The December 5, 2011 issue of Time carries a lengthy article about anxiety. Here we go again with another reminder of how stressed-out our lives are.

Positive thinking is deeply embedded in American culture, and in American business culture. I’ve worked with enough magazine publishers and advertising sales reps who would be seriously non-productive if not for their “can do, will do” spirit. But here is a counter-intuitive thought: Psychotherapist Albert Ellis, who died in 2007, was a pioneer of the negative path, and he once said the best way to address an uncertain future is to focus on the worst that can happen, instead of the best-case scenario.

I received an email today from a professor at the Harvard Medical School. He wants me to buy a “Special Health Report” from Harvard Health Publications on the subject of positive psychology. “Happiness can be elusive. It can be fleeting. Too often, it can be lost in our modern world's swirl of stress, multitasking, and 24/7 news,” the sales pitch begins.

Not a bad idea in times like these. Intriguing research suggests that positive psychology can help you weather the routine ups and downs of life and also build resilience for times of greater difficulty. Here are three ways to capture the benefits of positive psychology, according to Harvard Medical School’s HEALTHbeat.