PPG Professional Member Spotlight: Festive Families Book (Bob Hurling)
Bob Hurling is a Registered PPG Professional Member and Certified Positive Psychology Practitioner from the UK who graduated from the Level 5 Diploma Positive Organisational Psychology in 2023. Below is an interview with Ola Hardbattle on his latest book titled, Festive Families.
1. Tell me, what is the book about?
It’s a look inside a normal Christmas and New Year with family and friends: people arriving, plans going off track, meals half working, and everyone eventually finding their rhythm. Nothing too dramatic, just the sort of festive interval we all recognise.
2. What motivated you to write a Christmas-themed book grounded in Positive Psychology?
Christmas brings out the best and the worst in us. It’s funny, stressful, and oddly revealing. I wanted to capture a few days where everyday psychology shows up without trying. It’s based on a collage of real Christmases and New Years, and real people (with names changed). They’re people and memories I love, and writing about them brought everything into clearer focus, and reminded me why these moments matter.
3. Which Positive Psychology themes, theories, or interventions have you woven into the narrative?
Things like paying attention to small good moments, using humour to steady the mood, noticing strengths in people, and accepting that mixed emotions are normal. Also that things we personally worry about often mean very little to others, and that family and friends usually have a bigger capacity to accept our quirks than we think. There’s also a quiet thread about gratitude and connection running underneath it all. Everything’s woven into the story rather than explained.
4. Christmas can be a difficult time for some (e.g. loss, grief, stress). Does Positive Psychology offer any guidance here on coping?
It basically says: you’re not failing. It’s understandable.
Give yourself some breathing room, lean on people who help you feel steadier, and don’t expect this time of year to fix anything. Small strategies help: go for a short walk, step into another room for a reset, text someone who grounds you, or build a simple ritual you can rely on when things get noisy.
5. What about general Positive Psychology wellbeing guidance for weathering the festive season?
Keep expectations modest, take short breaks when needed, and don’t read too much into friends’ or family behaviour. Everyone’s tired and slightly over-sugared or steeped in alcohol. Spending time with people you love is a huge source of life satisfaction, but it sometimes takes a while to kick in. If you can’t be with those you love, find another way to connect: volunteer for an hour, message someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, or simply get out into the world and talk to real humans. Small touches make a difference.
6. After publishing several books, what have you learned about writing and about yourself?
That writing is a great way to collect and clarify your thoughts. Each book is a small way of reliving the best parts of life. I’ve learned to get everything down first and tidy it later, because the raw draft usually has the real emotion in it. Small details carry the story far more than clever lines.
7. Do you have any advice for other Positive Psychology Practitioners who want to write books?
Keep the theory in the background and let ordinary life do the work. If it starts sounding like a lecture, rewrite it. Choose something that genuinely excites you and gets you into flow. Have an audience in mind, but write it for yourself first. It’s hard to fake enjoyment on the page.
8. Is there anything we haven’t touched on that you would like to add?
Whether it’s writing, learning, or spending time with people, don’t aim for perfection. The memorable moments are usually the messy ones. Reflecting afterwards is a great way to relive them, but learning to step outside the moment while it’s happening, even if just for a few seconds, gives you a surprising amount of insight and calm. It’s a useful little skill to carry into the rest of the year too. Also, that people won’t always be with you, so enjoy the time you have with them while they’re here.
About Bob Hurling
Bob Hurling is a consumer psychologist, researcher, and speaker with over 35 years’ experience working in a global multinational company, where he specialised in turning complex behaviour into meaningful insights, and occasionally turning meetings into something useful.
Known for combining psychological depth with practical application, Bob has helped teams around the world understand what truly drives behaviour, engagement, and experience. He has authored over 40 academic publications and has held Visiting Professor roles at several universities, sharing his passion for research that actually matters.
Now ‘partially-retired’, he continues to consult, write, and speak on the things that make work, and life, a little more human.
You can find more about Bob’s work, philosophy, and gently subversive takes on insight at www.bobhurling.com
To read Bob’s books, please visit:
https://mybook.to/FestiveFamilies