The Covid – 19 pandemic had a significant effect on individual well-being. Post pandemic scores in the World Happiness Report, 2021, reported on a significant increase in individuals suffering from negative emotions.
We are not in the business of letting people remain unhappy so here at Portier Coaching we’ve been looking for a way to help you claw your way out of the doldrums from the comfort of your own home!
Although visiting the fridge for yet another slice of cheese was a ‘go to’ lockdown happiness boosting solution for many, we’ve tried to dig for a less obvious (and unfortunately less tasty) solution and we reckon we have a found a ‘good un’, …
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY INTERVENTIONS … these are the bomb!
There is much research showing that happiness can be improved using a variety of strategies. Examples include communicating with others, noticing your own sensory awareness, changing your thinking patterns, and practising gratitude. Positive psychologists combine these evidenced based elements to produce an activity that you can have fun completing – this is a Positive Psychology Intervention (or PPI if our fingers have gotten a little weary of typing).
What’s even better is that they have been scientifically measured and results prove that they can have a long-lasting, and needed, effect on your happiness!
Forever our helpful selves, and to get you started in the quickest possible time, we have had fun testing them for you and in our opinion here are three of the best …
Meaningful Photos (Steger et al, 2014)
A brilliantly impactful and fun PPI that may also gain you some new skills in photography.
What to do?
Grab a camera (or your phone for convenience) and snap 9 - 12 photos of things that ‘make your life meaningful.’ After you’ve taken them, reflect on what they mean to you. Share the photos and your thoughts on why they are meaningful to you with someone else.
What was the impact it had?
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? It definitely is, and we had a lot of fun taking our photos. We were so surprised at our response when sharing our ‘meaningful’ photos with family – there were tears. This intervention made us have a deep think about life, and we were very grateful for it.
Gratitude Visit (Seligman et al, 2005)
An enjoyable, yet challenging activity that will leave you and the recipient with deep feelings.
What to do?
Write a letter of gratitude to someone who you never properly thanked after they had been especially kind to you. Deliver this in person.
What was the impact it had?
This is an extremely powerful PPI. You may need to complete the visit armed with a box of tissues, as in our experience, this was an emotional rollercoaster (or more a log flume) that ended with a splash of deep gratitude. The recipient LOVED it!
Acts of Kindness (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005)
Ok, so you may have to leave your house a little for the full benefit of this one, but it is altruism at its finest. This PPI gives a great dose of dopamine through kindness.
What to do?
Perform five acts of kindness a week for six weeks. This should be an act that benefits other people or makes people happy.
What was the impact it had?
We utterly loved this! We let our playfulness run wide as we planned various kind acts that sparked joy for people we loved, and we even pleased people that we didn’t know. Watching the happiness on the faces of people was amazing – definitely one to try.
Can Positive Psychology Interventions be used in the workplace?
Have no fear, these PPIs (otherwise known as happiness bombs) work equally well at work. In fact, they lend themselves to being used by in-house well-being teams as joyful activities for employees to take part in – if you are not sure how, Portier Coaching can help you with that.
Promoting pleasure in the working day can hugely benefit your business and your employees.
The welfare of employees is a major concern for businesses nowadays and developing a work-based culture, that will maintain employee happiness, is paramount. If you are interested in hearing more about PPIs, and how we can embed them into a workshop that develops your culture and meets the needs of your business, then contact portiersolutions@gmail.com for more information. (Please be aware you may well be showered in positivity during your phone call.)
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References
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of general psychology, 9(2), 111-131.
Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American psychologist, 60(5), 410
Steger, M. F., Shim, Y., Barenz, J., & Shin, J. Y. (2014). Through the windows of the soul: A pilot study using photography to enhance meaning in life. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 3(1), 27-30.
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