Recent findings by Social
Psychologists denote that there is enough importance of satisfying social
relationships and support from others for our health and happiness. They also identified that well being and
happiness are the two entities that has to be kept optimal, and the normalcy of
these two differs socially as well as culturally. Further inquiries regarding this across
diverse cultures revealed that in order to acquire these, people, in general,
have a tendency budge through potential dark side of affluence and
materialism. Such materialistic people,
those who sacrifice fulfillment of important psychological needs in their
pursuit of fame and fortune, would also sacrifice their own happiness and life
satisfaction. The establishment and
advancements made by Humanistic Psychology theorists such as Maslow, Rogers
etc. resulted in the development of theories and practices involved in human
happiness. Based on these theories, and
out of the chemistry occurred during their formation, a new stance in Psychology
emerged. Martin Seligman, in 1998 called
this new area as Positive Psychology.
Historically, Psychology has had
an inclination to discuss more about the mysterious negatives of the cognitive,
conative and affective experiences of the mankind. The reason behind this may be the human
tendency to perceive negative aspects as more authentic and real. It may also be due to the love of mysteries
and a predisposition to be more external in locus that held up “bad is greater
than the good” feeling. However, the call
made by Martin Seligman about the new perspective of Positive Psychology resulted
in a paradigm shift; that is to offset this negative image of human nature with
a more balanced view. It does not deny the negative, nor does it suggest that
all of Psychology focuses on the negative. Rather, it gives a chance to enquire
empirically the ordinary human strengths and virtues. Moreover, it studies the optimal human
functioning and aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals
and communities to thrive. It addresses positive aspects of experience to
improve the quality of individual and community life.
Positive Psychology is the
scientific study of personal qualities life choices, life circumstances and
socio-cultural conditions that promote a life well lived, defined by criteria
of happiness, physical and mental health, meaningfulness and virtue. The origin of the term “positive” shall be
traced back to Maslow’s Motivation and Personality. As aforesaid, it is not a new major, but the
same old one, with a realistic and balanced view of human nature that includes
human strengths and virtues without denying human weakness and capacity for
evil. Positive psychology covers topics
such as well-being, happiness, positive emotions, psychological health,
personal strengths, positive experiences and states (mindfulness, flow, creativity),
positive environments and the positive characteristics of individuals, groups,
institutions and communities.
A major goal of Positive Psychology is to restore balance within the
discipline of Psychology. Seligman and
his colleagues have proposed that happiness as a central focus of Positive
Psychology. In his book, Authentic
Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for
Lasting Fulfillment, Seligman outlines three ways to increase happiness: get
more pleasure out of life, become more engaged in what one do and find ways of
making life feel more meaningful.
Pleasure enhancement shall be
done, in his opinion, through Savouring (awareness of pleasure and of giving
deliberate conscious attention to the experience of pleasure; e.g. Sharing with
others, Memory building, Self‐congratulation, Sharpening perception,
Absorption), Mindfulness (can be developed through meditation and mindfulness
based therapies. Through mindfulness we can focus our perspective and sharpen our
experience of the present moment), and avoidance of forming habits (Rapidly
repeated indulgence in the same pleasure does not work. Neurons are wired to
respond to novel events, and not to fire if the events do not provide new
information).
Engagement results from nurturing
relationships (strong personal relationships among the friends and family have
the greatest impact on satisfaction with life), identification and usage of
personal strengths (cultivating and using strengths at work, in familial, social
and cultural life and in leisure time) and seeking out ‘flow’ experiences (flow
or a state of joy, creativity and total involvement would make the problems
disappear leaving with feeling of transcendence).
The third method of finding
meaning is achieved by keeping a gratitude diary (to write down each day three
things that went well and why), thanking a mentor (writing a letter of thanks
to someone, such as a teacher or grandparent), learning to forgive (letting go
of anger and resentment by writing a letter of forgiveness to a person who had
done a wrong), weighing up one’s life (taking time to think about the major
facets of one’s life such as family, work, finances, health and play),
performing small acts of kindness (creates a measurable boost to happiness
levels and enhances the connection), and finding a connection to a larger
purpose (using personal strengths in a voluntary capacity. Religion, philosophy or spirituality are a
source of meaning for many people)
