In this podcast episode of the Happiness Challenge, Klaudia explains the PERMA model, a framework developed by Dr. Martin Seligman that delineates five essential components contributing to human flourishing: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments.

Throughout the episode, Klaudia delves into actionable steps that individuals can undertake to integrate the PERMA model into their routines, thereby enhancing their overall well-being.

Hello happiness seekers and welcome back to the Happiness Challenge, a podcast where I test drive the best happiness hacks that science has on offer. My name is Klaudia Mitura and I'm your host and before we dive into this episode I have a very exciting announcement.

I have been working on this book for last four years so I cannot wait to share it with you.

So thank you so much for all your support and I am hoping that you are as excited as I am to dive into 26 science backed principles of creating more happiness in our lives. Back to this episode then. In the episode 153, Unlocking Free Happiness, I spoke with Dr.

Vicki Barnes, a clinical and organizational psychologist who shared practical insights on fostering positivity day to day. And Vicki mentioned a great tool that can help us to think about our happiness more holistically called PERMA model.

The PERMA model has been created by Dr.

Martin Seligman and it really help us to think about our happiness in a more holistic way, but also to think about what do we need in life to help us to be truly flourishing. So in this short episode I will explore what Perma Model is.

I'll break it down into actionable steps, steps and of course I'm going to share some practical experiments that you can try to incorporate Perma Model into your daily life. So let's get started. So what is the PERMA Model? Perma Model stands for positive emotion, engagement, relationship, meaning and accomplishments.

So these five elements contribute to our flourishing and can be pursued individually or together for much more holistic approach towards our well being. And Dr. Martin Seligman, often is called the father of positive psychology, introduced this framework to very much shift the focus from fixing what's wrong to building what's right. Because permanent models specifically concentrate on resilience, joy and purpose.

So let's have a look into each of those specific elements and I very much encourage you to think about each element and think, okay, how satisfied I am with that element in my life. What I could be improving when it comes to that specific element, what comes to my mind when I think of that specific component.

So P stands for positive Emotion. This is about SAVORING moments of joy, gratitude and optimism.

So it's not about just fleeting happiness, but it's very much cultivating a mindset that allows us to stay optimistic and concentrate on the positive aspects of our life. E stands for engagement. So this is about being immersed in specific activities that we do that time simply flies. So this is engagement in action.

That is often referred as being in the flow, being immersed in the activities that we do day to day. R stands for relationships. So this is about strong, meaningful connections with other people that are absolutely vital for our health and happiness.

M stands for meaning.

So this is about living with purpose, giving our lives direction and fulfillment, thinking about bigger values, thinking about bigger contribution, thinking about the impact that we want to have. And finally, a for accomplishments is all about achieving goals, no matter how big or small.

But this is about building our confidence, our pride, seeing that we making progress and overall feeling that we are moving forward in life. And each of these elements can be nurtured in simple practical ways. So let's dive deeper into some ideas.

Okay, so let's translate the perma model into real life challenges that you can try this week. And I'll be definitely trying those across entire month. So first of all, those positive emotion challenge.

And again, this is starting with a old good classic gratitude journal. Each day write down three things you are grateful for, big or small. But the idea is that you're reflecting on these moments to boost your mood.

Try to do it once a day and if you want to make sure that you have a gratitude buddy, so someone you can send those three gratitudes to and then they can send you their gratitudes as well. And that way you holding each other accountable, you have that gratitude body where you're exchanging those gratitudes every day.

Engagement challenge. It's all about getting into the flow. So this is about choosing a certain activity, painting, nature, cooking, whatever it is.

And it's dedicating 30 minutes to it and really trying to be fully immersed in in it.

It's about making sure that we are in the moment, enjoying the activity, giving, giving a break to our mind, really concentrating on our breaths so we can be in that specific moment. Relationship challenge is calling or meeting a loved one and practicing active listening.

So trying to put away all the distractions including our phones and giving them your full attention.

It's very much about giving them their full attention, asking questions and actively listening and noticing how that deepens your connection with them. Number four, it's about that meaning challenge. So take 10 minutes this week to reflect on what gives your life purpose? Is it your career?

Is it specific personal values? Is it volunteering? Write down those specific aspects that bring you that meaning in life and think of one small action to align with that purpose.

So it could be that you get involved in a specific cause. It could be that you decide to take on a new quest. But think about the meaning and impact you want to have in your life.

And Final one Accomplishment Challenge so this is about setting intention and realistic goals for for the week ahead. So something achievable yet meaningful. Anything from organizing workspace to completing a certain project.

But the idea is that we set that intention for the week this week. This is what I want to achieve.

And at the end of the week celebrating it when you accomplish it so that you can get that sense of pride and accomplishment. Now you might be wondering why we even should focus on the Perma model. And again, this is really interesting research by Dr.

Martin Seligman that really shows that cultivating these elements can lead to enhanced mental health, improved physical health as well, including lower stress level and stronger immune system and overall greater life satisfaction with that deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment. And of course we can add any additional aspects to this five elements. For example, we can add optimism, nutrition, physical activity, sleep.

All of these areas are equally important to mental well being. So you can of course expand pound the Perma model with far the areas of life that are important to you.

But I think it's a nice guideline and a nice framework to think about our happiness more holistically and concentrate on the aspects of happiness that are within our remit of control and influence. So thank you so much for tuning in and I hope this episode very much inspired inspires you to pause and reflect on your happiness.

If you are up for receiving a Perma wheel to visually track your well being and plan some improvements, follow me on LinkedIn and subscribe to my Substack newsletter to get a Perma Wheel directly to your inbox at the end of this month. In meantime, as always, I dare you to be happy and I see you at the next episode. Bye.