Today’s Power Acronym comes courtesy of Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement. He expounds on it in his book Flourish for which I’ve read this Philospher’s Note.
Here’s a quote from it:
“Here then is well-being theory: well-being is a construct; and well-being, not happiness, is the topic of positive psychology. Well-being has five measurable elements (PERMA) that count toward it:
Positive emotion (of which happiness and life satisfaction are all aspects)
Engagement
Relationships
Meaning
Achievement
No element defines well-being, but each contributes to it.”
Power Acronym 53: P.E.R.M.A.
Let’s explore how each of these elements contributes to well-being.
Positive Emotion
It’s obvious that when we feel good, we’re closer to overall well-being.
What brings you these positive emotions?
Joy
Love
Hope
Gratitude
Amusement
Awe
Do more things that bring these emotions forth and avoid those that detract.
Engagement
As we discussed in Power Acronym 45: H.E.A.R.T., Engagement is paramount for leadership.
Full, grounded presence is a super power in an era of distraction.
Relationships
The difference between contact and a contract is the letter “R” and it stands for relationship.
I heard this simple truth early in my sales career. There's not much more that you need to be successful.
Sound judgment would be good so you are more likely to come into contact with the right kind of people.
Combine that with a positive attitude and a willingness to serve and you're on your way to well-being.
Meaning
“You create meaning when your motivators, abilities, and purpose meet to serve the world.” - Tom Rath
Achievement
Winning matters.
We can learn from failure but we learn so we can achieve.
Celebrations hard wire behavior and reward us with good feelings.
P.E.R.M.A. is about seeing well being as a confluence of each individual part, and I think achievement is a great way to visualize them all together.
I'm writing this two days after Super Bowl LXVIII, the 3rd Lombardi Trophy for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Positive emotion
Engagement
Relationships
Meaning
Achievement
All are present when you imagine the arena, the team, the challenge, the confetti.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt, The Man in the Arena
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