PERMA is a common theory of well-being that categorizes what makes life worth living into 5 building blocks: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments. Use this PERMA to-do list to help yourself be more intentional about connecting your daily tasks to what will boost your well-being and improve your performance. If you can’t find a way to connect a task to one or more of the ingredients of PERMA, then think about whether to remove it from your list.
Here are more resources to build each of the PERMA domains.
P: Use HPRC’s daily Gratitude Calendar to boost your diet of positive emotions.
E: Identify your signature strengths and then use HPRC’s Signature Strength worksheet to learn how to focus them to accomplish your goals and increase engagement.
R: Build strong relationships by using Active Constructive Responding when others share good news and avoiding relationship-damaging behaviors.
M: Live a more meaningful life by reflecting on your values and crafting a values-based life.
A: Set yourself up for success to meet your goals by developing new habits, increasing your self-regulation, building motivation with the WOOP method (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan), and setting SMART goals.
Published on: April 27, 2021
Bryan, C. J., Elder, W. B., McNaughton-Cassill, M., Osman, A., Hernandez, A. M., & Allison, S. (2013). Meaning in life, emotional distress, suicidal ideation, and life functioning in an active duty military sample. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(5), 444–452. doi:10.1080/17439760.2013.823557
Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1–48. doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i3.526
Krauss, S. W., Russell, D. W., Kazman, J. B., Russell, C. A., Schuler, E. R., & Deuster, P. A. (2019). Longitudinal effects of deployment, recency of return, and hardiness on mental health symptoms in U.S. Army combat medics. Traumatology, 25(3), 216–224. doi:10.1037/trm0000173
Seligman, M. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333–335. doi:10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466
Sonethavilay, H., Maury, R. V., Hurwitz, J. L., Uveges, R. L., Akin, J. L., Coster, J. L. D., & Strong, J. D. (2018). 2018 Blue Star Families Military Family Lifestyle Survey. Retrieved March 16, 2021 from https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2018MFLS-ComprehensiveReport-DIGITAL-FINAL.pdf