The science and practice of flourishing (DW#956)
When a plant which is healthy and blooming we say it is "flourishing" or thriving and when a business is booming and raking in lots of profit, we say that it is "flourishing." In other words the plant and the business is doing really well, they are thriving.
The concept of flourishing is fairly new to the world of psychology which has historically been focused on the model of disease and getting rid of the symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, OCD among others. What psychologists began to discover in the last century however, was that getting rid of mental distresses could bring people to a neutral and semi-functioning state, but it did not always result in wellbeing or happiness. Getting people from a negative 5 or 10 to a 0 did not mean they were mentally and emotionally healthy – just that they were no longer sick. And thus the search for the keys to human wellbeing or "flourishing" began.
Dr. Seligman is also credited with starting the positive psychology movement which aims to operationalize human flourishing and support human beings in living this good life.
Over the next several days, we will explore key aspects and practices of positive psychology and also dispel some myths around it.
PS: If you would like to delve deeper into the subject, I am offering some workshops and programs to master our mental and emotional wellbeing. The first one is coming up later this week. Sign up with the code ANTEB10 to save $10 off by September 13, 2021. Here is the link.
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