My heart is full of gratitude and hope as we enter a new year. In many ways, 2015 has been a breakthrough year for INPM, and I trust that in 2016, we will build on the successes of last year and reach another milestone.
In December, I had the privilege of taking part in the Research Work Group on Virtue, Happiness, and Meaning of Life and presenting the Hypothesis of a Good Life to a group of distinguished philosophers, theologians, and psychologists. Dr. Frankl’s central thesis that virtue and happiness are the by-products of a life devoted to pursuing meaning and self-transcendence was well-received. I hope that through the University of Chicago’s Virtue Scholars network, more and more people will resonate with INPM’s message that there is more to life than being happy, and that our hearts are restless until we lose ourselves in something greater than us.
Another significant development for INPM last year was the opportunity of sharing my vision for Second Wave Positive Psychology (PP2.0) in London, Moscow, and Orlando (IPPA), laying the necessary groundwork for the PP2.0 Summit at the Meaning Conference 2016. I hope that this Summit will cement a partnership between humanist-existential psychology (H-E) and positive psychology (PP), resulting in the renaissance of H-E and transformation of PP for the greater good. This has been INPM’s mission since its first Meaning Conference in 2000.
Finally, I am most grateful for a new Board of Directors—one that is both enthusiastic and responsible. One of the new and exciting challenges this Board is tackling includes developing a proper procedure to recruit the next President of INPM.