Invite More Positive Emotion into Your Life

Over the next few weeks, we will focus on the Positivity Pathway of the PERMAH model. All emotions serve a purpose in helping us survive; they prime us to act in a particular way. Experiencing fear helps us avoid or escape perceived danger, experiencing anger gives us the urge to fight back when we feel mistreated. Positive emotions help raise our energy and vitality. 

Barbara Fredrickson developed the broaden and build theory to demonstrate the important role positive emotions play in survival. Negative emotions tend to narrow our thinking and behavior so we can focus on detecting and eliminating threats. Positive emotions help to broaden our minds to new, creative ideas and actions. When we’re able to view our lives through a broader lens, we can see more possibilities, and we may act in ways that will increase our intellectual, social, and physical resources when future challenges arise. Positive emotions build on each other, making us more likely to feel other positive emotions.

How Do Positive Emotions Impact Wellbeing?

Building small moments of positive feelings into our daily lives is valuable not only because it feels good, but also because positive emotions help us grow, live fuller lives, and improve our coping and resilience for when life is more difficult.

• Researchers have found the experience of heartfelt positive emotions can help you to be more optimistic, resilient, open, accepting, and happier & healthier overall. In your work, these emotions have been found to improve your relationships, job satisfaction, and success.
• Research shows that 40% of the variance in your life satisfaction is dependent on your intentional activity… what you think, feel and do.

There are many pathways to happiness. The book, The How of Happiness, by Sonja Lyubomirsky, identifies 12 research-based happiness-building exercises.

12 happiness-building exercises

1. Express gratitude
2. Cultivate optimism
3. Avoid overthinking and social comparison
4. Practice random acts of kindness
5. Nurture social relationships
6. Develop strategies for coping
7. Learn to forgive
8. Increase flow experiences
9. Savor life’s joys
10. Commit to your goals
11. Practice religion and spirituality
12. Take care of your body

It would be overwhelming to try every intentional activity at once. According to Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, the best way to find out which intervention to use is to find out the best person-activity fit. Sonja Lyubomirsky and Ken Sheldon developed the Person- Activity Fit Diagnostic to help determine your own.

Complete the free Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic to discover your Best-Fit Activities.

In the next three blogs, I will be providing more information on each of the 12 happiness-building exercises, so you can develop positivity habits around your Best-Fit Activities.

For now, continue to practice your vitality habits. 

Remember, it takes an average of 66 days to develop a new habit!

Keep going, keep growing

This blog is the first of a 4 part Positivity Pathway Series, the three other posts can be found below: 

12 Exercises to Boost Happiness: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3