Well-being Theory - Positive Education

Authentic Happiness - revised

Martin Seligman has revised his Authentic Happiness theory (2002) on the basis that it over-emphasised feeling good.

In his latest book Flourish he has outlined his Well-Being Theory as follows

Well-being is a construct, and well-being (not happiness) is the topic of positive psychology.

There are five measurable elements (PERMA) that contribute towards well-being:

• Positive Emotions – experiencing joy and pleasure
• Engagement (or flow) – being consciously involved in our activities
• Relationships – having enjoyable and supportive interactions with others
• Meaning – creating a purposeful narrative about our lives; being engaged with or serving something larger than ourselves
• Accomplishments – completing our goals and following our core values.

Follow this link for more on Positive Education.


Exercises:

1. Consider three students with whom you work: one high status/high achiever; one average; one who is in difficulties. Rate each student on a scale of 1-10 for each of the measurable elements.  What common beliefs does this reveal, confirm, challenge?
2. Retiring? Returning to work or study? Changing employment? How are each of the PERMA elements likely to change? And what might you need to attend to?

And Martin Seligman introduces Positive Psychology in a TED Talk