PERMA – 5 Elements to Thrive
Positive psychology isn’t happy talk.
Positive psychology concerns itself with things that cause people to flourish.
I couldn’t list the 5 elements necessary to thrive during a coaching conversation yesterday (PERMA). I decided a refresher was necessary. Everyone who cares about the success of others needs to understand PERMA.
Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, championed the positive psychology movement in 1998. Seligman learned there are 5 elements necessary for people to thrive.
- Positive emotion.
- Engagement.
- good Relationships.
- Meaning.
- Accomplishment.
PERMA:
#1. Positive emotion:
To thrive you need hope, happiness, joy, satisfaction. I love that the champion of positive psychology says his happiness setpoint is on the low side.
Whether you’re naturally upbeat or not, you can impact the way you feel with behaviors. Choose to act your way into feeling instead of feel your way into acting.
Tip: Practice gratitude to impact positive emotion.
#2. Engagement.
To flourish you need to voluntarily do things that challenge you. Things that capture your attention. It’s called FLOW.
Application:
Discuss the concept of challenge with team members. What challenges you? What level of challenge do you typically feel at work? How challenging does this new project feel to you? (Too much challenge overwhelms. Too little causes boredom.)
#3. good Relationships.
How connected are you with friends, family, and co-workers?
Create an environment where results and relationships go hand in hand.
#4. Meaning.
People who thrive feel they are doing things that matter. How are you participating in something bigger than yourself?
#5. Accomplishment.
How can you help people win today?
What does personal progress look like today?
Conclusion:
PERMA is usually top of mind for me. Yesterday I realized I had lost touch with it. I thought you might enjoy a refresher as well.
What aspect of PERMA is most relevant to you today? To your team?
Another take on PERMA–elements to thrive
1. Positive outlook
2. Envision what’s possible
3. Improve results
4. Message–positive self-talk
5. Accomplishments that improve the status quo.
Thanks for bringing your perspective. After posting this morning I rewrote PERMA into REMAP, just for fun.
I like starting with relationships. The #1 factor in the good life is supportive relationships. I also like putting positive emotion at the end.
Thank you for sharing.
Psychology is an emotional rRoller coaster when one is experiencing issues.
It becomes a challenge in daily life to find where one fits in. The loss of emotions or out of control emotions can really stress us out. It can become so complex we ask ourselves is there hope? Thankful for those who specialize in this type of care are truly a freshlife experience.
Have a great day.
Thanks for jumping in, Tim. It’s true. Leaders deal with their own emotions and navigate the emotions of team members, and the emotions of teams/organizations. It’s interesting. 🙂
Thank you, Dan. I do a niche form of Executive Coaching – Interim and new not-for-profit leaders – and I’m going to deliberately build PERMA into my thinking about each new engagement.
Truly great post, as usual! Thank you so much for doing and writing what yo do and write!
“Engagement is a choice not a command” captured my attention as a prayer chaplain connected with a spiritually motivated board that needs engaged board members. With maturity comes the realization that no matter how inspiring we might feel as teachers or leaders we cannot force engagement. Understanding what our members or students or groups value and being mindful enough to create openings that relate to those values is essential. Love the “PERMA” approach as it touches all levels. Thank-you for sharing so clearly message we can relate with.