Positive Psychology

Also known as the “Science of Happiness”, it is a range of well documented techniques and applications that facilitate our pursuit of happiness, wellbeing and meaning.

5 tips for flourishing at work

By age 40, most of us will have spent 38,400 hours at work. By 70 it reaches 96,000. That’s crazy, right? With this in mind, it’s worth reflecting on ways to flourish in yourself while at work.

Renowned psychologist and leader in the field of positive psychology, Martin Seligman understands what it is to flourish in life. Positive psychology recognises that being well and flourishing is not simply the absence of illness but about the presence of vitality, enthusiasm, purpose and connection. In his oddly named model “P.E.R.M.A”, Seligman gives us some tips:

Tip 1  Seek out opportunities for POSITIVE EMOTION. Share enjoyable moments with your colleagues, have lunch under the fig trees, smile at others in the lift, go to morning teas and spread positivity with random acts of kindness.
“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” – Guillaume Apollinaire

Tip 2 Engage in activities that make you lose track of time and are ENGAGING. Work with your supervisor or mentor to reflect on where your strengths lie and what you really love doing. Get creative about ways to bring more of that into your work. Mindfulness can be a very useful skill in learning to engage fully in things.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Tip 3  Check-in on your RELATIONSHIPS and invest in the ones that feel good. Turn up the volume on those relationships, at work and at home, that leave you feeling good about yourself. It’s okay, and actually very important for your health, to “turn the volume down on”  the ones that leave you drained.
“…you cannot love yourself unless you have been loved and are loved. The capacity to love cannot be built in isolation.” – Dr Bruce Perry