PERMA is psychologist Martin Seligman's research-based model of wellbeing — five measurable routes to flourishing: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. This course explains where the model came from, what each of the five elements means, and how to find more of them in your own life.You'll hear Seligman himself explain why positive psychology turned from simply treating distress to actively building flourishing, then go element by element through PERMA. Two of its engines get a closer look: the state of flow mapped by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and the way positive emotions broaden the mind and build lasting resources in Barbara Fredrickson's research.It closes honestly. Wellbeing is not about feeling good all the time — the evidence shows that chasing happiness head-on tends to backfire, and that difficult emotions are part of a full life. PERMA is one well-validated map among several, best used not to score yourself but to notice which routes to flourishing you already travel, and which you might build.
A tennis player wins her second straight set, feeling like she can predict her opponent's next move. A musician works to master a chord progression, unfazed by mistakes as he repeatedly plays the same four bars. A scientist fails to notice her morning alarm blare from the next room, having analyzed data through the night. While each of these people is immersed in a different activity, requiring specific skills and knowledge sets, all three are experiencing what is known as flow— a unique mental state of effortless engagement. And while you may not be a scientist or professional athlete, anyone can find flow. This is a good thing, as those who more frequently experience flow report higher levels of positive emotions, creativity, and feelings of accomplishment. Further, research has linked it to increased productivity, enhanced learning, and academic achievement. But what exactly is flow? And how can we find it in our daily lives? Flow is more than just concentrating or paying attention. Psychologists go so far as to define flow as an altered state of consciousness with several defining features. First, those in flow tend to feel so effortlessly engaged in a task that time seems to fly by. They are not easily distracted. In contrast with cycles of procrastination, when it can feel impossible to start an activity, during flow it can feel difficult to stop. Flow also tends to diminish feelings of worry or self-judgment, in turn fostering creativity. And people report experiencing a sense of oneness with what they’re doing, allowing for peak performance. Further, brain imaging studies have shown that flow is accompanied by changes in neural activity, notably in regions that play a role in attention, self-awareness, and self-consciousness. Despite decades of research, many questions still remain. How do the brains of those in flow compare to those in other states of consciousness, like meditation? Does flow arising from physical activities like sports recruit the same brain areas as more mental tasks like writing or math? And scientists are still working to understand why certain activities are more likely to elicit flow than others. While we don't know for sure, there are several theories. For example, people more often report finding flow when doing things they find intrinsically motivating, meaning activities they find purpose, meaning, or enjoyment in. This may include participating in a favorite hobby, but also tackling gratifying assignments at work, studying topics you find interesting, or even completing satisfying chores. Likewise, it may be more difficult to find flow in tasks you do only because you have to, not because you want to. Other research suggests balancing personal skill level with the activity’s challenge is key for finding flow. In other words, if a task is too easy, you may get distracted or feel bored. If it’s too challenging, you may become discouraged. The classically mesmerizing game of Tetris, for example, keeps skill-challenge levels in balance by increasing the fall speed of blocks as players get better at the game. Still, other studies suggest that it’s most important that activities have clear goals and allow you to assess your progress along the way. For example, practicing a song allows you to gauge your performance with each note. This also may be why people find flow when playing games of chance, even though those games don't require skill. Moment-to-moment feedback may be enough to motivate deep engagement. While no single protocol can guarantee flow, there are steps you can take to increase your chances. Find a quiet environment free from distracting noises or devices. Break your tasks into small, specific segments that are easy to track and learn from. Set clear end goals that are challenging but not frustratingly so. If you find the task to be tedious, set additional parameters to up the stakes. For example, when cleaning your dishes, attempt to finish them all in a certain amount of time. When running, try to keep pace with the beat of a song. Most importantly, and perhaps most frustratingly, don't focus too much on reaching flow. That sort of distraction might just prevent you from finding it.
- There are only two kinds of people who do not experience painful emotions. The first kind are the psychopaths. The second kind are dead. (bell tolls) (mournful music) There is a false understanding or expectation that a happy life means being happy all the time. No. Learning to accept, and even embrace painful emotions is an important part of a happy life. And the study of painful emotions is an important part of the field of happiness studies. My name is Tal Ben Shahar. I'm a student and teacher in the field of happiness studies. And my most recent book is "Happier, No Matter What". There is a very important concept that was introduced by Nassim Taleb. And that is antifragility. Antifragility is essentially resilience 2.0. Resilience 1.0 is when we put pressure on a system. After the pressure is lifted, that system goes back to its original form. Antifragility takes this idea a step further. You put pressure on a system. It actually grows bigger, stronger. We see antifragile systems all around us and within us. For example, our muscular system, we go to the gym and we lift weights. We're putting pressure on our muscles. What happens as a result, we actually grow stronger. We're an antifragile system. On the psychological level, you know what that's called? PTG, post traumatic growth. So where post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is about breaking down, post traumatic growth is about growing stronger as a result of pressure of stress. It's antifragility. The role of the science of happiness is to teach us what conditions we can put in place to increase the likelihood of growing from hardship. Now, there is a paradox when it comes to pursuing happiness. (bright music) On the one hand, we know that happiness is a good thing, whether in and of itself, or as a means toward other ends. At the same time, we also know from research by Iris Moss and others, that people who say to themselves, "Happiness is important for me, I want to pursue it," those individuals actually end up being less happy. In fact, they're more likely to experience depression. So the paradox is that on the one hand, happiness is clearly a good thing. On the other hand, valuing it as a good thing is problematic. So what do we do? The way to resolve this paradox is that we pursue happiness indirectly. Think about sunlight. So if I look at the sun directly, it's going to hurt my eyes. However, if I break down sunlight into its elements, into its constituents, I can look at the colors of the rainbow. So I'm indirectly looking at the sunlight, enjoying it, savoring it. In the same way, pursuing happiness directly can cause more harm than good. But breaking it down into its elements can lead us to enjoy the indirect pursuit of happiness, and by extension, to raise our overall levels of happiness. What are the metaphorical colors of the rainbow when it comes to happiness? Here we have what I've come to call the SPIRE model. And it can trigger the antifragile system. SPIRE is an acronym that stands for spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, and finally, emotional well-being. Spirituality is about finding a sense of meaning and purpose in life, at work and at home. If you wake up in the morning with a purpose, you're more likely to overcome barriers. When it comes to physical wellbeing, The most important idea to look at is stress, the silent killer. In the United States, more than half of the employees do not use up their vacation time. And even those that do, close to half are still tethered to their work. The problem is not the stress, it's the lack of recovery. With intellectual wellbeing, there's research showing that people who are curious, who ask questions are not just happier, they also live longer. Another important element is not just asking questions, it's deeply engaging with material. It can be text, a work of art, even nature. Relational wellbeing is very important. The number one predictor of happiness is quality time we spend with people we care about and who care about us. And it turns out the number one condition that we can put in place to increase the likelihood of antifragility of growing through hardship is the quality of our relationships. Finally, emotional wellbeing. So embracing painful emotions is critical, but how do we then cultivate pleasurable ones? Specifically, the emotion of gratitude. Cicero talked about, "Gratitude is the mother of all virtues." When we appreciate the good in our life, we have more of it. So happiness is much more than pleasure. Happiness is wholebeing. These five elements together create that sunlight, happiness. I don't think there is a point before which one is unhappy after which one is happy. Rather, happiness resides on a continuum. It's a lifelong journey. And knowing that, we can have realistic rather than unrealistic expectations about what is possible. I do not think that things necessarily happen for the best. However, we can learn to make the best of things that happen. (bright orchestral music) - [Announcer] To learn even more from the world's biggest thinkers, get Big Think+ for your business.