Lesson 5..Stayin' Alive...but not just alive because the absence of disease is not health.

I know that was a long and slightly obnoxious blog title, but I hope you really think about the last sentence. I heard this is a TED talk video given by Shawn Anchor (it will be posted below). The absence of disease does not mean someone is healthy. We are in this life to have joy, and that is not achieved by doing everything we can to avoid pain. Again, the absence of sickness isn't health, the absence of pain isn't joy, and the absence of bad things happening in our lives does not mean good things are happening. The good news is, we can do something about our happiness. This week we learned about Positive Psychology and what how that can play a huge role in our every day lives and in what we bring to the table in our professional lives. I am lucky because I spend all last semester researching and studying this to write my final 10 page paper on happiness. Here are some of the things I have found that have helped me understand happiness in a better way, and why positive psychology is so important.

http://thehowofhappiness.com/discover-happiness/
The link above is the website of a great book I read this past semester. The How of Happiness :) Check it out!

One of my favorite things I learned this week is the PERMA model. I will post it below.

Before I go, I want to challenge you to choose to be happy. It is why we are here on earth.

The PERMA Model was developed by respected positive psychologist, Martin Seligman, and was widely published in his influential 2011 book, “Flourish.” “PERMA” stands for the five essential elements that should be in place for us to experience lasting well-being. These are:

1. Positive Emotion (P)
   For us to experience well-being, we need positive emotion in our lives. Any positive emotion such as peace, gratitude, satisfaction, pleasure, inspiration, hope, curiosity, or love falls into this category; and the message is that it’s really important to enjoy yourself in the here and now, just as long as the other elements of PERMA are in place.
2. Engagement (E)
   When we’re truly engaged in a situation, task, or project, we experience a state of flow : time seems to stop, we lose our sense of self, and we concentrate intensely on the present.
   This feels really good! The more we experience this type of engagement, the more likely we are to experience well-being.
3. Positive Relationships (R)
   As humans, we are “social beings,” and good relationships are core to our well-being. Time and again, we see that people who have meaningful, positive relationships with others are happier than those who do not. Relationships really do matter!
4. Meaning (M)
   Meaning comes from serving a cause bigger than ourselves. Whether this is a specific deity or religion, or a cause that helps humanity in some way, we all need meaning in our lives to have a sense of well-being.
5. Accomplishment/Achievement (A)
   Many of us strive to better ourselves in some way, whether we’re seeking to master a skill, achieve a valuable goal, or win in some competitive event. As such, accomplishment is another important thing that contributes to our ability to flourish.