiction and Meaning

References