I was going through my old Facebook posts, and I came across this one that I posted last year.
Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?
– Bob Marley –
And I got to thinking… am I?
In general, life for me is good. I have a wonderful husband, equally wonderful kids, my mother is going strong at 79, I have a job career I love, there’s food on the table, a roof over our heads, we have sound investments, and we’re steadily building our retirement fund.
So my answer to Bob Marley’s question is… yes, I am.
But do you know that life satisfaction can actually be measured?
According to Positive Psychology, life satisfaction has 7 contributors.
- collective action
- individual behavior
- simple sensory experiences
- higher cognition
- stable characteristics of the individual
- the environment
- chance factors
It further says that life satisfaction is different from happiness. as happiness is an immediate, in-the-moment experience, while life satisfaction is happiness that exists when we think about our life.
Like I may be happy today because I was able to complete my tasks ahead of schedule (in-the-moment), but my feeling of satisfaction is from the knowledge that my husband and I have steady jobs and we are able to provide for our kids (feeling towards life long term).
From the same article at Positive Psychology, the PERMA Model was mentioned, introduced by Martine Seligman, the founder of positive psychology.
PERMA stands for
- Positive Emotion
- Engagement
- Relationships
- Meaning
- Accomplishments
You can read more about the PERMA Model here.
So let’s see…
Positive emotion. Check.
I always try to see the positive even the most difficult times. Like when we were burglarized. Or when Glenda hit us. Or the one that we’re still going through right now. I’d rather focus on the lessons and the blessings, although they are pretty much well in disguise.
Engagement. Check.
Aside from my work, I have made sure that I have a hobby for my personal happiness. I do crafts, I crochet, I sing, I even dance sometimes. These activities allow me to do a reset, thus helping me be fresh for work afterward.
Relationships. Check.
I’m married to my best friend, and we have kids that we love to the next galaxy and back. They are my support system. Without them, I would not feel, nor have the desire to focus on, positive emotion.
Meaning. Check.
Life for me is my family. Everything that I do are anchored on my big why.
Accomplishments. Check.
When I think about accomplishments, I think more about my relationship with others (have I lightened up someone else’s load?), my relationship with myself (do I forgive myself for past mistakes?), and my relationship with the world (do I bring my own shopping bag to help save trees?), rather than counting all the investments we’ve made and clients I’ve gained. Although the latter definitely contribute to the reason I sleep well at night.
Yup! I’m satisfied.
Please leave a comment below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
Marge, also known as The Happy WAHM, is a virtual assistant who turned her passion for entrepreneurship into a worthy endeavor of offering complete business solutions to CEOs and business owners around the world. She turned her back on a thriving corporate career to become a hands-on mom and created a lifestyle that allowed her to build a homebased career, homeschool her children, and still have time to pursue her passion for arts and crafting.
She only posts her content on her website, TheHappyWAHM.com. If you see this content on someone else’s site then it is NOT by any means authorized.
