What are the 5 elements of well-being?

Think for a moment about someone you know who makes you feel energised and happy. Now think about their main characteristics. You may come up with things like: they smile a lot; they’re interested in others; they are open and always find ‘good’ things to say.

Now think for a moment about someone you know who makes you feel down and who zaps your energy. When you identify their characteristics, you may come up with things like: they rarely smile; they always find a reason not to do something; they only seem interested in others if that other is having a bad time.

When you compare these experiences, you may naturally prefer spending time with someone whose company leaves you feeling positive and energised. It can also be useful to consider how the way we interact with others may affect how they feel around us.

We are now entering the realms of Positive Psychology and creating our own happiness. Seeking positive experiences can contribute to happiness, but the work of psychologist Dr Martin Seligman suggests that well-being involves more than positive emotion alone.

According to Seligman, author of Flourish, well-being is underpinned by five elements, often referred to as the PERMA model:

1. Positive emotion – the ability to appreciate and experience positive emotions.
2. Engagement – being completely absorbed by an activity, where time seems to stand still.
3. Meaning and purpose – belonging to and serving something you believe is bigger than yourself.
4. Positive relationships – our connections with other people and the role they can play in our well-being.
5. Accomplishment – achievement or accomplishment pursued for its own sake.

Take a little time to think about these five areas and ask yourself where they are present in your life. For example, I belong to a local community choir which contributes to my well-being in the following ways:

1. Positive emotion - Singing, especially in harmony, makes me feel joyous.
2. Engagement - I am completely engaged and never want it to end – the two-hour rehearsals fly by.
3. Meaning and purpose - We sing in concerts to raise money for cancer research. We also visit care homes and hospitals and bring some joy to the residents and patients.
4. Positive relationships - There is plenty of laughter and chatter when the choir meets, and we support each other. The choir leader is also great fun. I get far more pleasure, and I am more motivated when I sing with others than singing on my own at home.
5. Accomplishment - When we learn a difficult piece with three- or four-part harmonies. I feel a great sense of achievement, as in the past I have never been able to harmonise. The more I achieve, the more joyous and engaged I feel, and so it goes on...

If these five elements are not yet all present in your life, explore what these areas mean for you. In so doing, you may ask yourself questions like:

1. What makes me laugh or smile and feel happy inside? What is good about my life?
2. When do I feel completely ‘at one’ with a task/activity I am doing? What am I doing when time ‘flies by’?
3. When do I feel that I am contributing to something bigger, something of importance that benefits others?
4. What part do other people play in my well-being? How do other people lift me, and how do I lift others?
5. What have I achieved that I feel proud of, or what would I feel proud to achieve?

Once you have answers to your questions (which may of course change over time), set about finding ways to incorporate what you have identified into your life. This may be through work, a hobby or pastime.

Positive relationships can play an important part in well-being, although what meaningful connection looks like will differ from person to person. For me, relationships are also part of what helps bring many of the other elements to life.