Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology research is oriented to flourishing life, what makes life worth living; in contrast to classical psychology which deals with ‘fixing what is wrong’. A flourishing life encompasses wellbeing in the many dimensions of life. Martin Seligman proposed the PERMA model consisting of five individually measurable elements that can be learned: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment.

Positive Emotions: Apart from making life pleasant; feeling good is contagious, boosts immunity, promotes good health and fosters success. Positive Psychology research has identified certain exercises that can boost positive emotions.

Engagement: Being fully engaged is known as ‘flow’- a state of utter, blissful immersion in the present moment. You are most likely to fulfil your own unique potential when you are engaged in activities that absorb and inspire you. Positive Psychology helps you to identify and cultivate personal strengths, virtues, talents and skills to focus on the present.

Relationships: Fulfilling relationships provide the foundation for a flourishing life. You depend on the people around you to help you to maintain balance in your life. Positive psychology offers skills to listen, share and create stronger connections for fulfilling relationships.

Meaning: You experience a deep sense of well-being when you believe that what you do is worthwhile - contributing to a cause that is meaningful to you. You can find meaning in your professional life as well as your personal life. When you connect with a deeper mission in what you do, you are better placed to apply your talents and strengths in the service of the mission.

Accomplishment: Accomplishments boost your confidence, satisfaction and sense of wellbeing. Creating and working toward goals helps you to anticipate and build hope for the future; aim higher and be motivated to strive harder. Positive psychology helps in setting SMRAT goals, maintaining focus on long term goals and cultivating resilience to accomplish the goals.

We offer Being Happier program as an opportunity to try out Positive Psychology processes and tools and develop the skills to lead a life that is happier, more fulfilling and satisfying.

“A happier society requires us to attend much more to the quality of our inner life, and to proven methods for improving it. That is what positive psychology is about – it goes beyond the treatment of depression and anxiety to ways in which we could all live more rewarding lives. The exercises it offers include the systematic practice of kindness, gratitude to others, counting your blessings, and exploiting your strengths rather than attacking your weaknesses. It also teaches resilience and optimism. These two characteristics are apparently better predictors of a person's educational achievement than their IQ. And they can reduce your annual chance of dying by 20%. So this is important. It is now being taught in 60 English schools. (I have to admit having a hand in this.) And it is being taught to every US soldier – a pretty extraordinary development.” Richard Layard, Director of the Wellbeing Programme at London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance. He was a minister in Tony Blair’s cabinet.

“Happiness shared is happiness squared.”