Finding Meaning and Purpose in What We Do

 

What drives you?  What gets you out of bed in the morning and ready to take on the day?  What is the larger meaning and purpose behind what you do?  These questions drive at our sense of meaning and purpose, the fourth element of PERMA, and the answers provide powerful fuel for flourishing.  

Article At A Glance:

  • There are simple, easy to implement, strategies that improve one’s sense of wellbeing, relationships, and achievement.
  • We can increase flourishing by identify our core character strengths and finding ways to apply them throughout our lives. 
  • Take the Values in Action survey to identify your top 5 character strengths and find ways to apply to in your life today and throughout the week.

 What are some of the activities, even very simple ones, that foster positive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors?  Many positive interventions are quite easy to do and, when used with an open mind and desire to experience change, can be very powerful.  Something to keep in mind, though, is the fact that not every strategy will be equally effective for all people, or in all context, and there is certainly no guarantee of instant happiness and flourishing.  The strategies we will be discussing, however, have been shown in large scale scientific studies to have a statistically significant effect on individuals’ sense of wellbeing.  In other words, they have been validated by researchers applying scientific methods to measure their effectiveness and they work. 

A very powerful technique for cultivating flourishing is to identify our individual character strengths and finding ways to apply them throughout our lives.  While working to improve our areas of weakness may improve our sense of well-being and accomplishment a little, actively looking for ways to grow and apply our strengths is a flourishing multiplier.  In line with this finding, one of the most powerful things we can do to cultivate flourishing is to identify our character strengths and passions so that we can then identify ways to apply these strengths and passions deeper and more broadly across our lives. 

Dr. Seligman and his colleagues developed and scientifically validated an assessment of core character strengths and I recommend you complete the survey using the link below.  Once you complete the survey, take note of your top 5 character strengths.  What are they?  How does this information resonate with you?  How was it similar to and/or different from what you had expected?

https://www.viacharacter.org/pro/drjamesbylund/account/register

Now that you have taken the Values In Action survey and identified your top 5 character strengths, think of some challenges you are experiencing in your life.  This may have to do with your career, relationships, life goals, or any other area of your life where you may be struggling, small or large.  Now think about your top character strengths.  Take some time to think about how you might be able to use one or more of your character strengths to address the problem and write down the thoughts that come to mind.  Once you have done so, it is time to put them into action.  What are you going to do?  When are you going to do it?  Where will you be?  Create a vivid image in your mind of how you will apply one or more of these strengths today and throughout the week.  When you do, take note of the outcome.  How did things turn out differently than how they may have otherwise?  Again, this has been shown to be a powerful flourishing multiplier and I encourage you to stick with this one for a while and notice the changes that happen.

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