What does it mean to flourish in life? How do you reach that place?
To help answer these questions, psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman developed the PERMA™ theory of well-being. The PERMA™ theory includes 5 building blocks that can help us flourish in life:
Positive Emotion
Engagement
Relationships
Meaning
Accomplishment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Well-being is highly correlated to experiencing positive emotions, such as peace, gratitude, satisfaction, pleasure, inspiration, hope, curiosity, or love. Cultivating these positive emotions is key to your health and happiness. Of course, it’s impossible to feel this way all the time. As humans, we are meant to feel the full range of emotions, both negative and positive. The goal is to experience the positive emotions most often by regularly including things in your life that bring you joy or pleasure.
Positive Emotion
What people, places, things, or activities bring you joy or pleasure?
Have you ever been so engaged in a situation, conversation, or project, that time seemed to stop and you lost yourself in the moment? This is a sign of flourishing well-being! Engagement could be related to your career, hobbies, passion, project, or people in your life.
Engagement
What gives you that experience?
As humans, healthy relationships are vital to our well-being. Prioritize the authentic and meaningful relationships with those in your life, such as family, friends, co-workers, or community members. If needed, develop or readjust boundaries with people that are not supportive of your health and vitality.
Relationships
Do you make enough time for your loved ones? Do you feel connected to those that mean a lot to you?
We all need meaning in our lives to have a sense of well-being. Meaning comes from serving a cause greater than ourselves, such as a specific deity, religion, or a program that helps humanity.
Meaning
Do you feel you are contributing to the world? How so? What gives your life meaning?
Accomplishment is a very common value humans share. Many of us strive to better ourselves in some way, whether it’s mastering a new skill, achieving a goal, or completing a project.
Accomplishment
Accomplishment is a key element in your sense of well-being. However, if the high value of accomplishment is focused on too heavily, it can also go too far and cause stress. It is important to mindful here to maintain balance with this element.
Is there something you have been putting off? If so, how can you take a first step to accomplishing it?
Use PERMA to assess your well-being. Where can you make some shifts to have a more flourishing life?
References:
"Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being" by Martin E. P. Seligman. Published by Free Press, 2011
© inHealth Medical Services, Inc. 2020