Work In Colour - Work. Think. Live. In Colour
Thursday 1st October 2009 | 2 comments
Every now and then a new book breaks through the mind-numbing plethora of self-help tomes in your local bookshop - Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness was such a one. Already well-known as a founder of the Positive Psychology movement and the author of Learned Optimism and The Optimistic Child (both truly excellent), with Authentic Happiness Seligman lays out practical steps that anyone can take to create a happier, more meaningful life.
It is easy to dismiss a movement called Positive Psychology as another of those 'just feel good, smile and be happy' hippy-herbal platitudes that still surface from time to time (I did, for too long), but in fact Seligman's work is grounded in years of research and solid psychology theory - this is serious stuff!
The bit that sets this work apart for me is his distinction between the Pleasant Life, the Good Life and the Meaningful Life.
Pleasures are based in emotion and are generally momentary (so basically, they don't last long)! It's not all bad news though, increasing positive emotions is possible...and worthwhile.
One way to increase positive feelings is through gratitude. Even taking a moment at the end of the day to write down or share three good things that happened to you that day can measurably increase your level of overall happiness. I was initially quite sceptical about this, but now do it with my son at bedtime most nights, and it really does work - try it and see! He enjoys it so much that he often reminds me if I forget to initiate it...
Seligman's also big on savouring each moment of a pleasure (or mouthful, in the case of ice cream...).
A great way to try this out is to set aside say an hour or two (more if you can) and really notice your surroundings - go for a walk somewhere beautiful or do an activity that gives you pleasure. Try to savour the experience as much as possible - and don't fill your mind with thoughts of what else you should be doing, or of what you will be doing later in the day...savour the present as much as possible. Enjoy!
The good life is more satisfying than just the pleasant life, because it results from maximising long term gratification rather than just focusing on fleeting pleasures.
Unlike pleasure, gratifications are characterised by absorption, engagement and flow - Seligman is a great fan of the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow.
The best way to increase gratification is to use your strengths as often as possible in all areas of your life. I've written often on both finding your strengths and using your strengths, because it is TRUE.
You can choose to operate from strengths - and choosing to use, say,
'curiosity' to guide you in a particular activity or for a period of time will definitely increase your capacity in this area. So practice the ones with which you would like more facility or confidence and you'll see results.
The path to a meaningful life is by using your signature strengths in the service of something larger than yourself, be that your community, your loved ones or your God...
....is, of course, the result of living a pleasant, good and meaningful life - at least as much as you are able, day by day.
Do you agree? What do you think?
Yes, I absolutely agree. I remember reading Seligman's work years ago, I think it was Learned Optimism - had always taken that stuff on board intellectually, but much harder to do it day to day in a sustained way....still a work in progress there
I think the meaningful and full life can be achieved regardless of whether you have a little or a lot, it's simply being content with that lot, and having a connection with the world around you. Unfortunately, we're often too focussed on "stuff" and how to get it!
Indeed, Marianne, I think that having lots of 'stuff' can be pleasant (sometimes) but it's surprisingly non-meaningful - unless you include BOOKS or MUSIC, which are essentials in my world!