PERMA Model Or Theory Of Well-being: What Does It Consist Of And How Does It Help Us?

In other articles I talked about the importance of accepting emotions, be they positive or negative, to end the obligation to be happy. However, I think it is also important to make known all those tools that can help us increase our satisfaction and well-being. One of these tools is the PERMA Model, by Martin Seligman.

What do you think if I tell you that by increasing the quality and quantity of 5 specific factors, your level of well-being can change drastically? It seems incredible, but Seligman developed this model for that purpose. Let’s know what it consists of and how it can be put into practice so that you yourself can check if it fulfills its mission.

Discovering the PERMA Model

The PERMA model, also called welfare theory, is an unforced choice theory, which was developed by Martin Seligman, who has been considered the father of positive psychology. It consists of a description of what people freely choose to be happier.

It appears that this model is an extension of the three-way model for happiness. According to this model, Seligman considered that there were three routes from which to start the path of happiness and that, as we will see, they are quite similar to the factors of the PERMA model.

• The pleasant one : aims to increase the positive emotions of the present, past and future.
• The compromised : it is about putting our potential to work to achieve flow experiences  .
• The significant : refers to the meaning of life and the development of objectives beyond their own or personal.

PERMA is the acronym for the 5 factors on which this theory is based and which we will now see in more detail. Working and developing each of them will help increase levels of optimism, motivation and satisfaction. However, these elements or factors must meet the following conditions :

• They must contribute to well-being.
• They should be chosen for the person’s own good and not as a method to achieve any of the other variables.
• It must be measured and defined independently of the rest of the variables in the model.

As Seligman says, they should not all be worked equally and the work of developing them should never be an obligation. We must use more “thoroughly” in those with which we feel more identified. He explains that this model is a mere description of what happy people do, but never a prescription.

P- Possitive Emotions (positive emotions)

It consists of increasing positive emotions, not to camouflage negative ones, but to be used as tools to overcome them.

Positive emotions allow us to experience satisfaction with life and to be able to remain positive despite adverse circumstances. Some examples can be: love, tranquility, fulfillment, pleasure …

E- Engagement  (Commitment)

It is a pact that we must make with ourselves, with our power and our strengths, in order to achieve harmony and enter a state of flow  or optimal state of activation.

This state of flow  or feeling of flowing is what we usually achieve when we get involved in activities, we focus on them and we really experience a kind of “time stop”. Therefore, it is about committing ourselves to the search for activities that lead us to states of flow.

R- Relationships (Positive Relationships)

As social beings , one of the irreplaceable sources of well-being and satisfaction are social relationships, since being is a source of support and protection.

Having satisfactory relationships is necessary for proper development, so we must take care of relationships with family, friends, co-workers…. Within this factor, which implies the improvement of social relationships, we must also include the improvement of our social skills and tools.

M- Meaning and purpose (meaning and purpose)

This point is about finding meaning and meaning in life that goes beyond our own individual goals, that goes beyond ourselves. It is the “what can I give the world?” .

In this way, all our goals, our objectives and our achievements will have a much more transcendental background that will endow them with great social and moral value.

A- Accomplishment (Success and sense of accomplishment)

It is about setting goals that, as they are achieved, increase our feeling of competence and level of autonomy.

Putting the PERMA model into practice

To work on the module of positive emotions, we can do an exercise of imagining a situation capable of generating those positive emotions.

In the case of commitment, the most effective thing is to make a list of the activities that usually make us go into flow and after that we commit ourselves to carry out weekly, monthly or annually (depending on the possibility of doing so) these activities that allow us to flow.

To do a good job of improving social relationships, the first thing is to see how they are. Therefore, exploring the quantity and quality of our relationships should give us clues as to what requires more attention and work.

A good way to find meaning in our lives is to ask ourselves and answer simple questions every day such as: what is my role in the world? What have I come for? Can I improve my way of being in the world? As we respond to ourselves, they are also likely to awaken our desire to get involved in meaningful activities.

Being aware of our achievements, no matter how small, is a great way to feel fulfilled and motivated, which encourages us to continue setting goals and strive to achieve them.

As you can see, it is an easy model to follow and whose benefits seem numerous and important. Now it’s up to you to put it into practice and discover them for yourself. And remember…

It works on you. You will appreciate it.