Authentic happiness

In Authentic Happiness (2002), author MartinSeligman proposes a positive psychology focus-ing on mental health rather than mental illness.He suggests that we can develop unprecedented levels of happiness by nurturing existing strengths such as optimism, kindness, generosity, originality, and/or humor. He calls these inherent traits “signa-ture strengths ” and argues that by exercising them frequently and wisely, we transform our lives to a higher more positive plane. “I do not believe that you should devote overly-much effort to correcting weaknesses. Rather, I believe that the highest suc-cess in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths ” (p. 13). Clearly, readers will recognize the similarities between Seligman's ideas and Csikszentmihalyi's (1975) notion of flow (well worth Reclaiming readers&apos