People who believe they cause good things tend to like themselves better than people who believe good things come from other people or circumstances.

When it comes to our health, there are essentially four things under our control: the decision not to smoke, a commitment to exercise, the quality of our diet, and our level of optimism. And optimism is at least as beneficial as the others.

Habits of pessimism lead to depression, wither achievement, and undermine physical health. The good news is that pessimism can be unlearned, and that with its removal depression, underachievement, and poor health can be alleviated.

Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the optimist as on the pessimist, but the optimist weathers them better.

You go into flow when your highest strengths are deployed to meet the highest challenges that come your way.

What determines how much time and deliberate practice a child is willing to devote to achievement? Nothing less than her character.

In a society in which individualism is becoming rampant, people more and more believe that they are the center of the world. Such a belief system makes individual failure almost inconsolable.