POS-EDGE® Model

Build the balance in your “piggy bank” of happiness and well-being. This positivity balance is the foundation of successes of many kinds, including more flexible coping, improved learning and study skills for school success, better relationships, and longer and healthier lives. Happier people are more focused and organized, and they even earn more money across the lifespan. In short, happiness leads to success.

Learn to approach difficult situations calmly and flexibly, by reacting in effective ways. Break the cycle of learned helplessness. Develop personal awareness of and management skills for dealing with frustration and anxiety by building the Positive Edge tools of optimism and resilience. Benefit from great outcomes such as a higher GPA, lower college attrition, better sports performance, fewer physical illnesses/quicker recovery, higher marital satisfaction.

Strengths (and not just the academic kind) are a whole toolkit’s worth of qualities and abilities that you can learn to identify, harness for your growth and achievement, and use to overcome challenges. We don’t ignore weaknesses, though. Instead, we want to use your existing strengths to make improvements where there are difficulties, because people who know how to use and manage their character and neurodevelopmental strengths are also more resilient, more motivated, and more engaged. Learn to spot and manage the strengths that are keys to your success at home, school, and work.

Emotional intelligence is an essential set of life skills for managing conflicts and understanding of the perspectives of others. Develop better social skills and self-awareness, a more positive and more accurate view of yourself, and become better equipped to problem-solve as well as get help and support from others. Reduce problem behaviors such as defiance, drug use, and risky sexual behaviors. Enjoy improvement on standardized test scores, as well as higher GPAs and work evaluations.

Changing habits is hard. Identify not just what to change, but when and how to manage both behavior and environment, by using “choice architecture” to manage shifts with less resistance and hassle. The POS-EDGE model teaches you the keys to successful decision-making and makes effortful decisions easier and more automatic. Learn the six-step process that you can apply to breaking old habits by establishing new ones.

Grit is the sustained effort you invest in achieving meaningful goals, as well as the self-control, and self-regulation needed to reach them. The latter two parts of grit have been shown to outdo IQ as a predictor of success of many kinds, including general school success and GPAs. Grit is made up of strengths that can be taught. We’ll teach you how to design goals to leverage your strengths, and to develop the grit you’ll need to pursue long-term goals.

Being highly engaged—what we call the “flow” state—builds not only skills but important emotional resources, too. A student who is highly engaged, for example, is more likely to pay more attention to teachers, homework, and other school related activities. Mindfulness and movement breaks increase attention and focus, and people who exercise regularly show better academic and work performance, are sick less often, and are happier.