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1 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Positive psychology focuses on mental well-being while living, and not just
on understanding mental hardship and eliminating the influences that cause
the condition. Positive psychology makes people happier and it eliminates the
negative effects on a person’s mental health. It is a scientific study of develop¬
ing the potential and superposition of a person’s personality, along with build¬
ing the best life traits for quality living (Seligman, 2012).
The content of the term positive psychology consists of these subcategories:
happiness, love, gratitude, optimism, hope, character, vitality, meaningful
moments of life, and enriching relationships between people, which is the
basis for optimal human development in today’s modern times.
1.3 THEORIES AND RESEARCH RELATED TO POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The power of emotions for human life is perceived by philosophers, psychol¬
ogists, sociologists, and educators. Several representatives of the positive
psychology movement were inspired by the works of ancient philosophers such
as Aristotle, Hippocrates, Socrates, and Heraclitus. In their work, we find
reflections on happiness, the meaning of life, moral motivation, wisdom, and
spirituality. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher in his work Nicomachean Ethics,
characterizes happiness as a virtue. When can a person be virtuous and believe
that happiness will come in the form of kindness, generosity, justice, wisdom,
friendship, and morality? The correct answer is the simplest: when a person’s
all efforts are directed toward being happy.
In 1954, Abraham Maslow was the first person who used the adjective po¬
sitive for psychology in his book Motivation and Personality (Solcova, 2005,
in Slezäckovä, 2012).
Theoretical and empirical studies of positive psychologists present concepts,
scientific backgrounds, findings and strategies. They can be applied in everyday
life, in an individual form, such as the ability to love, to show courage, to help
a person to be better, to be more courteous, more tolerant, more responsible
to himself, but also in family, team, nation — everywhere where people work
together and live as a society.
Theoretical starting points contain conceived theories and strategies that
form the basis of pedagogical reality and practice in the educational process.
Flow concept
The importance of positive psychology for human life is an inspiration, help,
leadership, and a demonstration of how to achieve mental well-being in an
authentic full life. Psychologist Csikszentmihalyi conceived a timeless concept
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