Understanding Well-being and Flourishing
✨ What is Well-Being?
Common definitions of well-being portray it to consist of elements that bring about states of happiness, satisfaction, decreased distress, as well as good health and functioning. This includes feeling content, having a sense of meaning and purpose in life and over personal life experiences, as well as having positive, healthy relationships and experiences with others.
Subjective well-being refers to an individual's personal acknowledgment of the level of happiness (and positive emotions/feelings) and life satisfaction in their life, including overall perceptions as well as individual perceptions relating to specific life domains or areas.
When we speak of well-being and happiness, two main perspectives are used. At first, the hedonic viewpoint focuses on well-being as seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. On the other hand, the eudaimonic approach focuses on well-being as self-realization and finding meaning, and so views a person's functioning as the main focus. Overall, in order to flourish and thrive in life, both perspectives of happiness/well-being (hedonia and eudaimonia) are important. Thus, well-being is a vast concept that covers the elements of optimal health and functioning.
✨ The PERMA Model of Well-being
The PERMA model has elements that help us define well-being:
Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good? Experiencing positive emotions relating to our past experiences can be done through gratitude and forgiveness. We can use mindfulness to stay in tune to and experience positive emotions in the present, and resources like hope can invite positive emotions regarding the future. However, it is important to remember that our capacity to experience positive emotions may be limited depending on different factors.
Engagement: Which activities are rewarding to you? Engaging experiences relate to a "flow" state wherein a person feels like time is lost and the sole focus/experience involves engaging with the moment with one's skills and complete attention.
Relationships: Who are the other people who share your positive experiences? Strong positive relationships are connections that not only enhance our feelings of belonging but also contribute to our well-being.
Meaning: What gives you purpose and makes your actions worthwhile? Contributing to something bigger than ourselves invites a sense of value in our lives and allows us to focus on what is important even in the face of challenges.
Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals? Achievements, particularly accomplishments done for their own sake, enhance well-being by inviting a sense of pride. This element includes self-motivation, interest in mastery goals or competence, and goal pursuit.
✨ The Flourishing Connection
Flourishing is then defined as a multi-dimensional concept, and is not a characteristic or trait, but a process that anyone can start experiencing after making an effort to pursue PERMA and enhance well-being.
Reflect using the questions below:
(1) What does well-being mean to you?
(2) Analyze your PERMA elements:
(i) Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good?
(ii) Engagement: Which activities are most rewarding for you?
(iii) Relationships: Who are the other people you share your positive experiences?
(iv) Meaning: What gives you purpose?
(v) Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals?
@SoulfullyAButterfly I am not fully happy in my life and most of the days are painful still I will try my best to answer all these questions.
(i) Positive Emotions- Its actually more of hope and less of gratitude. Hope that my children and my future wife will be loved by me and they will love me back and my children will not experiencing the pain that I am experiencing. Even if they experience, they have their father at their back and can talk freely without any hesitation to their dad(which is me). (Pardon my English please...I am trying😁✌)
(ii)Engagement- There are many actually (thankfully) but I am going to write the two most important things that make me happy. They are- After completion of my most important tasks(i.e. Studies) and editing videos which I like.
(iii)Relationships- From the past year I lost my closest friend (we parted ways). So I dont have any close friend anymore. But I feel there are few still who are my good and trustable friends. According to me I have 2-3 friends which I can trust while I talk and they wont back stab me. 2-3 more are there with whom I can actually have fun. Overall I have 6 friends in total (for now). They might leave me in future.
(iv)Meaning- (a)I want good marks in my upcoming exams. (b) To make myself better, so that I can get a better life partner and then together we can create a better family for ourselves and raise our children better.(I know its a bit deep😁)
(v)Accomplishments- (a) I have a list of habits which I complete daily and after each week I add a bit of challenge for myself. My this week's habit are- Wash face in morning, 100 Jumping Jacks, 15 minutes of video editing and 15 mins of learning, Gratitude, And brush teeth at night (two times a day).
(b) I also have my most important task which I do for 3.5 hours/day - Studying
(c) Stay away from bad habits (which are only bad for me)- Watching Netflix, Gaming, Getting too emotional, Not getting good sleep, Bad diet, Scrolling Instagram, Watching tweets which are not helpful, Watching YT (exception: educational videos, self-help videos[1 vid/day])
(d) I can watch Football (live matches) and WWE
@SoulfullyAButterfly
Reflect using the questions below:
(1) What does well-being mean to you?
- Well-being to me is making sure my mental, emotional and physical health are attended to
(2) Analyze your PERMA elements:
(i) Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good?
- Being a positive example to others
(ii) Engagement: Which activities are most rewarding for you?
- I really enjoy study and research
(iii) Relationships: Who are the other people you share your positive experiences?
- My mom, my dad, my grandma and my favorite uncle (mom's twin brother)
(iv) Meaning: What gives you purpose?
- Understanding my "assignment" (my life path/purpose)
(v) Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals?
- By remembering life is not a race or competition
@SoulfullyAButterfly
(1) What does well-being mean to you?
Well-being? I guess well-being to me is someone's overall health. It's who they are emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
(2) Analyze your PERMA elements:
(i) Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good?
To me, helping others and making sure their well-being is good. It hurts me to see those I care about, or any other person, isn't happy or they feel their problems are too much and their's alone. When it comes to those I care about, I will do whatever I can to make sure they know I got them.
(ii) Engagement: Which activities are most rewarding for you?
Reading a book. Watching a documentary or one of my favorite movies or shows. Photography, not just any type either, it strictly needs to be film. Creative Writing. Painting. Spending time and making memories with family and friends.
(iii) Relationships: Who are the other people you share your positive experiences?
My momma for sure. Our relationship is kinda strained right now but she's always been there for me. It used to be my friends, but I have an apology tour I need to get done first. The rest of my family (I HAVE A HUGE ONE). Lastly, it was my boyfriend but uh, I had to let him go.. I miss him but he wasn't healthy for me, unfortunately, no matter how much I love him.
(iv) Meaning: What gives you purpose?
The same thing that makes me happy. I think or am starting to believe my purpose is to help people. Maybe that's why I'm drawn to those who need more love than others or I chose a career field to help "lost" souls.
(v) Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals?
I can achieve my goals by realizing my worth first off. I'm priceless (and no, I'm not getting big headed), but I think that's what's been holding me up. I haven't been seeing my potential and been too fearful of failing even when a part of me knows, I wouldn't.
@SoulfullyAButterfly
(i) Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good? Praying, knowing my loved ones and me are safe, secure, happy and healthy, having an active/ productive day, gratitude. Oh and fragrance with vanilla notes.
(ii) Engagement: Which activities are most rewarding for you? Praying, immerse in nature, being active & productive, hugging my loved ones, listening (especially to my closest people), help my family, friends & others, being under the warm morning sun, body care, a good night sleep. I have a lot more xD
(iii) Relationships: Who are the other people you share your positive experiences? Mostly my closest people.
(iv) Meaning: What gives you purpose? First and foremost, my loved ones wellbeing, heaven here and after 🥳, participate in a cause that I support.
(v) Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals? Trying and pray hard. It's not always easy.
1. well being to me is a state of peace even in the time of storm. These can be physical, financial, emotional or psycho;ogical storms, but maintaining peace in such for me relates to well being
2. PERMA analysis
positive emotions
I feel good when i am inspiring, healing and empowering. I take joy in making those around me feel better and being their shoulder when things are not okay
engagement
networking with like minded people and also offering ideas to make the world a better place in such engagements
relationships
my closest friend, my family especially my mom and dad as well as my brother
meaning
improving the current mental state, one person at a time.
accomplishments
focusing on my race and purpose, my goals should not be borrowed but be in line with what i am working towards- making mental health a priority
1. Well-being to me means to be content and at peace with oneself, others, and their environment.
Positive Emotions:
- Laughing
- Eating good food
- Reading an interesting book
- Watching a funny movie
- Accomplishing my goals
Engagement:
- Completing assignments or chores
- Having meaningful discussions with my friends or family
- Practicing sports or academics to the feeling of proficiency
Relationships:
- My close friends
- My father
Meaning:
- Knowing there is a beautiful world yet to be explored
- Self-improvement and accomplishment
- Family and friends
Accomplishments:
- Investing reasonable time to practice or complete obligatory tasks
- Making significant time for myself to relax, exercise, heal
- Worrying less
@SoulfullyAButterfly
(1) What does well-being mean to you?
Well-being to me means to be happy with life and being physically and mentally healthy
(2) Analyze your PERMA elements:
(i) Positive Emotions: What makes you feel good?
Being surrounded by people whom I love and the feeling is mutual like my friends both online and offline but mainly online ones 😀
(ii) Engagement: Which activities are most rewarding for you?
hm idk 😮 maybe researching about things which I know won't benefit me but I love it, helping others and passing my exams 🥲 it's a real difficult task for me to pass but I am getting through lol 😅
(iii) Relationships: Who are the other people you share your positive experiences?
uh no comments 🥲
(iv) Meaning: What gives you purpose?
To help others as much as I can
(v) Accomplishments: How can you achieve your goals?
By trying and trying till I either succeed or be happy that I atleast tried 😃