Tune in to positive emotions!
The first part of the positive psychology PERMA model is positive emotion. Put simply, this is about finding ways to identify positive emotions, create more of them in your life and train your brain to see and experience them more often.
The ten key positive emotions studied by researchers are: love, joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration and awe.
Focus on gratitude
One of the most positive emotions we can feel is gratitude. Our brains have naturally evolved to scan for threats, which is why it’s so easy to let fear and negativity take over – especially when times are tough. By cultivating a regular gratitude practice, we train our brains to notice the positives in our lives. This has a flow on effect, as feeling grateful fills us with other positive emotions.
The ‘three good things’ exercise
Positive psychologists recommend setting aside time each night before bed to write down three things that went well that day, along with a short explanation of why they went well. It’s important to do the second part, because when you start thinking more about why things are going well, you can start doing more similar things. Then gratitude and positive emotion multiplies!
Ready to get started?
If you’re interested in learning more about how positive psychology can engage your kids and improve your life, there are some simple steps you can take:
- The whole family can build the skill of gratitude by sharing three things you’re grateful for, either at dinner time or just before bed. Discuss why you’re grateful and how you can experience positive emotions more often.
- Help your kids find their strengths by downloading our It Starts with Strengths Mini Activity Book.
- Sign up for our freebies and emails, which include more free activities you can do with your kids.
Stay tuned for the next blog post, where we’ll take a look at the second building block of wellbeing, engagement!