I strongly disapprove of torture and have never and would never provide assistance in its process. Martin Seligman Read Quote
You can have meaning, accomplishment, engagement and good relationships, even if you are dull on the positive affect side. Martin Seligman Read Quote
There is an interesting scientific dispute about realism and optimism. Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out. Martin Seligman Read Quote
I believe it is within our capacity that by the year 2051 that 51 percent of the human population will be flourishing. That is my charge. Martin Seligman Read Quote
The goal of a life free of dysphoria is a snare and a delusion. A better goal is of good commerce with the world. Authentic happiness, astonishingly, can occur even in the presence of authentic sadness. Martin Seligman Read Quote
I’m all for past influences; the question is whether they are deterministic. Freud and the behaviorists argue that what we are at any given moment is billiard balls whose past determines our future course. That doesn’t take into account that we are forever generating internal representations of positive futures and choosing among them. Martin Seligman Read Quote
Perhaps the single most robust fact across many surveys is that married people are happier than anyone else. Martin Seligman Read Quote
Suppose you could be hooked up to a hypothetical ‘experience machine’ that, for the rest of your life, would stimulate your brain and give you any positive feelings you desire. Most people to whom I offer this imaginary choice refuse the machine. It is not just positive feelings we want: we want to be entitled to our positive feelings. Martin Seligman Read Quote
I think we pursue positive relationships whether or not they bring us engagement or happiness. Martin Seligman Read Quote
