Are you simply surviving day to day, or are you truly thriving in all dimensions of your life?
It’s a question worth asking yourself regularly. In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to fall into autopilot mode—meeting deadlines, checking boxes, and making it through another week. But what if there was a scientifically-backed framework that could help you move from merely surviving to genuinely flourishing?
The Science of Wellbeing: Introducing PERMAH
The PERMAH model represents one of the most comprehensive frameworks for understanding human flourishing. Developed by Dr. Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, and expanded by researchers in the field, PERMAH offers a multidimensional approach to wellbeing that goes far beyond the simple absence of problems.
PERMAH stands for:
- Positive Emotions: Experiencing joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love
- In daily life: Keeping a gratitude journal, savoring your morning coffee, or truly enjoying family dinner conversations
- At work: Celebrating team wins (even small ones), expressing appreciation to colleagues, or finding moments of joy amid challenges
- Engagement: Being completely absorbed in activities that use your strengths and challenge you appropriately
- In daily life: Losing track of time while gardening, playing music, or reading a captivating book
- At work: Finding “flow” while working on a challenging project that matches your skills, becoming so absorbed in solving a problem that you forget to check your phone
- Relationships: Building and maintaining positive connections with others
- In daily life: Having meaningful conversations with friends, connecting with family members without distractions, or joining community groups
- At work: Building trust with teammates, creating psychological safety in meetings, or mentoring others
- Meaning: Belonging to and serving something bigger than yourself
- In daily life: Volunteering for causes you care about, practicing faith traditions, or parenting with intention
- At work: Understanding how your role contributes to the larger mission, mentoring junior colleagues, or creating products that make a positive difference
- Achievement: Pursuing success, accomplishment, and mastery for their own sake
- In daily life: Setting and reaching personal goals like running a 5K, mastering a new recipe, or learning a language
- At work: Completing challenging projects, developing expertise in your field, or receiving recognition for your contributions
- Health: Maintaining physical vitality and wellbeing practices that support energy
- In daily life: Prioritizing sleep, preparing nutritious meals, or maintaining consistent exercise routines
- At work: Taking movement breaks, stepping outside for fresh air, or setting boundaries around work hours to protect recovery time
What makes this model so powerful is that it’s not just theoretical—it’s practical and actionable. Each dimension can be measured and intentionally developed through specific practices.
Why PERMAH Matters in Your Work and Life
When we understand and nurture all dimensions of wellbeing, remarkable things happen:
- Increased Resilience: Research shows that people who score higher across PERMAH dimensions bounce back more quickly from setbacks and adapt better to change.
- Enhanced Performance: Individuals who actively cultivate these elements consistently outperform those who don’t—showing greater creativity, better problem-solving, and higher productivity.
- Improved Leadership: Leaders who embody PERMAH create more psychologically safe environments where team members can thrive, leading to better retention, innovation, and results.
- Greater Life Satisfaction: Beyond work, PERMAH elements correlate strongly with overall life satisfaction and subjective wellbeing.
Moving from Knowledge to Action: The Flourishing Assessment
Understanding PERMAH is valuable, but actively measuring and developing these dimensions is where the real transformation happens. That’s why I’m excited to share a tool that can help you do exactly that.
The LEAP Forward Flourishing Assessment takes just 10 minutes to complete but provides powerful insights across eight dimensions of wellbeing—including all PERMAH elements plus two crucial additional components:
- Career Satisfaction: How your work aligns with your strengths and values
- In daily work: Finding fulfillment in your responsibilities, seeing opportunities for growth, and feeling your career path reflects your authentic self
- Long-term impact: Reduced burnout, greater workplace commitment, and higher levels of innovation and productivity
- Leadership Impact: Your ability to positively influence others and create thriving environments
- In daily work: Building psychological safety, developing team members’ capabilities, and modeling healthy boundaries
- Long-term impact: Creating a positive ripple effect that extends beyond your immediate team to shape organizational culture
How the Assessment Works
The process is straightforward yet powerful:
- Rate statements on a 1-5 scale: You’ll respond to carefully crafted statements that measure specific aspects of each dimension (like “I have effective strategies for managing stress” or “I create environments where others can thrive”)
- Complete reflection questions: Brief writing prompts help you think deeply about how each dimension appears in your life and what might be holding you back
- Review your personalized results: You’ll receive scores for each dimension with clear interpretations ranging from “Flourishing” to “Struggling”
- Identify patterns: The assessment reveals your top strengths and priority growth areas, showing you exactly where to focus your energy for maximum impact
Applying Your Results
Once you complete the assessment, you’ll have concrete ways to apply the insights:
- Small, high-impact changes: The assessment helps identify “leverage points” where minimal effort can produce significant wellbeing improvements
- Targeted development: Instead of trying to improve everything at once, you can focus on the 1-2 dimensions that will make the biggest difference right now
- Personalized practices: Discover evidence-based strategies tailored to your specific results and circumstances
- Progress tracking: Retake the assessment periodically to see your growth and refine your approach
This assessment gives you:
- A clear picture of your current strengths and growth opportunities
- A framework for measuring your progress over time
- The foundation for more focused coaching conversations
Your Invitation to Flourish
I believe we all deserve to flourish, not just survive. The first step toward meaningful growth is understanding where you are today.
Why Take the Assessment Now?
- Gain immediate clarity: In just 10 minutes, you’ll identify both what’s working well and what needs attention across all dimensions of your wellbeing
- Focus your energy wisely: Instead of trying to improve everything at once, discover the 2-3 areas where small changes will yield the biggest improvements in your overall flourishing
- Create a personalized roadmap: Transform general wellbeing advice into a tailored action plan designed specifically for your unique profile
- Establish a baseline: Begin tracking your progress over time, celebrating improvements and adjusting strategies as needed
Taking Action
The assessment isn’t just about awareness—it’s about transformation. Here’s what to expect after completing it:
- Review your comprehensive scores: See exactly where you stand across all eight dimensions
- Identify your pattern: Understand how the dimensions interact in your unique situation
- Take one small step today: Begin with a single action that will move you toward greater flourishing
I encourage you to take 10 minutes this week to complete the LEAP Forward Flourishing Assessment. Use it as a personal check-in or as a starting point for deeper coaching work. Either way, you’ll gain insights that can help you make small, practical shifts toward greater wellbeing in both your professional and personal life.
Ready to LEAP Forward? Take the assessment today and discover your path to optimal wellbeing!
Set up a Discovery Call with me to develop practical flourishing strategies today!
Do you want to learn more about Flourishing on your own?
Consider these book recommendations:
- Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being by Martin Seligman This foundational book introduces the PERMA model and explains why well-being goes beyond just happiness. The model was introduced in Seligman’s book Flourish (2011), and is now widely used in positive psychology interventions, organizational psychology, and development programs.
- Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman The precursor to “Flourish,” this book lays the groundwork for positive psychology principles. Originally introduced by Dr. Martin Seligman, PERMAH started out as ‘Authentic Happiness Theory’ in 2002, which proposed that fostering Positive Emotion, Engagement, and Meaning were keys to understanding and enhancing human happiness.
- The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness by Emily Esfahani Smith Explores the importance of meaning as a critical dimension of wellbeing.
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Delves deeply into the Engagement component of PERMAH and how to achieve states of flow.
- Love 2.0: Finding Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection by Barbara Fredrickson Examines the science behind positive relationships and their impact on well-being.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck Explores how our mindset affects achievement and growth.
- The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal Provides insights into resilience and how to transform our relationship with stress.
These books will help you understand the scientific foundations of flourishing while providing practical strategies to apply these concepts in your daily life.
Remember, flourishing isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. Every small step you take toward nurturing these dimensions compounds over time, creating a life of greater meaning, achievement, and joy.
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