HAPPINESS RELOADED Dr Nash Popovic Personal Well Being

HAPPINESS RELOADED Dr Nash Popovic Personal Well Being Centre University of East London

Happiness formulas n PA – NE + LS = SWB n PWB (Riff): self-acceptance n personal growth n positive relations with others n Autonomy n environmental mastery n purpose in life n 15

The dimensions of human live External Existence (being) Agency (doing) Internal 20

Eudemonic happiness Hedonic happiness External Agency Existence Internal 20

Hedonic happiness n n n Delightful (not pleasure) State Pursuit of happiness Effortless Immediate experience Eudemonic happiness n n n Meaning, worthwhileness Process (progress) Happiness of pursuit Effort Long term goals 25

Eudemonic happiness Hedonic happiness External Feeling good Meaning, worthwhile Existence Agency Peace of mind Personal development Internal 25

Eudemonic happiness Hedonic happiness External Feeling good Three good things Savouring Flow Meaning, worthwhile (contribution) Existence Agency Peace of mind Realisation Expectation Personal development cognitive experiential behavioural Internal 30

Feeling good n n n Not only pleasant feelings Feeling good is more about appropriate feelings, so you can feel sad and feel good at the same time. Even fear and anger can sometimes feel good, and pleasant feelings – if inappropriate can affect negatively your peace of mind Not confined to carnal pleasures - playing with children, reading a book, even spiritual experiences Depth 30

Three good things today (Seligman at al, 2005) Before going to sleep, think of, or write down, three good things that happened that day (e. g. nice weather, you smiled at somebody, somebody smiled at you, you felt healthy or achieved something, some good news). Do this for a week. 35

What the ‘three good things’ intervention does to us What is the figure and what is the background in your life? The positive or the negative? 35

Savouring The capacity to attend to, appreciate and enhance the positive experiences in one’s life. Bryant & Veroff (2007) 40

Flow n Complete concentration n An effortless control over your actions n Action and one who act merge n No sense of self (or selfconsciousness) n No sense of time n Being absorbed (rather than absorbing) 40

Peace of mind n n n Not having internal conflict Realisation Expectations (desires we are attached to) We lose peace of mind when expectation is greater than realisation, in: n n The past (regret, guilt, shame) The present (self-rejection), The future (worrying) So, peace of mind can be achieved by either increasing realisation or reducing expectation. 45

Personal Development Three dimensions of personal development: n n n Cognitive (developing knowledge, understanding, reasoning, analysing abilities, but also skills) Experiential: enriching one’s experience quantitatively (variety) or qualitatively (depth, subtlety) Conative (will, behaviour): self-regulation, or selfdiscipline 50

Meaning n n n And that ‘feeling that one’s life has some meaning and purpose is associated with happiness’. (Argyle, 1987, p. 215) Meaningful actions can even transcend death (and therefore reduce the fear of death) Usually involves some form of transcendence (beyond your own interest) and contribution such as: n Helping others n Fighting for a cause n Creating something of value (e. g. a piece of art) n Discovery, invention n Passing knowledge 55

Eudemonic happiness Hedonic happiness External Feeling good Meaning, worthwhile (contribution) Three good things Savouring Flow PRACTICE Existence Peace of mind Realisation Expectation Agency Personal development (Cognitive, experiential, behavioural) Internal 55