The PERMA model describes five elements of well-being: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. Positive emotion involves feeling happy and not feeling sad or angry. Engagement is being absorbed in what you're doing. Relationships refer to connections with friends, family, and colleagues. Meaning is a sense of being part of something larger than yourself, a sense of purpose. Achievement is the accomplishment of goals that are recognizable by the rest of the world, such as winning an award.
What matters more: meeting our own ambitions, or winning fame and glory? What’s it like to earn a gold medal at the Olympics? And why didn’t Mike’s grandfather get a watch?
- RESOURCES:
- "Why Success Doesn’t Lead to Satisfaction," by Ron Carucci (Harvard Business Review, 2023).
- "Katie Ledecky Matches Michael Phelps Record With Dominant World Championships Win," by Patrick Andres (Sports Illustrated, 2023).
- Success Index, by Populace and Gallup (2019).
- "PERMA and the Building Blocks of Well-Being," by Martin Seligman (The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2018).
- "Michael Phelps: ‘I Am Extremely Thankful That I Did Not Take My Life,’" by Susan Scutti (CNN, 2018).
- "The PERMA-Profiler: A Brief Multidimensional Measure of Flourishing," by Julie Butler and Margaret L. Kern (International Journal of Wellbeing, 2016).
- "Diana Nyad: Dream Accomplished," by Michel Martin (Tell Me More, 2013).
- "A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success," by Alain de Botton (TEDGlobal, 2009).
- "The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding," by John Wooden (TED, 2001).