Well-Being

Meta: see (2008-11-07) Boniwell What Is Eudaimonia? The Concept Of Eudaimonic WellBeing And Happiness

Post-Authentic Happiness Framing by Martin Seligman. He says the title, Authentic Happiness, was forced on him by his publisher. “I actually detest the word happiness, which is so overused that it has become almost meaningless”. He now believes that “WellBeing”, not happiness, should be the central focus of positive psychology. In terms of well-being theory, the goal of Positive Psychology is to increase the amount of flourishing in your own life and in the lives of others. And Flourishing’s five elements (using the acronym, PERMA) are

Do you need to balance all 5? (Area Balanced Living)

So his Apr'2011 book is called Flourish ISBN:1439190755 (Flourishing)


Earlier Carol Ryff: Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being - Wikipedia

A therapy based on Ryff's six elements was developed by Fava and others in this regards.[18]

Individual differences in both overall Eudaimonia, identified loosely with self-control and in the facets of eudaimonia are heritable.

Individuals were grouped according to their chosen paths/strategies to happiness as identified by their answers on an Orientation to Happiness Questionnaire.[14] The questionnaire describes and differentiates individuals on the basis of three orientations to happiness which can be pursued, though some individuals do not pursue any. The "pleasure" orientation describes a path to happiness that is associated with adopting hedonistic life goals to satisfy only one's extrinsic needs. Engagement and meaning orientations describe a pursuit of happiness that integrates two positive psychology constructs "flow/engagement" and "eudaimonia/meaning". Both of the latter orientations are also associated with aspiring to meet intrinsic needs for affiliation and community and were amalgamated by Anić and Tončić into a single "eudaimonic" path to happiness that elicited high scores on all measures of well-being and life satisfaction

persons who aspired more for financial success relative to affiliation with others or their community scored lower on various measures of well-being.

Individuals that strive for a life defined by affiliation, intimacy, and contributing to one's community can be described as aspiring to fulfil their intrinsic psychological needs. In contrast, those individuals who aspire for wealth and material, social recognition, fame, image, or attractiveness can be described as aiming to fulfil their extrinsic psychological needs.

Positive contributing factors

Relations with others

Negative contributing factors

Extrinsic and intrinsic psychological needs

Ryff's model is not based on merely feeling happy, but is based on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, "where the goal of life isn't feeling good, but is instead about living virtuously"

The Ryff Scale of Measurement is a psychometric inventory consisting of two forms (either 54 or 84 items) in which respondents rate statements on a scale of 1 to 6, where 1 indicates strong disagreement and 6 indicates strong agreement.


Aug'2012: Jay Cross is also aiming for this target. Well-Being is the umbrella term for leading a satisfying, healthy, productive happy existence. It’s the magic that makes life worth living. Well-being encompasses happiness, but also meaningful relationships with others, progress toward a purpose greater than one’s self, engagement in work, and continuous improvement.

See Self Determination, Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose


Edited:    |       |    Search Twitter for discussion