This book is about how we think about the future. It is about how we think about our own personal futures and how such prospection is connected to our well-being and mental health. The ability to think about the future is essential for functioning, and is also central to individual well-being and mental health. This book reviews the growing evidence for the link between prospection and well-being. A variety of aspects of prospection are discussed, including prediction and anticipation for future events, judging how we will feel when events do happen to us, and how we feel in the here-and-now when contemplating what will happen in the future. Each of these aspects of prospection is connected to experiences of well-being and mental health in different ways. Questions of bias and accuracy in prediction are also addressed in the context of discussing optimism and pessimism. Qualities of goals for the future that are strongly implicated in aspects of well-being and mental health are reviewed, along with the role that difficulties in planning how to reach goals play in states of low well-being. The book also attempts to reconcile the seeming contradiction between being mindful in the present and thinking about the future. Ways of trying to change problematic prospection are also reviewed in light of their ability to improve well-being and reduce psychological distress. Of course, it is not possible to think about the future without remembering the past, and the involvement of memory in prospection is discussed, especially in relation to memory difficulties producing difficulties in prospection. The book concludes by arguing that our well-being and mental health are intimately bound up with our subjective future life trajectories.

This text reviews the growing evidence for the link between prospection and well-being. A variety of aspects of prospection are discussed, including prediction and anticipation for future events, judging how we will feel when events do happen to us, and how we feel in the here-and-now when contemplating what will happen in the future.

This book is about how we think about the future. It is about how we think about our own personal futures and how such prospection is connected to our well-being and mental health. The ability to think about the future is essential for functioning, and is also central to individual well-being and mental health. This book reviews the growing evidence for the link between prospection and well-being. A variety of aspects of prospection are discussed, including prediction and anticipation for future events, judging how we will feel when events do happen to us, and how we feel in the here-and-now when contemplating what will happen in the future. Each of these aspects of prospection is connected to experiences of well-being and mental health in different ways. Questions of bias and accuracy in prediction are also addressed in the context of discussing optimism and pessimism. Qualities of goals for the future that are strongly implicated in aspects of well-being and mental health are reviewed, along with the role that difficulties in planning how to reach goals play in states of low well-being. The book also attempts to reconcile the seeming contradiction between being mindful in the present and thinking about the future. Ways of trying to change problematic prospection are also reviewed in light of their ability to improve well-being and reduce psychological distress. Of course, it is not possible to think about the future without remembering the past, and the involvement of memory in prospection is discussed, especially in relation to memory difficulties producing difficulties in prospection. The book concludes by arguing that our well-being and mental health are intimately bound up with our subjective future life trajectories.

This book brings together current research on recovery and wellbeing, to inform mental health systems and wider community development.

This book addresses the sustainability of happiness and well-being in Chinese societies. It starts by introducing the various conceptions of well-being, particularly in the Chinese sociocultural context. The book then proceeds with the examination of the sustainability of well-being by scrutinizing the effects of sociocultural, contextual, and personal factors on well-being. The contextual factors are the aggregates or averages of personal factors at the contextual levels of the regions and colleges in Mainland China, its special administrative region, and Taiwan. These factors cover personality traits, strengths, orientations, beliefs, values, and idolizing. By bringing together empirical studies and theoretical perspectives applied to Chinese societies, this book offers researchers in social science and humanities a valuable reference work on happiness and well-being in Chinese societies.

Our species is misnamed. Though sapiens defines human beings as "wise" what humans do especially well is to prospect the future. We are homo prospectus. In this book, Martin E. P. Seligman, Peter Railton, Roy F. Baumeister, and Chandra Sripada argue it is anticipating and evaluating future possibilities for the guidance of thought and action that is the cornerstone of human success. Much of the history of psychology has been dominated by a framework in which people's behavior is driven by past history (memory) and present circumstances (perception and motivation). Homo Prospectus reassesses this idea, pushing focus to the future front and center and opening discussion of a new field of Psychology and Neuroscience. The authors delve into four modes in which prospection operates: the implicit mind, deliberate thought, mind-wandering, and collective (social) imagination. They then explore prospection's role in some of life's most enduring questions: Why do people think about the future? Do we have free will? What is the nature of intuition, and how might it function in ethics? How does emotion function in human psychology? Is there a common causal process in different psychopathologies? Does our creativity change with age? In this remarkable convergence of research in philosophy, statistics, decision theory, psychology, and neuroscience, Homo Prospectus shows how human prospection fundamentally reshapes our understanding of key cognitive processes, thereby improving individual and social functioning. It aims to galvanize interest in this new science from scholars in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, as well as an educated public curious about what makes humanity what it is.

This broad and innovative self-development guide shows readers how they can use scientific findings from contemporary positive psychology to enhance their lives. Containing dozens of practical exercises and real-life examples, it helps bring positive psychology findings from the lab into day-to-day life. Divided into six parts and covering a wide array of themes, this book is designed to help people with or without mental health problems enhance their well-being. It answers questions like: what is well-being? What are the main determinants of well-being, and how can we sustain it? There are also chapters on physical exercise, progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation, savouring pleasures, creative solution-finding and developing compassionate relationships. This non-technical and highly accessible book will be of interest to those from all backgrounds with an interest in self-development, as well as mental health workers and related professionals.

Why do people spend so much time thinking about the future, imagining scenarios that may never occur, and making (often unrealistic) predictions? This volume brings together leading researchers from multiple psychological subdisciplines to explore the central role of future-thinking in human behavior across the lifespan. It presents cutting-edge work on the mechanisms involved in visualizing, predicting, and planning for the future. Implications are explored for such important domains as well-being and mental health, academic and job performance, ethical decision making, and financial behavior. Throughout, chapters highlight effective self-regulation strategies that help people pursue and realize their short- and long-term goals.

Positive Psychology for Improving Mental Health and Well-being has been prepared conforming to the standard graduation syllabus in Psychology. The subject matter covered is also relevant to Management studies. Besides, it will be of immense help to Civil Service aspirants with Psychology as an optional subject. Chapters on Flow and Happiness, Emotional Intelligence, Stress Management and Helping Positivity will fascinate and enrich the inquisitive mind of general readers. Moreover, this book can also be used as a self-help book to improve mental health and well-being.

In 1987 a groundbreaking survey called The Well-Being Project was conducted by the California Network of Mental Health Clients under contract to the Office of Prevention of the California Department of Mental Health to explore what factors promote or deter the well-being of those diagnosed/labeled as “mentally ill.” Initially, it had been assumed that the analysis of the survey data as well as the final written report would be awarded to a university or other professional research group. Much to the surprise of some, and in the spirit of the disability rights movement rallying cry of “nothing about us without us,” the successful proposal was written by mental health client researchers Jean Campbell and Ron Schraiber on behalf of the California Network of Mental Health Clients. The study became known as The Well-Being Project: Mental Health Clients Speak for Themselves, and was published in 1989; additionally, an award winning documentary “People Say I’m Crazy” based on the study’s findings was produced as well as a compendium book to the video with the same title.