The PERMA Model of Wellbeing

Do you want to be happy?  I am sure the answer is a resounding YES for every one of us.  Indeed, the pursuit of happiness is one of the natural instincts of humans.  We continuously look out for what makes us happy, regardless of our age, orientation, or status in life.  But how can we attain true happiness?

 

In 1998, Dr Martin Seligman used his inaugural address as the incoming president of the American Psychological Association to shift the focus from mental illness and pathology to studying what is good and positive in life, and started building a field called Positive Psychology. Positive psychology looks at theories and interventions that help make life worth living and how to define, quantify, and create wellbeing.

​

In his 2011 book “Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being”, Dr Seligman shares his unique understanding of happiness and well-being in an attempt to find out the secrets ingredients of happiness. 

In this book, Dr Seligman introduced the term “flourishing”, a descriptor and measure of positive mental health and overall life well-being.  Flourishing consists of several important components.  Maximum flourishing can only happen when a person experiences a healthy level of each component.  There are five building blocks that enable flourishing – Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.  PERMA is the acronym of this model of wellbeing put forward of Dr Seligman.  Each of these five building blocks:

• contributes to well-being

• is pursued for its own sake, not as a means to an end

• is defined and measured independently of the other elements

​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

(Source: http://ddroydiary.blogspot.com/2013/10/rabindranath-tagore-and-positive.html)

​

How to apply PERMA in life

• Explore and understand more about yourself.

• Live fully in the present (enter as state of “flow”)Live in the present moment and value every single emotion you have.

• Explore activities in the uncharted territories that you might enjoy

• Take a leap of faith, uncover your meaning and purpose in life with the help of new career opportunities, new volunteer or community activities, being involved in value-aligned organizations etc.

• Setting goals, especially realistic and achievable ones, then track the progress of your goals constantly and document the accompanying emotions when you achieve them.

• Doing things that you enjoy and boost positive emotions.

• Reflect genuinely and honestly on what to be grateful

• treasure every small win at present can further increase your capacity to savour positive emotions. 

• Keep a gratitude journal to keep track of the good things in life. When hard knocks life, this tool — as trivial as it looks — can instil the much needed hope into your life.

• Try to reflect on both your past successes and failures to identify and learn about your own strengths and abilities, and do things that you can manage. 

• Engage in meaningful activities, build connections and establish your sense of achievement.

• Invest in meaningful relationships and spend sufficient time with your significant others

• Take the initiative to understand more about people you do not know well (yet), or to reach out to people you have lost touch with.

• Start small, and work yourself towards your goals in life. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

(Source: https://www.epinsight.com/post/flourishing-in-stressful-times-ideas-for-self-care-using-perma)

​

Here are a few interesting and thought-provoking videos on PERMA and positive psychology.  Enjoy!

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Sources:

https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/learn-more/perma-theory-well-being-and-perma-workshops

https://positivepsychology.com/flourishing/

https://www.healthymatters.com.hk/perma-positive-psychology-happiness/

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/perma-model/

http://ddroydiary.blogspot.com/2013/10/rabindranath-tagore-and-positive.html

https://www.epinsight.com/post/flourishing-in-stressful-times-ideas-for-self-care-using-perma

​