Positive Psychology Founder: How To Stop Your Negative Thoughts - Martin Seligman - #1167

Dr. Martin Seligman discusses his journey from studying learned helplessness to founding positive psychology, offering insights into why some people emerge more resilient from identical adversity. The conversation explores the roles of agency and optimism, how they differ, and why agency might be the single biggest predictor of success. Seligman also examines whether we can train our brains to be optimistic, the evolving understanding of agency across history, and what actually makes a life worth living. The episode touches on AI’s potential to unlock human creativity and the provocative question of whether humans 3,000 years ago experienced consciousness as we do today.