Plants and flowers need certain things to flourish, and so do you and I. Don’t just go through life. Flourish!
An excellent book by Martin E.P. Seligman on the subject is Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. His findings are well researched and a program based on those findings has been developed and used by the United States military so new recruits can become psychologically fit as well as physically fit. According to Seligman, well-being and the ability to flourish involve 5 elements.
Element 1: Positive Emotion
Experiencing good feelings. Not all of the time, but sufficient to make life enjoyable. These feelings don’t have to be by accident. Think of the positive emotions you have experienced in the past, identify what was involved, and plan more.
Element 2: Engagement
Using our strengths and personal virtues to meet important challenges. In doing so, we might become so absorbed that we lose track of time. We might even enter a state called flow. This happens when we have clear goals, a need for stretching our abilities to reach those goals, and receive direct feedback of the effectiveness of our efforts. Such experiences are later felt to be highlights of life with a desire to experience them again.
Element 3: Meaning
Having an identified purpose in life involving something we believe is bigger than self. How can I serve others during my time on earth? Example: I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. (Mother Teresa)
Element 4: Accomplishment
Sufficient experience and/or hope of worthwhile achievement.
Element 5: Positive Relationships
Most of the good things in life occur around and with other people. It has been said that other people are the best antidote to the downs of life and the most single reliable up.
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Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success