A complete beginner’s introduction to the psychology of happiness and uncovering your purpose.
This forms the fourth instalment of a short ebook on positive psychology theory for happiness. Read the first instalments here before continuing.
Positive Psychology + Relationship Happiness
“On the relationship side, if you teach people to respond actively and constructively when someone they care about has a victory, it increases love and friendship and decreases the probability of depression.” — Martin Seligman
Relationships play a pivotal role in our overall feelings of personal happiness. …
Finding our ‘passion’ at work isn’t straightforward, but job crafting can definitely help.
Despite what some narratives across the media might lead us to think, we aren’t born with a burning sense of purpose. We have to discover and find meaning and purpose in life on our own terms. We do this by experimenting and trying new ways of doing things to find what works best for us.
Carol Ryff and colleagues at Wisconsin-Madison University have been working on a model of happiness and wellbeing that draws its framework from the ancient Greek notion of ‘flourishing’. The concept of flourishing…
A complete beginner’s introduction to the psychology of happiness and uncovering your purpose.
This forms the third instalment of a short ebook on positive psychology theory for happiness. Read the first and second instalment here before continuing.
A Look at the PERMA Model for Happiness
The PERMA Model was devised by the founder of Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman. It’s interesting to explore its simplicity in breaking down what happiness can mean for each of us as individuals.
The model is comprised of five elements Seligman believes can help us cultivate greater well-being. Understanding how each of these elements applies to the self is key to increasing our overall happiness feelings.
PERMA is the acronym for these elements. …
A complete beginner’s introduction to the psychology of happiness and uncovering your purpose.
This forms the second instalment of a short ebook on positive psychology theory for happiness. Read the first instalment here before continuing.
Understanding Happiness
Happiness [ha-pee-nuhs]: the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile (Lyubomirsky, 2007).
“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and the end of human existence.” — Aristotle
Happiness can be complicated to define as it is so subjective: we all experience our own version of happiness, and what creates feelings of happiness changes from person to person and over time.
Within Positive…
It’s far more nuanced than many of us realise.
“Asking yourself these questions will actually change your life!”
“X things that will change your life for the better!”
“The micro-habits that will powerfully change your life!”
Feeling lost in a sea of listicles? I know I am. I typed ‘change your life’ into Google and got pages and pages of lists, articles and clickbait telling me a wide variety of commonplace things that would change my life. One title even read ‘77 micro-habits that will change your life’.
Seventy-seven?! Who’s got the time to even read through that list?
I’m 100% for cultivating positive changes around who I am…
A complete beginner’s introduction to the psychology of happiness and uncovering your purpose.
This forms the introduction & chapter one of a short ebook on positive psychology theory for happiness.
How happy are you with your life right now?
Ask most people this question, and their answers will vary considerably. It’s an interesting question to sit with and a difficult one to answer for many of us. If we take the question one step further and ask, ‘Would you like to be happier?’ you’ll likely hear a resounding ‘Yes!’ in the room.
Feeling happy is a wonderful experience. When we feel happy, our productivity improves, as do our feelings of self-worth and our ability to overcome emotional challenges. Happiness has a far-reaching…
We all have to have them, but we’re usually pretty bad at it!
“Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters.”
— Margaret Wheatley
Knowing we need to have a hard conversation with someone and having it are two very different things.
Whether it’s handing in your notice at a job you’ve loved but decided to move on from, a break-up of the romantic or friendship kind, or letting the waiter know they got your order all kinds of wrong (I hope I’m not alone on that last one) — no one enjoys a hard conversation.
Ending a six-year relationship was probably one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had to have…
Authentically loving who we are requires we strip back the false narratives we hold onto.
“ I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.” — Lemony Snickett
In almost every single sitcom series I’ve ever watched, there’s an episode where a character knows someone doesn’t like them or holds a false impression of them, and they can’t handle it. What ensues is a repetition of failed attempts to change this person’s narrative that never ends well. Every time I watch one of these episodes, I find myself relating to it 100%.
There have been many (many) occasions and situations where I’ve walked away knowing I didn’t create a…
Do you get worked up by rogue commas and spelling mishaps? It might have more to do with your personality than you think.
*Okay, not really a jerk, but some of your less favourable personality characteristics may be encouraging you to do this!
My name is Elaine — and I make typos.
There! I said it. The big dirty secret is out. Of course, if you’ve read any of my articles, you’ve probably noticed a grammar mistake or two. Or perhaps my Grammarly failed me and switched out a similar-sounding word for something else it thought might work. The fact of the matter is, I’m just human. I make mistakes. …
These phrases might seem innocent, but they can be incredibly problematic.
In one of my most popular articles to date on Medium, I wrote about my experience of gaslighting at work. The response to that piece surprised me. The more I spoke to others and explored the topic further, the more I realized how prevalent gaslighting is across our society.
What is Gaslighting?
Gaslighting is a psychological term that describes a manipulation tactic used to attain and maintain power over someone. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, it’s a form of emotional and psychological abuse. It’s incredibly covert and insidious, unlike more “obvious” forms of abuse like physical violence.
One of the problems…
Elaine M.
Writer etc | Psychologist-in-Training | Careers Coach Veteran | Covering: Careers with Purpose, Positive Psychology + Creative Living without the BS
