What is “Flourishing?” Learn How to Walk the 5-Part Path to Happiness (At Work)

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared in Blue Sky Mind, a wholistic lifestyle blog about positive psychology.

Surely one of the most influential points on my positive psych journey has been the reading of "Flourish," written by Dr. Martin Seligman. Seligman is an accomplished American psychologist best known as the founder of modern positive psychology. As the president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he heavily promoted the emerging scientific field of positive psychology. He now serves as the director for the UPenn Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, as well as the director of the their Positive Psychology Center.

Watch Dr. Martin Seligman discusses his formula for wellbeing: PERMA.

This book, one of over 30 he’s penned, is dense with information but approachable in form. At the risk of overload, I’ll focus on just what has come to be the most salient part of the book for me, which are his five components of well-being. These concepts have become so central to my happiness, I quite literally seek to structure my daily life around them.

What is flourishing? 

The dictionary defines flourishing as “developing rapidly and successfully; thriving.” I personally appreciate how broad this definition of the word is, creating openness for interpretation based on what success and development mean to the individual. Seligman defines it a bit more specifically: “To flourish is to find fulfillment in our lives, accomplishing meaningful and worthwhile tasks, and connecting with others at a deeper level—in essence, living the 'good life.'”

Often times, positive psychologists seek to clarify their space of research by defining what it is not. In his book, Seligman seeks to dispel the notion that positive psychology is equivalent to “happiness." There are inherent limitations to an emotion like happiness, which fluctuates daily and hourly in a normally-functioning human. Instead, he articulates that we should be striving for continuous "well-being" or a state of “flourishing,” in order to find lasting contentment.  

How can I achieve a state of flourishing? 

Dr. Seligman’s research was characterized by diverse samples and random controls, then replicated and peer reviewed. From this, we can confidently place the research in the camp of strong scientific studies. His work revealed that there are five consistent elements to well-being:

Positive emotion

Happiness, life satisfaction, pleasure, comfort, warmth, laughter

For me, things that promote positive emotions at work include comfortable clothes (what a blessed break from high-waisted skinny jeans the pandemic has been!), upbeat music, and taking time to joke around with colleague on a Zoom meeting. Admittedly, this is where I've been lacking the most during the pandemic's work-from-home period.

Engagement

Time stops, “flow,” complete absorption in a task, loss of self-consciousness

For me, engagement at work often takes the form of long-form writing, analysis and reporting, coming up with messaging, planning a content calendar, or putting together a new strategy. I also try to distinctly take note of the things that do not absorb me, like more short-form writing and project management tasks, and vocalize this to my manager.

Relationships

Other people are the best antidote to the “downs" of life & the single most reliable “up"

I meet my relationship needs at work by consciously selecting the friends and mentors I want to stay in touch with and aligning on a reasonable one-on-one cadence with them. For some, meeting monthly makes perfect sense. For others, it's bi-monthly or quarterly. I only regularly connect with ~7 friends and mentors outside of my normal scope of work, and that has even proven hard to maintain with my workload.

But if there's one thing to keep in mind, it's this: Research has proved that you will always get a bigger happiness boost from 30 minutes connecting with another human than you will from checking off another item on your to-do list. Always.

Meaning

Belonging to & serving something bigger than the self

I find my meaning at work by associating with employee groups that matter a lot to me and regularly connecting with and contributing to those communities. For example, this week, I'm attending a writing workshop hosted by my company's Conscious Creativity Collective. I also find meaning by donating to my favorite charities on a monthly basis and taking advantage of my employer's matching program to extend my impact.

Accomplishments

Winning, mastery, achievement for its own sake  

I get my sense of accomplishment at work from regularly reflecting on my progress over time. Usually, this happens during the quarterly OKR-setting period and in the annual review cycle; it's important for me to not only go through the exercise, but pause and celebrate on how much value I create through my day-to-day activities.

I also experience the feeling of accomplishment when I realize I can easily handle a task or deliver a project that used to take much longer or much more consternation on my part. Realizing that growth in myself as a professional has massively contributed to my sense of flourishing.

Final thoughts on flourishing

Seligman coined the helpful little acronym PERMA to help you remember. I remember it by saying to myself, “Do this to be perma-happy.” Which is dorky, but works. I’ve made it a habit to regularly reflect on what I’m doing in my workday to strengthen these five elements of well-being.

That’s it for now on this subject! This framework has served to provide important guardrails in my mindful journey, and I hope it can do the same for you, whether in your personal or professional life. If nothing else, they offer a trusty reflection prompt that allows me to take stock and adjust in a way that tangibly affects my sense of wellbeing at work.

Here’s a writing exercise for you: Grab a pen and paper, or use the comment box below. Write out P-E-R-M-A in a vertical line, and fill in the activities you know will help you meet those five aspects of well-being at work. Try to incorporate one thing from each aspect in tomorrow’s schedule. Bonus points if you tag your manager or a teammate, so they can start to understand and support that what helps you flourish :)

Want more regular mindfulness content? Subscribe to Blue Sky Mind for a weekly dose of mindfulness content, written with the busy professional in mind.