As a reminder, my first project with Fig & Birch, was outlining a pathway to Flourish. This post is the last piece. As we wrap up the focus on Seligman's pathway to well being, I want to do a quick review of the PERMA model:
M=MEANING
The final component to well being is accomplishment. Striving to make ourselves better in some way. Mastering a skill...Achieving a goal...And, taking the time to acknowledge what we have achieved. This can contribute to our ability to flourish. Not in a blinding ambition sort of way, but in an I accomplished something that mattered to me sort of way. The steps to accomplishment can be broken down:
1. Ask yourself "What if?" Identify a meaningful dream for yourself. Conjure a vision, one that energizes you and you know you can stick with.
2. Crystalize your dream into a specific set of goals.
3. Identify the first small step to achieve the first goal. Take the first step and follow-through, even if pieces of it are tedious or hard for you.
4. Lather, rinse, repeat…As you achieve each small step you identify for yourself, you will feel better and stronger and will then be fueled by your own success. You will build on this new foundation and step-by-step make your vision a reality.
5. Allow yourself to take your success in. Feel pride in your accomplishment. Feel gratitude for those who helped make it so.
I have, for many years, had the dream of writing a book. But I felt (and sometimes still feel) quite shy about it. In order to actualize this dream, I decided to start with the goal of building a blog that more than 3 people who aren't related to me read. The fact that I have launched Fig & Birch, that slowly but surely I am building a base of readers, and that additional collaborative writing opportunities are growing from this project feels like a huge accomplishment.
I must pause to express gratitude for my sister, Elizabeth Messina, who helped me create my vision, generously allows me to use her images and is personally responsible for almost all of the exposure I have gotten; my partner who consistently believes in me; my sweet mom who takes the time to proof read all of my posts before they go live; and you for taking the time to read this vulnerable creation of mine.
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM? WHAT WILL GIVE YOU A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR ABILITY TO FLOURISH?
