Increase Your Well-Being and Flourish!

I have just finished feasting my way through Flourish and am so very excited about what Dr. Seligman has written that I encourage you to check it out for yourself. Like Kennedy challenged us to put a man on the moon and bring him safely home, Dr. Seligman has challenged us to measurably raise the levels of happiness and well-being of 51% of the WORLD by 2051. He calls this initiative PERMA 51 and I am supporting his efforts by first enlightening you about them and then encouraging you to GO FOR IT.

According to the well-tested and already implemented principles found in Flourish, there are 5 areas of measurable happiness and well-being which can best be recalled to memory through his anagram:

P: Positive emotion - You decide what you pay attention to and thereby choose what emotions you'll feel. Focusing on WWWs (What Went Well) each day consistently raises your sense of well-being. This element is measured by you from inside you.

E: Engagement - Using personal "signature strengths" (such as wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperence, and transcendence) you get caught up doing something you love. You are completely engaged in what you're doing, unaware of time, hunger, and deeply and joyfully in the flow. This element is measured by you from inside you - others cannot look at you and see you doing this nor feeling this.

R: Personal Relationships - Learning to respond to significant others in your life with active and constructive statements, personal involvement and the strengthening of your sense of connectedness enhances your relationships and deepens your bond with the recipient of your attention as you give it. This can be witnessed by others.

M: Meaning - Consider and write out your own obituary through the eyes of children and/or grandchildren describing what you did in your life to create a world for them with greater positive emotion, deeper engagement and meaning, and stronger relationships. Focus on the smaller gestures to bring greater awareness that your every action, no matter how small, affects both your family and the world at large. Define the meaning of everything you do each day with awareness of and intention to increase happiness and well-being for others. This can also be witnessed by others.

A: Achievement - Set yourself goals to accomplish (monthly, weekly, daily) and then celebrate them as they are accomplished. You are making a difference, no matter how small, one accomplishment at a time. Everyone needs a purpose. Choose yours by what makes your heart sing, increases your own happiness, and promotes your own sense of well-being. This too can be witnessed by others.

Seligman has already introduced, tested, and verified these principles in schools in America, Australia, China, India, and is constantly spreading his training to include others. He is working with other professionals from all around the globe. All their efforts are ALREADY implemented into programs in the US military to improve the well-being of all our enlisted men AND their families!! Political and governmental decisions are shifting their focus from money and GDP to the measurable well-being of the country.

He and his colleagues are actively working to make the world a better place to be. Read his book yourself. Check out how you too can begin to Flourish. And spread it virally to your family, friends, facebook pals, church friends, community, and, ultimately, the world.

What a fabulous vision! Consider more than half of the world living in a state of well-being increased by 51% - 40 years from now. We can do this!

Note: I loaned the book to a friend last night and have written this entirely from memory. If I have made errors in the details, please forgive me. My Accomplishment today was to get this blog up for you, so it is all good.