Revisions, Conclusions and Recommendations
When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive.
Paulo Coelho, 2005, p. 14
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This final chapter of the study includes the revision of the problem statement, the purpose and the aims, as well as the preliminary assumptions. Included in this chapter are summaries and conclusions with regard to the HWM and the FDT in the life and works of Paulo Coelho. Reflections on the theoretical and methodological approaches used are given and the theories are revised, based on the findings of this study. Finally, the contribution of the study and its limitations are reported, the reflections of the researcher are outlined and recommendations on theory and practice are made.
Problem Statement and Justification for the Study Revised
In Sect. 1.7, a research need was identified to contribute to a new and complex psychological understanding of extraordinary individuals who act as outstanding universal and positive role models.
In this study, the worldfamous writer, Paulo Coelho, was identified as an extraordinary individual. According to the analysis and findings in terms of holistic wellness and faith development stages evident in his life and creative works, Paulo Coelho can function as a positive role model in terms of holistic wellness and faith development (see Sects. 9.5.1, 9.5.2, 9.5.3, and 9.5.4). As a role model who is read by hundreds of millions of readers and as one of the 100 most visionary individuals (Albert Einstein Foundation, 2017), he is assumed to have a positive impact on implementing new ideas on spirituality, holistic thoughts on health, well-being and faith, through the ways he overcame challenges during his life and recovered from threats and depression. Coelho is viewed as authentically presenting himself in his autobiographical works and thus gaining the interest of the readers in his (life) sto-
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C.-H. Mayer, The Life and Creative Works of Paulo Coelho,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-59638-9_9
ries and experiences, which are simply written and authentically told. Coelho is an individual who has promoted holistic wellness and faith development through his life, his actions and his creative works, and is seen as a role model as defined by Leeder, Raymond, and Greenberg (2007).
This study addresses a new paradigm in psychobiographical research by approaching the life of Coelho from a positive psychology perspective, that has been called for in psychological research (Luthans, 2002; Mayer & Van Zyl, 2013), minimising psychopathological analysis, as explained in Chap. 1. Burnell (2013, p. 2) highlights the “eugraphic and holistic approach in contrast to traditional patho- graphic” in her study; the same can be concluded for this study: By using the HWM as well as the FDT, this study emphasises the positive aspects of the selected individual, based on the theoretical positive psychology paradigm (Seligman, 2011; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), focusing on the positive developments of the individual rather than focusing on negative patterns of feelings, thoughts and behaviour. This study addresses the developmental potential of this person in terms of holistic wellness and faith (Chaps. 7 and 8).
At the end of the study, it can be emphasised that the study plays a part in filling the void in psychobiographical research on artists and writers (Schultz, 2005a), promoting psychobiographical research from a positive psychological perspective.
