Strength of will? Faith in victory? Clear planning? All this sounds good, but in fact, the success of an undertaking, whatever it may be, depends on the five elements of well-being. What are they?
Traveling along the route of the Pacific Ridge, which is more than 4 kilometers long, is an ambitious goal. And very difficult. The participants of the trip shared their experience and talked about what they had learned from the path they had traveled. None of them called willpower the key to success. But everyone said that the path to the goal made them feel alive.
Psychologist Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania believes that five elements of well-being are needed to achieve such a state. The more actively they meet on the way to the goal, the higher the probability that you will not go astray from it. This principle works for any goal: write a novel, learn a new profession, or just play sports more often.
1. Positive emotions
This includes a wide range of emotions, from pleasure and comfort to enthusiasm and awe. One of the participants of the campaign described the bliss from unity with nature: “The singing of birds, clean air, the wind walking in the crowns of trees, the sun kissing your face at sunset, sleeping under a blanket of a million stars.”
This is what helped him in the most difficult moment. He was exhausted, his body ached, he wanted to quit everything. And then he found a great place to pitch a tent: “While I was watching the sunset, the pain in my knee, anger and fear evaporated. A smile lit up my face. Everything is fine again.”
If we experience positive emotions during stress, it helps to restore the resources that are depleted by it. Positive emotions also stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving skills. They expand the scope of attention, inspire new actions. If the path to the goal involves positive emotions, you are more likely to reach the end.
When in doubt about whether to return to an unfinished novel that is gathering dust in a drawer, think about emotions. Does this activity bring you joy or satisfaction?
2. Engagement
Engagement is a state of flow, when a person is completely absorbed in an activity and time flies unnoticed for him. One of the hikers describes this in an online diary: “We put everything we had into the hike. My state was like transcendental meditation. Thoughts were woven together like ribbons. Legs made a rhythmic crunch. And on top of it all, my breath. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…”
The state of flow helps because it allows you to focus for a long period of time. It also helps in achieving complex goals that require long hard work. Let’s say you want to learn how to play baseball. If you get into flow while playing, you will continue to practice even if that particular game isn’t fun.
You need to approach your goals in a way that maximizes the likelihood of falling into a state of flow. Most often, it occurs when the complexity of the task before you corresponds to the skills. If you’ve just started running, don’t sprint cross country. Wait until you become a more experienced runner.
3. Relationships
One of the participants of the campaign at the beginning of the journey met a woman, and after 700 kilometers they got married. The union forced the man to go further than he planned: “I didn’t even know how important support is. She helped me a lot to move forward.”
In 2008, psychologist Simone Schnall studied the role of social support in coping. The study showed that the presence of a friend or the thought of a significant other skewed the perception of the participants in the experiment: a steep slope did not seem so steep to them. Consider how you can strengthen your connection with others as you pursue your goal. If you want to lose weight, join a support group or find a friend who will eat right with you.
4. Meaning
Meaning involves service to something greater. One of the participants in the campaign considered the path as a “magistracy”. She went camping to get better at her job as the director of a nonprofit science camp.
After 300 kilometers, it seemed to the participant that she had had enough. Then she told herself that the rest of the journey was final exams: “We don’t drop out of school just because it’s hard to pass exams.” She thought about her bigger goal, helping the youth who attend the camp. This helped her get through.
Meaning is a powerful psychological motivator. A sense of meaning helps to perceive obstacles as less difficult and surmountable. So consider whether your goal has a higher meaning. If you want to start your own business, do you believe that the product will benefit people?
It is useful to reflect on how to give meaning to the goal. Maybe you will send part of the proceeds to charity?
5. Achievements
According to the participants, the feeling of achievement went off scale during the campaign: “We go to bed 80 kilometers from the place where we woke up in the morning. We came here on foot. It is impossible not to feel the power and power over life.
This sense of accomplishment, success, and mastery stems from intrinsic motivation. People with developed intrinsic motivation, who pursue a goal for its own sake, demonstrate great perseverance and perseverance. If the goal affects your interests or true personal values, you are more likely to achieve it.
Think about what motivation drives you to the goal: internal or external. Do you want to learn Spanish because you enjoy the beauty of its sound? Or are you looking for a raise in your salary for speaking a foreign language?