All our lives we strive to be happier. We plan more trips. We order a blueberry cheesecake. We celebrate with food and music and camaraderie. Yes, these things make us happy. But what Seligman endorses in a revelatory book is a new concept of what actually helps people flourish.

The last few days, I’ve been cooped up reading this fascinating book called ‘Flourish’ by Martin Seligman (the father of positive psychology).

This acronym of ‘PERMA’ is introduced as the five essential components of well-being-

P-Positive emotion (emotions like joy, excitement or gratitude from the things that lift our mood like the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon bread or a trip to the Carribean islands)

E-Engagement (Doing things that challenge and interest you like writing or painting)

R-Relationships (Forging deeper and meaningful relationships with family and friends and that old uncle whom we buy tomatoes from)

M-Meaning (Having a sense of purpose by being part of something bigger than the self be it through spirituality or becoming a volunteer at the nearby Non profit)

A-Accomplishments (Setting and achieving goals be it the degrees we pursue or building a dream-bod)

The mood we are in on one cloudy day might not be reflective of how well our life is actually going. In fact, you might go to bed feeling as if your life is perfect and wake up the next morning to feel as if every single thing is a misery to be endured. Emotions fluctuate based on variables beyond our control. Hence, positive emotions in a given moment of one’s life cannot decree a life as unsatisfying.

The PERMA model helps us plan our day,week and  years keeping in view the things that really contribute to a well-lived life. If there is work to be done in making my life more meaningful, I need to focus on activities that help me do so. I can try to incorporate the stuff that is missing instead of trying to distract myself with a tub of Honey nut crunch ice cream.

For example, I can plan to write an article today(Engagement), make a phone call to my friend who just became a new mom(Relationships), finish the work out plan I’ve started(accomplishment) and pray together as a family (Meaning)

As someone who has been pursuing the concepts happiness,meaning and self actualization for about a year now, this book to me truly shines as a beacon of guidance.

Hope this helps y’all too!