Beyond Looking on the Bright Side: Exploring Positive Psychology 2.0

For years, positive psychology was seen as the science of happiness — a sunny counterbalance to the traditional focus on what's wrong or broken in people. It brought us powerful concepts like flow (Csikszentmihalyi), character strengths (Peterson & Seligman), and gratitude practices that genuinely help people live more fulfilling lives.
But... life isn’t always bright. And neither are we!!


Enter Positive Psychology 2.0 (PP2.0) — a deeper, more honest approach that embraces the full spectrum of the human experience, including the messy, painful, and shadowy parts we might rather ignore.  Coined by psychologist Dr Paul Wong, this next wave brings the darker, more difficult parts of life into the picture — suffering, trauma, grief, loss, and the big existential questions.

“True positive psychology must be a psychology of the whole human being.” — Dr Wong

Rather than trying to push pain away, PP2.0 invites us to meet it. To sit with it. To ask what it might be trying to teach us. Not because pain is “good” — but because when we integrate it, something deeper and more lasting can emerge: meaning, connection, authenticity.

This is the kind of work that coaches, therapists, and conscious leaders have often done intuitively. PP2.0 just gives us a more grounded framework to understand and support it.

A Few Core Ideas Behind This Approach

🌿 Wholeness Over Positivity
Rather than trying to stay “up” all the time, PP2.0 invites us to embrace wholeness. It’s not about bypassing pain or slapping a smile over grief — it’s about recognising that joy and pain often live side by side. That real strength comes from knowing and integrating both.
Like the seasons or the phases of the moon, our emotional lives are meant to cycle. Honouring that rhythm can be its own kind of medicine.  In our Nature's Blueprint community we refer to this as a wave and often check in with whereabouts we are on the wave - it is impossible to be on the crest or in the barrel constantly - energy and emotions are fluid and we need to remember that to ensure we manage our own expectations.  The fabulous Mo Gawdat's theory for happiness is to do exactly that - manage our expectations.  The equation is simply: Happiness = reality - expectation. 

🔥 The Transformative Power of Suffering
It’s not just poetic — it’s backed by research. People who’ve been through tough experiences often report what’s called post-traumatic growth: a deeper sense of purpose, more empathy, stronger connections.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” — Viktor Frankl
Frankl’s work reminds us that meaning can be found even in the most difficult situations. And that often, we don’t come through fire unchanged — we come through refined.  If you haven't read Victor Frankl's book 'Man's Search for Meaning' yet then I highly recommend it!!!  

🌗 Making Space for Paradox
PP2.0 asks us to move beyond either/or thinking. Life isn’t that simple. It’s not “either I’m thriving or I’m failing” — it’s often both. It’s the messy, unpredictable, nuanced middle where most of life happens.
Like nature, we are full of contradictions. And that’s okay.
Instead of rushing to solve, fix, or simplify, this approach asks us to sit with complexity, to let seemingly opposite truths coexist. That’s where depth lives.  This is one of my favourite approaches to seeing things differently and I believe it is hugely important in this current climate of polarity where we are often encouraged to be outraged by social media, political parties and some organisations.   Life isn’t either/or — it’s both/and. This way of thinking helps us stay grounded and open, especially in turbulent times.

🌱 Meaning, Responsibility, and Courage
At the heart of it all is this: life doesn’t have to be easy to be meaningful.
PP2.0 encourages us to find meaning not just in the good times, but in the gritty ones too. To take responsibility for how we show up, even when it’s hard. And to cultivate the kind of courage that grows slowly — through showing up again and again, heart open.

“Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue… as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.” — Viktor Frankl

So What Does This Mean in Practice?
For those of us who support others — coaches, counsellors, leaders — this approach gives permission to be with the full spectrum of human experience.   It invites us to:

• Honour peoples' struggles as meaningful, not just problems to be fixed.
• Embrace our own vulnerability as part of our strength.
• Encourage reflection on not just goals and success, but what matters most, even — and especially — in times of difficulty.

It invites us to listen more deeply. To ask better questions. And to see pain not as a problem to be solved, but a process to be honoured.  

Reflection Questions 
If this post has resonated with you then here are some questions that I invite you to sit with - grab a cuppa, take yourself off somewhere quiet and see what comes up from the following:

1. When have you grown the most through difficulty?
2. What painful experience has ultimately shaped who you are for the better?
3. How do you respond to suffering — in yourself and in others?
4. What does “wholeness” mean to you, and how might you live more in alignment with it?
5. Where are you currently being invited to find meaning — even if it’s not easy?

If positive psychology 1.0 gave us tools for flourishing, then 2.0 gives us the soil and roots — grounding our growth in the real, raw, and beautiful complexity of life.  I hope this has been useful for you and would love to hear your thoughts comments or questions!

Books that might be of interest!
Second Wave Positive Psychology by Itai Ivtzan, Tim Lomas, Kate Hefferon, Piers Worth
​What is Post Tramatic Growth by Miriam Akhtar