March 16, 2012

PERMA.

"Psychologist Martin Seligman provides the acronym PERMA to summarize Positive Psychology's correlational findings: humans seem happiest when they have":
  1. Pleasure (tasty foods, warm baths, etc.),
  2. Engagement (or flow, the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity),
  3. Relationships (social ties have turned out to be extremely reliable indicator of happiness),
  4. Meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger), and
  5. Accomplishments (having realized tangible goals).

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

That would be me...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott M said...

Pardon for the glibness, but keeping in mind the vast number of hours, months, and years of education accomplished by those completing this work and, undoubtedly, the large amount funds they require to continue working...

"duh"

PS - you know someone is feeling the "publish or perish" pressure from their department chair when...

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Major omission: where's schadenfreude??

A good schadenfreude makes me VERY happy.

Like if Media Matters lost their tax-exempt. I'd way rather that happen to them, than have something good happen to me.

traditionalguy said...

Contentment is good for your body and soul. Whether a psychologist can arrange contentment by theories about contentment is in serious doubt.

Dan in Philly said...

Bah, humbug. Using statistics to try to understand something so unique to us as individuals such as happiness is an approach which will be left in the ashbin of history. True happiness is acheived through understanding one's place in the world and embracing it.

rhhardin said...

Pleasure (tasty foods, warm baths, etc.)

Loose shoes and a warm place to shit.

deborah said...

A perfectly sensible list.

KCFleming said...

PERMA?

Why not AMPER, ME RAP, REAM P, MR. APE, or M-RAPE?

Robert Cook said...

"Major omission: where's schadenfreude??

"A good schadenfreude makes me VERY happy.

"Like if Media Matters lost their tax-exempt. I'd way rather that happen to them, than have something good happen to me."


Sounds like you need some good mental health counseling.

Carnifex said...

@John M Austin

Good point. I had a major league schadenfreude last night watching the UConn/IowaST game. With 5 seconds left in the game, IoSt holds a comfortable lead, and the ball, literally, the State guy is just standing there holding the ball. UConn player, Jeremy Lamb, walks up to him. swats the ball out of his hand and runs up court with it. Arriving at his goal, Lamb jumps high in the air and tries a windmill dunk to finish the game. The important word was tries. The game would still be lost. UConn could not score enough point in 3 minutes to make a difference, let alone 5 seconds. He just wanted to showboat. Instead, he missed...an undefended slamdunk, like you would see in a practice. The ball flew to near mid court if not further. But Jeremy Lamb did slamdunk his reputation...as a total douchebag.

Robert Cook said...

"Bah, humbug...True happiness is achieved through understanding one's place in the world and embracing it."

What does that even mean? Wouldn't PERMA be a more specific description of "understanding one's place in the world and embracing it?"

Or do you mean people should simply accept their lot in life without question?

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Sounds like you need some good mental health counseling.

Not at all. Here is another thing that would make me very happy.

HBO loses lots of subscriptions over Bill Maher.

Actually, the list is endless.

Robert Cook said...

Yep. Preferring that something unfortunate happen to someone else than that something fortunate happen to oneself is a sure sign of poor mental health.

Heck, just taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others is kind of...sick.

Phil 314 said...

Why does this remind me of Earl Butz's infamous joke?

Joe said...

Apparently, the author left out self-righteous posturing as well :-)

Phil 314 said...

Is see Rhhardin beat me to it. Great minds....

DADvocate said...

Carnifex - I saw that too and had to smile. Don't care for UConn at all. Seeing them embarrass themselves in the final seconds brought a smile to my face.

edutcher said...

R could be a problem for an introvert. Some people really are happier with just a few intense relationships.

M is a tough one. Religion provides it, but I think it's an intense conviction, rather than just going to church on Sunday. The Lefties might say a cause, but there are very few happy Lefties.

Robert Cook said...
Major omission: where's schadenfreude??

A good schadenfreude makes me VERY happy.


Sounds like you need some good mental health counseling.


Have to agree somewhat with Cook (I know...).

Schaudenfreude can very often be a thin mask for spite, although it can also be a manifestation of a sense of humor.

Which Cook lacks.

Which is one (of many) reasons why he needs some good mental health counseling.

Robert Cook said...

"Schaudenfreude can very often be a thin mask for spite, although it can also be a manifestation of a sense of humor.

"Which Cook lacks."


Au contraire, I have quite a sense of humor. Why, I laugh often at the comments I see posted at this blog.

Carnifex said...

@DADvocate

There's a lot not to like going on at UConn right now. Syracuse too.

I'm gonna' claim discrimination now. This guy never dealt with addicts before. All we need is our drug of choice(mine being alcohol).

I am obviously being facetious, but to think you can describe happiness as a formula is rank hubris.

@Robert Cook

Good for you. The ability to laugh at ones self is the surest indicator of sanity.

What?...He meant what?...oh. Never mind. :-)

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

It appears "edutcher" doesn't quite understand what schadenfreude is.

It is not rejoicing in the misfortune of others.

It is the rejoicing in the misfortune of those who deserve it, who have in coming, as they say.

Big difference.

Dan in Philly said...

Robert Cook, Just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy to understand or to do. But it is true that happiness is really that simple, understand your place in the world and embracing it.

If you want to learn what that means, consider this: If you are a slave with no hope of being anything else, wanting to be a king will cause you great unhappiness. If your goal is happiness, you should embrace your place in the world and maximize it. On the other hand if you are a king then wishing you were a slave will similarly cause unhappiness, only by embracing your own reality will allow you to be happy.

Of course most people fall somewhere between slave and king, so giving specific advice is almost impossible, but maybe a few more examples will help. Suppose you are very old. Wishing for youth is impossible and will result in great unhappiness. Only be embracing your age and in that way appreciating the benefits it brings can you hope to be happy. If you are lame, wishing to be a basketball star will cause misery, embrace your place in the world instead. Only have 6 months to live? You can ruin those months by wishing you had more or enjoy the time you have as much as you can.

Now the very vagueness of "your place in the world" is caused by the extreme vairation of everyone in the world. You can say there are as many places in the world as there are people in the world. But if your goal in life is happiness, it is only in striving to realize what that place is and to fill it that you can really acheive anything close to happiness.

Note none of this implies one should accept their lot in life without question. Without questioning your lot in life, how do you know if this truly is your lot in life? But if you have questioned your lot and concluded that this is indeed it, then it's only sheer foolishness not to accept it, isn't it?

Hope that helps.