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A Fresh Look at the Science of Well-Being and Positive Functioning

" A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe."

-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi-Flow, 1990

A Fresh New Look at Feeling and Doing Well in Life

I'm really sorry to admit that after more than 25 years of positive psychological science research (Donaldson et al., 2020), and many more years of study in other fields, we've come to an evaluative conclusion about what makes a good life-it depends. That is, it depends largely on how you live, not just what you read. We will be encouraging you to learn, explore, and care for many of the most effective ingredients that seem to comprise a life worth living. And we will help guide you toward how you can best combine these ingredients with your values so that you can be your best self more often during your precious time on Earth. We aspire to provide you with a range of useful ideas, scientific findings, and evidence-informed activities and tools that will inspire you to work on your individual creation, your engaging and meaningful life, on a regular basis.

People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.

-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990)

Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi taught us that in order to be truly happy, we must learn to control the direction of our attention. Even in the face of a bad day (which we all have), suffering, trauma, tragedy, or death of a loved one, once we experience and navigate the normal grieving process, it is what we choose to place our attention on that makes us happy or sad.

It is better to look suffering straight in the eye, acknowledge and respect its presence, and then get busy as soon as possible focusing on things we choose to focus on.

-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1997)

So what should we focus our attention on? More likes on our social media? Fast cars? Big homes? Money? Beer? Good wine? Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll? How about ways to flourish more often in our lives through developing and caring for our PERMA+4 Building Blocks of Well-Being and Optimal Functioning?

PERMA+4 Building Blocks of Well-Being and Optimal Functioning

During the past 25 years, scientists inspired by the vision for a new science of positive psychology have been conducting rigorous peer-reviewed research to discover how to help people flourish more often throughout their lifespan (see Donaldson et al., 2020). These positive psychological scientists have determined with great confidence that there are at least nine building blocks of well-being that we can develop and care for that will make us feel and do well in our lives. The first five were introduced by Professor Martin Seligman in his 2011 book Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, and the additional +4 were added based on extensive empirical research by Professor Stewart Donaldson and colleagues (Donaldson & Donaldson, 2020; Donaldson et al., 2021, 2022).

1. Positive emotions: Experiencing happiness, joy, love, gratitude, etc. in the here and now.
2. Engagement: Fully using your strengths, skills, and attention, and being highly absorbed or experiencing flow while engaged in the activities of your life.
3. Relationships: Having the ability to establish and maintain positive, mutually beneficial relationships with others, characterized by the experiences of love and appreciation.
4. Meaning: The experience of being connected to something larger than the self or serving a higher purpose.
5. Accomplishment: Experiencing a sense of mastery over a particular domain of interest or achieving important or challenging life/work goals.
6. Physical health: Having optimal physiological functioning, being able to carry out daily physical activities, and feeling in control and optimistic about your health.
7. Mindset: Adopting a growth mindset characterized by an optimistic, future-oriented view of life, where challenges or setbacks are seen as opportunities to grow. This may also be a function of having positive psychological capital (hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience), perseverance, and/or grit.
8. Environment: The quality of one's physical environment (which includes spatiotemporal elements, such as access to natural light, fresh air, and physical safety), aligned to the preferences of the individual.
9. Economic security: Perceptions of financial security and stability required to satisfy individual needs.

We will discuss each of these PERMA+4 building blocks in much more detail in the chapters that follow. You will learn about the theory, research, and most importantly how to develop and care for each of these building blocks to promote your own well-being, as well as how to help other people in your life feel well and do well. But, before we go deeper into the PERMA+4 building blocks, let me first discuss why we think these applications of the science of positive psychology are so important for your life and for the lives of your colleagues, friends, and loved ones.

Human Flourishing

PERMA+4 has been found to be one of the strongest predictors we have ever discovered to indicate who is flourishing in life. The latest positive psychological science research identifies well-being and optimal functioning (two essential indicators of human flourishing) across a wide range of cultures and domains such as work, school, higher education, community service, and everyday life (see Cabrera & Donaldson, 2024).

Human flourishing refers to living a life in which individuals thrive, experience happiness, and achieve their fullest potential (Keyes, 2002). It goes beyond simply being free from illness or hardship; flourishing encompasses a deep sense of well-being, fulfillment, and purpose.

At its core, human flourishing means living in alignment with our values and capabilities, where physical, emotional, and mental health are all in balance. It involves positive emotions like joy, love, and gratitude, as well as meaningful relationships that provide connection and support. Flourishing individuals often feel engaged in their daily activities, are optimistic about the future, and pursue goals that align with their passions and skills.

Importantly, flourishing also involves resilience-the ability to bounce back from setbacks (Donaldson & Villalobos, 2025; Luthans et al., 2007). Life isn't free from challenges, but those who flourish find ways to grow through adversity, learn from their experiences, and find strength in difficult times.

In addition to personal factors, flourishing is influenced by external conditions. Supportive environments, such as safe communities, opportunities for education and meaningful work, and access to healthcare, play a crucial role. Flourishing often involves contributing to the well-being of others, creating a ripple effect of positivity and growth.

Psychologists, philosophers, and researchers have studied flourishing for centuries, linking it to concepts like Aristotle's idea of "eudaimonia" (living a virtuous and meaningful life). Modern science-based frameworks, such as PERMA+4, provide tools to understand and foster flourishing.

Ultimately, human flourishing is about living a rich and rewarding life-not perfect, but deeply satisfying and impactful. It is the aspiration to not just survive but thrive, to find joy and purpose in the every day, and to leave a positive mark on the world around us.

One approach for better understanding when you are flourishing is to compare it to other states of being along a flourishing-suffering continuum. For example, we can think of a flourishing ladder that anchors suffering at the bottom, and as you move up, you go through struggling, languishing, and thriving until you arrive at flourishing. We imagine most people experience all of these states at various times in their lives. But we also know that there are practices we can all develop and follow that improve our chances of flourishing more often.

Human Suffering

Kuzmaphoto / Adobe Stock Photo

Unfortunately, most people experience suffering throughout their lives. However, it has been found that people who are low on PERMA+4 and well-being tend to experience more suffering than those with higher levels. The good news is that effective PERMA+4 practices and interventions have the potential to significantly reduce the amount of suffering in people's lives. To better understand what it feels like to be in a flourishing versus suffering state, we will briefly describe human suffering.

Human suffering and human flourishing are two very different experiences, like being lost in a storm versus walking in sunshine. While flourishing is about living a life full of joy, purpose, and connection, suffering involves deep pain, struggle, and a sense of being stuck or overwhelmed.

When people flourish, they feel positive emotions like happiness, love, and gratitude. They have meaningful relationships, a sense of accomplishment, and a purpose that gives their life direction. In...