WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FLOURISH?

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Working as a coach is a lifelong journey of exploration and discovery of new ways of looking at what it takes for the human organism to thrive, and in the words of Martin Seligman, to flourish. Positive psychologist Dr. Lynn Soots describes flourishing as the following:

“Flourishing is the product of the pursuit and engagement of an authentic life that brings inner joy and happiness through meeting goals, being connected with life passions, and relishing in accomplishments through the peaks and valleys of life.”

The PERMA model first proposed by Martin Seligman sought to explain what contributes to a sense of flourishing. The five factors in this model are:

  • Positive emotions
  • Engagement
  • Relationships
  • Meaning (and Purpose)
  • Accomplishments

As a coach I work on all five of these dimensions with my clients.

I have a particular interest in the dimension ‘engagement’, which is closely related to the concept (and phenomena) of ‘Flow’ on which I run regular workshops.

In my experience, without experiencing flow, we cannot flourish. Although we can experience high levels of flow but not be flourishing. This may sound contradictory but let me explain by example. Accessing flow states can occur in any dimension of my life, such as:

  • In my 121 work as a coach, where I am fully absorbed and rapt in the world of my client, seeing from their view of the world, present to my own intuition, dancing in the moment, creating space for insight.
  • In my writing and creativity, which usually peaks in the 6-9am window of time, where I mono task and absorb myself in ‘deep work’, where time flies and the words and ideas seem to flow through me.
  • In my hobbies such as gravel biking, golf and running, where I stretch myself and ‘enter’ the zone, in particularly where I am at my skills / change goldilocks sweet spot (just out of my comfort zone).
  • In my public speaking and facilitation where I am working with what the audience bring to the room through question and challenge, trusting my abilities and capacity to work with what emerges to facilitate learning and insight.

All of the above examples help foster positive impact on the other dimensions of PERMA, reflecting the intertwined nature of such a psychological model.

The contradiction? Well, I could spend half my life up a mountain, experiencing high levels and prolonged periods of flow in an extreme sport hobby, but neglect the other dimensions of my life, thus may well not be flourishing.