What is Positive Psychology?
Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living. Rather than focusing solely on mental illness, it examines the factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Founded by Martin Seligman in 1998, this field uses rigorous research to understand happiness, character strengths, optimal functioning, and human flourishing.
The PERMA Model of Well-Being
Martin Seligman identified five core elements that contribute to human flourishing, represented by the acronym PERMA:
Positive Emotion
Experiencing joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love regularly throughout your life.
- Daily gratitude journaling
- Savoring positive experiences
- Cultivating optimism
Engagement
Being completely absorbed in activities that challenge your skills—the state of "flow" where time seems to disappear.
- Identify activities that create flow
- Balance challenge with skill level
- Minimize distractions
Relationships
Positive connections with others are essential to well-being. Humans are social creatures who thrive through authentic bonds.
- Invest time in close relationships
- Practice active constructive responding
- Perform acts of kindness
Meaning
Belonging to and serving something you believe is bigger than yourself—giving your life purpose and direction.
- Clarify your core values
- Connect work to larger purpose
- Contribute to causes you care about
Accomplishment
Pursuing success, mastery, and achievement for their own sake—setting and working toward meaningful goals.
- Set challenging but achievable goals
- Celebrate progress and wins
- Develop growth mindset
Character Strengths: Your Best Self
Positive psychology research identified 24 character strengths organized under six virtues that are universally valued across cultures. Using your signature strengths—your top 5—leads to greater well-being, engagement, and life satisfaction.
The Six Virtues and Their Strengths
Wisdom & Knowledge
Creativity, Curiosity, Judgment, Love of Learning, Perspective
Courage
Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest
Humanity
Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence
Justice
Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership
Temperance
Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation
Transcendence
Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, Spirituality
Discover Your Signature Strengths
Take the free VIA Character Strengths survey at viacharacter.org. Then find new ways to use your top strengths daily. Research shows that using signature strengths in new ways each day for one week significantly increases happiness and decreases depression for up to six months.
The Science of Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most researched and powerful interventions in positive psychology. Regular gratitude practice:
- Increases happiness and life satisfaction
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Improves physical health and sleep quality
- Strengthens relationships
- Enhances resilience and coping abilities
- Reduces materialism and envy
Gratitude Practices That Work
Three Good Things
Each evening, write down three things that went well today and why they happened. This simple practice shifts attention toward the positive without denying difficulties.
Gratitude Letter
Write a letter to someone who positively impacted your life but whom you never properly thanked. Ideally, deliver it in person. This creates profound increases in happiness.
Gratitude Visit
Schedule time to visit people who matter to you and express specific appreciation for their influence on your life. Be genuine and detailed.
Mental Subtraction
Imagine your life without certain positive elements—a person, opportunity, or possession. This makes you appreciate what you have rather than taking it for granted.
Gratitude Jar
Keep a jar where you regularly deposit notes about things you're grateful for. Read through them during difficult times or at year's end.
Savoring
Deliberately focus on and extend positive experiences. Share good news, take mental photographs, replay happy moments, or express gratitude in the moment.
Cultivating Optimism
Optimism—the expectation that good things will happen—significantly predicts well-being, health, and success. Importantly, optimism can be learned through changing your explanatory style.
Learned Optimism: The ABC Model
Developed by Martin Seligman, this technique helps you challenge pessimistic thinking:
A - Adversity
Identify the situation or problem that occurred.
Example: "I didn't get the promotion I applied for."
B - Belief
Notice your automatic thoughts about the adversity.
Example: "I'm not good enough. I'll never advance in my career."
C - Consequences
Observe how your beliefs affect your feelings and actions.
Example: "I feel defeated and stop applying for opportunities."
D - Disputation
Challenge your pessimistic beliefs with evidence.
Example: "I've succeeded at many things. This was one position. I can learn from feedback and try again."
E - Energization
Notice how disputing pessimistic thoughts changes your feelings and opens new possibilities.
Example: "I feel more hopeful and motivated to seek feedback and improve."
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Flow, identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state of complete absorption in an activity—when you're so engaged that time seems to disappear. Flow experiences contribute significantly to happiness and life satisfaction.
Conditions That Create Flow
- Clear Goals: Know what you're trying to achieve
- Immediate Feedback: Understand how well you're doing
- Challenge-Skill Balance: Task slightly exceeds current abilities
- Complete Focus: Minimal distractions or interruptions
- Intrinsic Motivation: Activity is rewarding in itself
Increasing Flow in Your Life
Identify Your Flow Activities: What makes time disappear for you? What do you do where you lose self-consciousness? These are clues to your flow activities.
Create Conditions: Schedule uninterrupted time, eliminate distractions, ensure proper challenge level, and set clear goals for flow activities.
Build Skills: As your abilities grow, increase challenges to maintain the flow state. Stagnation leads to boredom; excessive challenge creates anxiety.
Make Space: Modern life often prevents flow with constant interruptions. Protect time for deep engagement in meaningful activities.
Building Positive Relationships
The quality of your relationships is one of the strongest predictors of happiness. Positive psychology offers evidence-based strategies for strengthening connections:
Active Constructive Responding
How you respond to others' good news significantly impacts relationship quality. The most beneficial response is active and constructive:
Active Constructive (Best)
Example: "That's wonderful! Tell me more about how you made that happen. You must feel so proud!"
Shows genuine enthusiasm, asks questions, highlights the positive, celebrates with them.
Responses to Avoid:
- Passive Constructive: "That's nice." (Understated, minimal engagement)
- Active Destructive: "Are you sure you can handle that responsibility?" (Points out negatives)
- Passive Destructive: "Did you see the game last night?" (Ignores the news entirely)
The 5:1 Ratio
Research by John Gottman shows flourishing relationships maintain at least five positive interactions for every negative one. Consciously increase positive moments: appreciation, affection, humor, support, and quality time together.
Practical Applications: Living the Principles
Integrate positive psychology into your daily life with these evidence-based practices:
Morning Intention
Begin each day by setting an intention to use a signature strength or express gratitude. This frames your day positively.
Kindness Acts
Perform five acts of kindness on one day each week. Variety and intentionality increase the happiness boost from helping others.
Best Possible Self
Spend 15 minutes writing about your ideal future in vivid detail. This optimism intervention increases well-being and clarifies goals.
Positive Introduction
When meeting someone, share a recent positive experience. This creates upward spirals of positivity in social interactions.
Mindful Appreciation
Notice beauty and excellence throughout your day. Really see the sunset, taste your food, appreciate music, admire craftsmanship.
Evening Reflection
End each day recalling three good things, identifying a strength you used, and planning tomorrow's positive intentions.
Beyond Individual Happiness
Positive psychology extends beyond personal well-being to creating flourishing communities, workplaces, and societies. Consider how you can contribute to collective flourishing through:
- Using your strengths in service of others and your community
- Creating positive environments in your workplace and home
- Supporting others' growth and well-being
- Advocating for conditions that enable human flourishing
- Modeling gratitude, kindness, and authentic positivity
Your Positive Psychology Action Plan
- This Week: Take the VIA Character Strengths survey and start a daily three good things gratitude practice. Notice what brings you positive emotions.
- This Month: Use one of your signature strengths in a new way each day. Write a gratitude letter. Practice active constructive responding.
- This Quarter: Identify and create more opportunities for flow. Strengthen key relationships through consistent positive engagement. Clarify your sources of meaning.
- Ongoing: Continue gratitude practice, use your strengths daily, cultivate optimism, seek flow, nurture relationships, and pursue meaning. Remember: authentic happiness comes from living aligned with your values and contributing to something larger than yourself.