The Power of Positive Psychology

Chazz Scott had it all. The successful career as a cybersecurity expert. The six-figure salary. The well-appointed condo overlooking the Potomac River and the high-end luxury car. From the outside, life looked good, but appearances can be deceiving, and they masked Scott’s inner turmoil.

He was burned out at work and battled depression. He felt hollow and lacked passion for the things that once fueled his ambition and joy. While searching for ways to shake the malaise, Scott thought back to reading The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale in college. The self-help book made him realize he could change his current reality simply by changing his mindset.

Scott knew he needed to focus on what was good in his life to create a positive energy that would build momentum toward fulfillment and contentment. It was a straight-forward concept, but Scott’s science-based mind craved supporting evidence. He dove into researching neuroscience and discovered the fundamental elements of positive psychology, a relatively new field of study that helps people achieve higher levels of happiness and reach their true potential.

Scott was fascinated by the field’s intersection with neuroscience, particularly as it relates to the study of neuroplasticity.

“For many years, it was widely assumed that people were stuck with their current way of thinking,” says Scott, who grew up in Ellicott City. “But we now know that the brain is capable of change through new thoughts and behaviors. With repetition and consistency, new neuropathways are created and older, less-used pathways become weaker.”

About eight years ago, Scott began to incorporate positive psychology into his life by establishing a morning routine that prioritizes his physical and mental well-being. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m., goes for a brief jog, and completes stretching exercises before meditating for 20 minutes. He then carves out time for reading or listening to a podcast.

This combination of movement, mindfulness, and mental growth sets a positive tone for his day and keeps him feeling balanced and productive. The seemingly minor steps resulted in gradual but profound changes to the way Scott viewed and lived his life.

“I feel happier, more resilient and better equipped to handle challenges that come my way,” he says. “Understanding that we all have the innate ability to change our mindset is incredibly empowering. It provides hope for something more.”

The nation’s mental health crisis and corporate burnout epidemic suggest millions of adults and adolescents need help in their own search for more. That’s where positive psychology comes in. Its empirical study of the factors that allow some of us to thrive while others search endlessly for life’s true meaning helps to define true happiness and how to achieve it.

Positive psychology was popularized by Drs. Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the late 1990s as a departure from psychology’s traditional disease model, which focuses exclusively on treating mental disorders. Positive psychology does not address behavioral or emotional dysregulation and is not a substitute for treating severe mental illness. Instead, its interventions grow positive emotions and resources that help people maximize their true potential.

Dr. Seligman believes psychology should be just as concerned with human strength as it is with human weakness, and that it should focus on amplifying the best things in life while nurturing people’s innate talents.

“Positive psychology’s traits are skills that can be learned and strengthened, much like any other ability,” says Carly Hunt, who earned her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland, where she was the faculty instructor of a course called Living the Good Life: The Psychology of Happiness. “With intentional practice, you can cultivate more gratitude in your life.”

Hunt played collegiate golf as an undergraduate at Georgetown University and as a graduate student at the University of Maryland. What she might have lacked in physical talent she more than made up for with mental toughness.

“I’ve always been fascinated with sports psychology, positive self-talk, and the mental resilience athletes need to perform well,” she says.

At Georgetown, Hunt also took a Buddhist studies class. The coursework introduced her to mindfulness, self-compassion, loving kindness, and similar practices that led her to pursue a PhD at Maryland. Over the course of getting her PhD and doing a postdoctoral fellowship in biobehavioral pain research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she studied positive psychology’s impact on physical health and the mind-body connection.

Part of Hunt’s current work as the owner of Present Mind Consulting involves helping driven professionals and high-end talent build the confidence and motivation they need to achieve their goals. She works with performers, sports teams, and artists to address mental health challenges and cultivate personal strengths. She also collaborates with companies to develop strategies that enhance employee well-being and foster a healthier work environment.

Hunt works closely with Christopher Steer, who earned his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and now runs a consulting firm that helps companies achieve higher levels of organizational performance. Steer initially grasped the importance of positive leadership as an undergrad captain of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse team. That realization was reinforced by reading the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, which introduced him to the idea of stimulus and response, and how the space between them is where growth, joy, happiness, and contentment happen.

“Personal evolution involves focusing on the things we can control rather than feeling like life is happening to us,” says Steer. “If\ you’re not getting the results you want, it’s time to explore a different path.”

Positivity—or good vibes, in the colloquial—is important, and people need to maximize their inner strengths, but Steer believes these feel-good ideas must link to tangible results. He says research reveals that executives and managers who lead with positivity drive better performance among their teams. That’s why high-level executives are increasingly interested in engaging in conversations about psychology, energy, and engagement. They’re realizing it’s not only acceptable but increasingly essential to embrace these concepts.

“Business leaders have started having conversations about emotional intelligence and the principles of positive psychology in the world of organizational development,” says Steer. “Modern neuroscience and psychology have finally converged within long-standing intuitions. Now, we can bring them together in a way that’s more accepted and impactful.”

Steer points to Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft. When Nadella took over the company, he instituted a people-focused approach and introduced Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success as required reading.

“Microsoft talking about mindset? That’s a game-changer,” says Steer. “The right influencers, backed by solid research, can shift an organization’s culture.”

Positive psychology is no replacement for competitive salaries, good benefits, and the opportunity for professional growth, but Steer says research now reveals that corporate executives who lead with positivity drive better performance, retention, and development.

“You can’t commoditize dealing with people,” he adds, “but the ability to manage the human variable is becoming the most valuable skill.”

“Positive psychology helps people build on their strengths or resilience resources like mindfulness, rewarding social connections, and compassion toward self and others.”

As we all know, life isn’t always easy. Hardships happen. Challenges are inevitable. In that sense, the term “positive psychology” is a bit of a misnomer. The practice is not concerned with papering over negative experiences. It’s more about finding tools to cope with negative experiences and even grow from painful events or adversity.

“Positive psychology helps people build on their strengths or resilience resources like mindfulness, rewarding social connections and compassion toward self and others,” says Hunt. “These resources help us withstand challenges and even thrive when facing them.”

Chazz Scott tuned his passion for positive psychology into the launch of Supra Mentem, a consulting business that specializes in helping executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals improve their overall well-being, reach peak performance, and achieve sustainable success. He emphasizes that embracing gratitude and experiencing positive emotions doesn’t involve ignoring life’s difficulties or being overly optimistic.

“Many of us don’t have effective coping strategies in place, so when stress occurs, we don’t know how to deal with it,” says Scott. “I’m now able to recognize when stress levels rise. I know to begin breathing exercises or meditation to get my body back to a state of balance. Having a set of practices to fall back on is essential for effectively managing life’s ups and downs.”

Scott has coached health care professionals, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce the negative impact of burnout. He’s also worked with successful professionals who are striving to achieve a better life balance. Many of them are mid-career, feeling disengaged and stressed, and realizing that their current work habits are unsustainable.

“They no longer feel fulfilled and may be contemplating a career change or questioning whether they are on the right path,” says Scott. “They seek guidance to restore balance and find a sense of purpose in their personal and professional lives.”

He knows from experience that positive psychology can help encourage professionals to reconnect with their true selves.

“When you align with your personal wellness, even if the job isn’t the right fit, you can still improve your experience,” says Scott. “You can evaluate whether the job is something you still want or confirm that it’s time for a change. Focusing on your wellbeing allows you to make decisions with more clarity and greater confidence.”

Scott is also focused on addressing the youth mental health crisis through Positively Caviar, a grassroots nonprofit he launched to teach positive thinking and optimism to kids in underserved communities throughout Baltimore.

Joan Wharton runs a mentorship program in conjunction with the Baltimore City Public Schools and partnered with Scott to lead a series of workshops for the girls at Cherry Hill Middle School.

“Chazz is very impressive and brought an energy that resonated with the girls,” says Wharton. “He met them where they were, and gradually helped raise them to another level. He taught them that the way they think shapes the way they act, and that what they feed their mind, soul, and spirit shows in their actions and attitudes.”

Scott’s workshops discussed personal growth and self-care. “His messaging focused on developing a positive mindset be- cause the way the girls think can influence their behavior and the outcomes they experience,” says Wharton. “Having a positive mindset allows them to grow through empowerment and enlightenment and encourages them to build a strong foundation for their future.”

Weekly workshops aren’t going to solve the world’s problems, but Scott understands the importance of introducing tools to impressionable kids that help them cope with challenging situations.

“My goal is to make sure they recognize that they have the agency to control what they think and feel,” he says. “It’s about giving them the ability to respond to their emotions in a healthy way.”

“As we know, life isn’t easy. Hardships happen. In that sense, ‘positive psychology’ is a bit of a misnomer. But the practice isn’t concerned with papering over negative experiences. It’s about finding tools to cope and even grow from pain or adversity.”

Interest in positive psychology is gaining traction among people who want to perform their best, regardless of their field or profession. But that doesn’t mean positivity can be pursued without consistent and intentional effort. Maximizing one’s potential demands daily focus and work.

“People rarely set aside the time and space in their lives to improve upon their strengths and virtues,” says Hunt. “Cultivating inner strengths and mental qualities that support happiness is something many of us long for and yet we often find ourselves racing toward the future, believing it holds some level of positivity that the present moment lacks.”

Even something as simple as jotting down three good things that happened throughout the day in a gratitude journal can be a powerful practice. Or you can practice “savoring,” which involves intentionally noticing and holding a positive experience in your awareness for 20 to 30 seconds, allowing yourself to fully absorb it. You might even visualize the positive feeling filling you.

The benefits of these practices have been studied extensively, according to Hunt, who says dedicating five to 10 minutes a day to them can be transformative over time. Our brains naturally focus on the negative. Practices like gratitude, savoring, or acts of kindness help shift this bias, pulling us away from threat-focused thinking and into a mindset of greater positivity and altruism.

Meditation and mindfulness, which encourage being fully present in the moment, reinforce these benefits.

“What inspires me most is the universal application of positive psychology’s practices,” says Hunt. “We all strive for authentic happiness and fulfillment. At the end of the day, that’s at the core of what we want most in life.”