As we go through life transitions what is a good way to look at how we want our life to look like? For me, as I get older, I think more about how I can live my life as fully as possible, but what does that mean? I’m reading Martin Seligman’s book Flourish and it’s about this very topic. Seligman is a well-know author whose books you’ve seen in the self-help section of the bookstore (if you have any left in your town). He notes that he and others in the positive psychology movement used to focus on how to achieve happiness as an end. Yet the research shows that we really should be looking more at how we can feel a sense of well-being. He came up with and acronym for his theory of Well-Being: P – E – R – M – A. These factors below may be the key for us to live the kind of life we want:
Positive emotions – feeling satisfied and optimistic
Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities
Relationships – being authentically connected to others
Meaning – purposeful existence
Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and succes
As I go through my own transition, I like to think about how I’m faring in these areas and how it might help me navigate my future. I found a good summary of PERMA at the GoStrengths Website if you’d like to go deeper. As always, access my free Midlife Planner along with other curated articles and books at What’s Next Coaching LLC. Set up a call to see if coaching might make sense for you at this time in your life
