Building Resilience | Smaranda Lawrie | Athlete CEO #62

When people hear the term “positive psychology” it can often bring to mind the idea of “always staying positive” or trying to force yourself to never feel anger or pain, but Smaranda Lawrie says that’s B.S.

Smaranda has a PhD in psychology and brain science from UCSB, is the founder of UCSB’s Resilience Summit, currently is an assistant professor at Providence College, and is a key researcher on positive psychology.

As a child, Smaranda’s family were political refugees from Romania who – in fleeing the country – ended up in Hungary hiding in apartments and even an underground tunnel to a refugee camp in Austria. She shares some of the hardships she experienced as a kid, how she learned resilience to get through them, and how research shows the importance of building resilience through parenting.

In this episode, Brandon and Erik talk with Smaranda about positive psychology actually is, leading research on how practicing it can improve your performance and overall outlook on life, what’s in the toolkit of positive psychology, and how to practice it with your kids.