Flourishing

Flourishing.  That’s the new term Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology, has crafted to supersede ‘Happiness’.  You can read all about it in his book of the same title.  In a nutshell, the five elemnent s to cultivate are as follows:

Positive emotion – the pleasant life is what we instinctively think of when asked about increasing happiness.  It is a cornerstone of well-being theory but only one of five separate elements.

Engagement – also known as ‘Flow’, the feeling of time stopping, so engaged are we in what we are doing.

Meaning – belonging to and serving something you believe is bigger than yourself.  This can be religious or secular, really big or just a stretch beyond yourself.

Accomplishment – pursuit of achievement and mastery for its own sake

Positive relationships – other people turn out to be the best antidote to the downs of life and the single most reliable up.

I recommend his book - this is backed by hard science not pop psychology.