What is “wellbeing”? It’s like happiness, right?

Positive psychology is the scientific study of wellbeing and optimal functioning – but what does that actually mean? Like for you, in your life?

It’s been about 10 years since I took my first graduate course in positive psychology and the field has changed a lot in that time, and my feelings and relationship with it have changed a lot in that time as well. Having done a six-month certification, a master’s degree, and becoming a researcher in the field have certainly continued to deepen my knowledge base, but also the self-reflection process, life experience, and working with many individuals in coaching relationships have added a ton of nuance to the topic of wellbeing.

When it comes to the field of knowledge, there are many different models of wellbeing and today I’ll just share one and some reflective questions that you can explore and consider how you might apply to your own life. The model I will share is the PERMA-V model (an acronym that stands for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement, and Vitality.) The PERMA model was developed by Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association who is often credited with ushering a new focus on positive psychology under his leadership. The V, for Vitality, was added, accredited to Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, to include the physiological dimension of wellbeing (a key area I focus on in my work).

P – Positive Emotions

            Experiencing positive emotions like happiness, joy, pleasure, and gratitude is what this factor is about. Most people agree there is more to life (and to happiness) than trying to be happy all the time (and that trying to do so is probably not realistic or even a good idea – paradoxically, trying very hard to be happy will likely make you unhappy). That said, positive emotions can help us feel more creative, insightful, and energized, so there’s absolutely value in noticing the good feelings we have, and considering ways we might increase them. Some of the interventions in this area include gratitude activities (each day thinking of 3 good things that happened), cultivating optimism, building more awareness of thinking processes and thinking traps, and choosing daily activities that bring us joy that we can savour. (Incidentally, this is the part of positive psychology most people think of when they hear the term, but, as you’re about to see, there’s much more to wellbeing that being or feeling ‘positive’.)

Reflection questions: What role does ‘feeling good’ play in your conceptualization of wellbeing or the good life? Of the interventions listed, do any resonate with you? Are there small ways you could invite positive emotions into your life?

E – Engagement

            Do you ever feel like you’re so involved in a project or activity that you lose track of time, feel like you’re performing your best but it just comes so naturally, and if feels like time stretches out infinitely? This experience is called ‘flow’ and it’s the foundation of the engagement factor of the PERMA-V model. The concept of being in flow is something frequently experienced by athletes and artists but flow can happen in a wide variety of circumstances. It’s most likely to happen when your ability is closely matched to what you need to do, so it’s neither too easy nor too difficult. Being engaged in your life can mean finding flow or similar experiences of matching effort and ability, which creates a naturally rewarding experience.

Reflection questions: When you think of being engaged in your life what comes to mind? When you think of the different domains of life which areas do you feel more engaged in (eg. home, family, creative projects, hobbies, etc)? Are there ways you could explore being more engaged in your life? What role does passion or authenticity play in how engaged you are in these things?

R – Relationships

            If positive psychology could be summed up in three words it would be “other people matter.” Christopher Peterson, one of the leading researchers in the early positive psychology revolution was credited with saying this. We are a relational animal after all and we all have a need for belonging and positive relationships. Working on this factor may be recognising the value in our positive relationships and putting effort into fostering the connections we do have, and it may also include reflecting on things that get in the way of positive relating and having self-awareness of how we can improve – for example in our communication styles, emotional intelligence, building empathy, etc.

Reflection questions: What role do you find relationships have played in your own wellbeing? Are there ways you could foster your relationships? Do you feel that your relationships are as deep as you’d like them to be? Are there areas of communication or self-awareness that you think could improve the way you relate to others?

M – Meaning

            Ah, yes, the meaning of life! Here’s the secret: maybe it’s less about the meaning of life, and more about what gives you a sense of meaning IN life. A subtle but important distinction. There’s also some debate as to whether this factor should be called ‘meaning’ or ‘purpose’ but for functionality’s sake, we’ll see these as related concepts. It probably isn’t surprising that people who feel like they have a meaningful life, or are living their life’s purpose experience higher levels of wellbeing. Maybe you feel an innate sense of what your purpose is, but if you’re like most people, you don’t really know where to start – sure meaning in life sounds great, but how do we get there? There are a number of ways to explore meaning including value identification activities, identifying personal strengths, and developing greater awareness of the felt-sense of authenticity. One easy activity (with our handy-dandy phones nearby) is to take 3 meaningful pictures a week – don’t worry about composition or being overly artistic (unless you want to!), but take 3 snap shots of things that feel meaningful. At the end of the week, reflect on why you selected those 3 things. Then if you enjoyed it, you could repeat for a few weeks and see what comes up.

Reflection questions: When you think of a meaningful life, what comes to mind for you? Is this an area that you’re thought much about? What does it feel like when something is meaningful? Do you feel like you can prioritize things in life that are meaningful to you?

A – Achievement

            Setting and achieving goals can be highly rewarding, though people vary a lot in how they define achievement or success. Perfectionism, you’re probably not shocked, is not associated with wellbeing; so then, how do we value achievement in a way that boosts wellbeing? We often over-estimate how happy we’ll feel when we obtain a certain result, so it is important to be mindful of wellbeing along the journey as well, and to have the self-awareness to choose meaningful, self-aligned goals and not things we think we ‘should’ do because others have told us to do them. This factor of the PERMA-V model, includes research on goal-setting, motivation, and grit, as well as some interesting work on positive habits for success.

Reflection questions: What role do you think achievement plays in your own definition of wellbeing? Do you use goal-setting and planning strategies to help yourself achieve the vision you have for yourself? Do you think you have a good awareness of what your goals are and how to get there?

V – Vitality

            It’s pretty hard to have high levels of wellbeing when we are not taking good care of our physiological selves. This factor includes self-care behaviours around sleep, rest, exercise, eating, health-promoting behaviours, positive sexuality, body image, and your relationship to your body. There is a lot of research on each of these topics and each could be a book of its own (it also happens to be my favourite topic and my area of expertise - no surprise coming from a fitness and sports psych background). For today, I’ll bring it back to basics, and think about the nature of the self-care relationship – essentially, are you caring for and about yourself? Building a positive way of relating to the body, and caring for yourself physically, has an upward spiral type of relationship with wellbeing. Essentially, if you love and respect your body more, you are likely to take better care of yourself, and each of the ways you do that (sleeping more, doing enjoyable exercise, eating enough) in turn increases your wellbeing, which makes it easier to care about and for your physical self.

Reflection questions: How’s your self-care these days? Do you find you’re a better version of yourself when you’re rested, well-fed, and active (to your level of ability)? What are the smallest ways you could start caring for yourself in your daily routines so as to support both your health and your wellbeing?

So that is the PERMA-V model! What do you think? Which areas resonate with you the most? Do you feel anything is missing from this model of wellbeing?

Ultimately, your (and everyone’s) journey with wellbeing is a lifelong endeavor that we define for ourselves, but that is constantly changing. What this and other models can offer you is a jumping off point for reflection and exploration that you may find useful in this wild journey of navigating life in the world.

References:

Park, N., Oates, S., & Schwarzer, R. (2013). Christopher Peterson: "Other people matter": 1950–2012. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12007

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: a visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-25554-000

Zhivotovskaya, E. (2016, June 15). Vitality: Optimal health and the PERMA-V model of flourishing [Conference Presentation]. The 3RD Canadian Conference on Positive Psychology, Niagara on the Lake, ON, Canada.