As 2021 turned into 2022, I was asked by Storm Magazine in Singapore, to define what it meant to be living a full life. In response, I said: “Involvement in things which I find meaningful, the things I care about. At the end of the day, having the ability to determine how to spend one’s time is a rare freedom. Autonomy, purpose and mastery is the pathway to a full life.”
In the time since, I have thought a great deal about the practical steps we can all take to experience greater wellbeing, to experience life beyond fleeting happiness and create a life that we find truly satisfying and rewarding; to paraphrase Martin Seligman, a life beyond pleasure and gratification, above strength and virtue and peaking at lasting fulfillment, meaning and purpose.
Aristotle believed that eudaimonia or flourishing, a life well lived, was one in which we strive for virtue, excellence and the best within us – in fact, Aristotle believed this was the meaning of life!
It is hard to go past Seligman when it comes to interventions that help us to live a good life, that help us to flourish so, we have created a graphic to highlight Seligman’s life-changing PERMA Plus model – I hope you find it helpful on your journey.
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