Dr Noel Maturlu

Published in Issue 1.2 // LaB Press

http://doi.org/10.63994/xiaph2

KEYWORDS: Kavotemia; Differential Bliss Receptibility; Adversity; Flourishing; Spirituality.

Abstract

Kavotemia is introduced as a novel interdisciplinary construct that describes the capacity to thrive because of adversity rather than despite it. Integrating psychological science, biblical theology, philosophy, and resilience research, the concept refers to a disciplined state in which success, honour, strength, wisdom, and flourishing are forged through challenge. Drawing on the Hebrew notion of kavod (glory, weight, honour), the metallurgical process of tempering, and the classical suffix –ia, Kavotemia presents a unified framework synthesising resilience, grit,post-traumatic growth, hardiness, antifragility, and faith-based understandings of suffering. Crucially, the construct is grounded in Maturlu’s (2025a) empirical and theoretical work on Differential Bliss Receptibility (DBR), which demonstrates that adversity increases individuals’ receptivity to psycho-spiritual resources that facilitate flourishing. This paper argues that Kavotemia provides a higher-order model of transformative adaptation in which adversity becomes the catalyst for maturation, capability, and glory.

About the Author

Dr Noel Maturlu is the Director of Love and Bliss, a non-profit organisation, and Editor-in-Chief of The LaB Press—home to the Journal of Positive Psychology, Agapology, and Spirituality. A licensed minister and pastor, psychologist, psychotherapist, and senior University Lecturer, he has authored numerous books and scholarly articles. His research and publications pivot around the decolonisation of the slavery mentality and the cultivation of a prosperity mindset. At the heart of his work is the nexus between spirituality, adversity, and human flourishing, with particular emphasis on advancing the flourishing of Afro-descendant communities both on the continent and across the diaspora. Dr. Maturlu holds doctorates in Positive Psychology and Business.