

I’m so thrilled to have Michelle McQuaid on the show this week! She talks about how to flourish, and we take a look at positive psychology and the impact of mindfully choosing joy on our lives. Michelle is an author, workplace well-being teacher and playful change activator. She and I had an amazing discussion; she shares SO much in this episode that I took three pages of notes while we were talking.

I know you’re going to love what she has to say about:

– the stages of mastery in a career

– what happens at the 7-10 year mark in your career and why you start to feel restless

– what to do when you start to feel restless, and how to find your way back to something more interesting

– how life is a series of “pulses” and nothing is ever truly static

– the problem with the oversimplification of the terms positive psychology and manifesting

– the crossroads of “Grit” and Joy

– how to celebrate failures (and why you should)

– how to give praise that sticks

– how to flourish in your life (there are five areas that you should focus on)

– what balance looks like in Michelle’s life

– her thoughts on jumpstarting joy in your life

I really loved what she had to say about accepting that our lives will be full of highs and lows; and that it’s up to each of us to accept each moment for what it is.

“The reasons we have highs and lows is it’s all a learning process. How do I lean in to every part of life and really show up for the experience this IS, and how do I more consistently flourish?”

Michelle has so much to say about how to flourish, and about the science behind positive psychology, that I created a downloadable version of my show notes for you to keep. There’s honestly so much goodness in this discussion that I found myself wanting to capture it for myself, and you can get my notes right here.

Resources that Michelle mentions

Websites:

Positivity Ratio

VIA Character Finder

Permah Workplace Survey

Michelle McQuaid’s website

Books that Michelle mentions in this episode:

Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman

Positivity by Barbara Fredrickson

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck