Lifelong Happiness Principles: Insights from a Psychologist
In the pursuit of a happier, healthier life, renowned psychologist Martin Seligman offers a research-backed approach: the PERMA Model. This model, based on five core pillars, aims to promote wellbeing and flourishing.
The PERMA Model consists of Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
Positive Emotion
To boost joy, gratitude, hope, and contentment, engage in activities that stimulate positive feelings. Practices such as gratitude journaling, savoring pleasant moments, or doing acts of kindness can help increase positive emotions.
Engagement (Flow)
Find activities that fully absorb you, where your skills match the challenge, leading to a state of flow. This could be hobbies, creative projects, or work tasks that captivate your attention and provide a sense of mastery. Lifelong learning and trying new skills also foster engagement and mental growth.
Relationships
Build and maintain strong, supportive social connections. Spend quality time with family and friends, join social or interest groups, and practice active listening and empathy to nurture relationships.
Meaning
Connect with something larger than yourself, such as community, spiritual beliefs, or a cause. Volunteering, engaging in meaningful work, or reflecting on your life values and purpose are ways to deepen meaning.
Accomplishment
Set and pursue goals that are personally significant. Celebrate small wins, track progress, and develop skills that lead to tangible achievements. This builds confidence and a sense of competence.
Starting with small, authentic practices that feel natural—like daily gratitude notes or scheduling time for learning—can help strengthen each PERMA pillar and thus enhance overall wellbeing.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest-running study of human flourishing, found that good relationships nurtured over time lead to health and happiness. Satisfaction with relationships at age 50 was a stronger predictor of health in later life than even one's cholesterol levels.
Flow, a state where the brain's motivation and attention systems are working in harmony, is characterized by loss of self-consciousness and full immersion in a task. Reconnecting with a creative hobby or scheduling no-scroll blocks can help induce a flow state.
A 2020 study published in Emotion Review shows that actively engaging in practices such as gratitude journaling, savoring, and acts of kindness can increase positive emotions and contribute to better physical health. Human connection, not likes or followers, but authentic, safe, reciprocal relationships, is the most robust predictor of long-term wellbeing, according to decades of research. The Harvard Study of Adult Development highlights that close relationships are what keep people happy throughout their lives and protect them from life's discontents.
By embracing the PERMA Model and its practical applications, individuals can take meaningful steps towards a more fulfilling, balanced life.
- Science within the field of positive psychology, particularly the PERMA Model, underscores the importance of maintaining a gratitude journal or practicing gratitude journaling to stimulate positive feelings and enhance life satisfaction.
- Engaging in flow state activities, often found in health-and-wellness initiatives like reconnecting with a creative hobby or scheduling no-scroll blocks, can contribute to better mental health, as demonstrated by research in the field of psychological science.
- In the pursuit of education and self-development, fostering relationships that provide emotional support and exhibit active listening and empathy leads to a more fulfilling, balanced life, as supported by findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development and decades of research in the area of mental health.
