The scientific study into what allows people to live a life full of hope, purpose, meaning, and happiness, Positive Psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology that focuses on well-being. It’s built on the idea that humans don’t just have to survive: we can thrive. Instead of just existing, and trying to find our way through our struggles, we can use this knowledge to flourish. By building one's self-esteem, confidence, and sense of self-worth; mental strength and resilience; and appreciation and self-awareness, Positive Psychology helps us learn about our personal strengths and characteristics, and celebrate what makes us unique. It uses tools that help us go beyond healing our pains and working through our issues ー although that is undeniably important too ー to move towards creating a happier and more positive existence. But what does it mean, to be happy? It's celebrating positive experiences, and curating the optimism to welcome more of them into our lives. It's practicing gratitude and compassion ー including self-compassion. It's not about trivializing our struggles, but rather, using effective methods to focus on our strengths as much as our weaknesses, to achieve greater individual and societal joy, and a better quality of life.
Self-reflection is a powerful practice that can help us better understand ourselves in many ways – from our values and purposes to our relationships and careers. Read on to learn about how it can help you recalibrate your life towards your goals, figure out what you truly want out of your life, and discover ways to make intentional decisions that can pave your way to success.
Manifestation is often referred to as the process of making your dreams and goals a reality. It's based on a principle that you will attract into your life whatever you focus on. This concept maintains that if you focus on positive things, you will attract more positivity into your life. But the flip side is just as true: Negativity attracts the unfavorable.
So you’ve decided you’d like to live a more hopeful life. But how do you get there? There are certain skills you can develop to curate more Positive Psychology in your life. You can work on building more self-confidence, self-respect, self-discipline, and self-esteem. You can practice gratitude: Have you thought about what you’re thankful for today? What are your dreams, how will you measure your own definition of success, and which of your unique strengths can help you get there? What's been stopping you, and how will achieving these goals help you live a life that is more authentic, purpose-driven, and meaningful? Here's another question: what would life be like if you felt your best? Acknowledging what's already good in your life right now is a great place to start. Knowing and understanding yourself better ー including the best parts of yourself ー can improve your relationships with others, as well as the one you have with yourself. It's not about aiming for a life with zero negativity and 100% positivity, but rather, understanding that our thoughts, feelings, and experiences (even the less-happy ones) can be used as opportunities for growth, correlated with more success, better health, and more joy.
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