Flourishing via P.E.R.M.A.H.

Create the life your want from the six pillars of positive well-being.

P - POSITIVE EMOTIONS

(happiness, fun, gratitude). For us to experience well-being, we need positive emotion in our lives. Any positive emotion like peace, gratitude, satisfaction, fun, pleasure, inspiration, hope, curiosity, or love falls into this category, and it's very important to remember to enjoy yourself in the here and now.

E - ENGAGEMENT

(losing ourselves and becoming absorbed in work, hobbies, the moment). When we're truly engaged in a situation, task, or project, we experience a state of flow. Time seems to stop and we lose our sense of self as we concentrate intensely on the present challenge. This feels enjoyable. The more we have this type of engagement or flow, the more likely we are to experience well-being.

R - RELATIONSHIPS

(those that touch our hearts, our souls, our minds). Humans are social animals and good relationships are core to our well-being. Time and again we see that people who have meaningful, positive relationships with others are happier than those who do not. Quality relationships with various people really impacts our happiness.

M - MEANING

(a sense of purpose and fulfilment). Meaning comes from serving a cause bigger than ourselves. Whether this is helping other people, through religion, or a cause that helps humanity in some way, we all need meaning in our lives to increase our sense of wellness.

A - ACCOMPLISHMENT

(learning and moving forward with our endeavours big and small; knowing and using your strengths). Many of us strive to better ourselves in some way, whether we're seeking to master a skill, achieve a goal, or win some competition. Accomplishment or achieving is an important factor that contributes to our flourishing. Put success in these five areas together and what you achieve is a sense of flourishing as you live a happy, interesting, connected, fulfilling life that you have deliberately created…you are then embracing, valuing and appreciating life more fully.

H - HEALTH

(sleep, move, relax, nutrition, forgive, nature, pets): Ensure nutrition is balanced and healthy, you are hydrated and consume only modest amounts of alcohol, move regularly (activities/exercise), get about 8 hours sleep, chill-out, and spend time in nature.

P.E.R.M.A.H. is more than a to-do list. It’s about creating the life you want and helps you to focus attention, efforts and energy on what’s important. It helps build resilience too!

The content itself — happiness, flow, meaning, love, gratitude, accomplishment, growth, better relationships — constitutes human flourishing. Learning that you can have more of these things is life changing. Glimpsing the vision of a flourishing human future is life changing. (Seligman, 2011)