Posted: Sunday, April 27, 2014 12:00 am
CapitalGazette.com
Would you like to create a successful and satisfying life? You can learn to flourish by applying six positive psychology principles which are easily remembered by the acronym PROPEL: passion, relationships, optimism, proactivity, energy and legacy. For the first time a course is being offered that provides people in our community the opportunity to apply and experience first-hand the “science of optimal functioning.”
The PROPEL principles have already been taught to more than a thousand staff members at one of the world’s best hospitals. For the past 10 years the employees have participated in research to determine the effectiveness of using these six positive psychology principles. The results have been remarkable.
For example, a woman who was nearing age 60 told her coworkers that she’d never been happy her entire life until she started living by the PROPEL principles. She’d grown up with parents who were very unhappy people and she thought that she’d just inherited her propensity for feeling bad. After learning how to incorporate positive psychology into her life, she shared that she now enjoys a sustained sense of wellbeing.
A nurse who learned to use PROPEL raved about how much better her relationships at home had become: “the romance returned with my husband and my teenage daughter actually began to talk to me again!”
Just as gratifying are the stories that people have shared about how their professional lives improved after they learned to apply these six positive psychology principles. A new manager took the reins on a neurology unit and in her first two years was able to use the PROPEL principles with her staff to reduce patient falls from 75 to 85 per year to under 10 for all of last year. A manager in radiology was able to get children the MRI’s they need to diagnose problems in 12 days rather than families having to wait an excruciating 15 weeks.
A six-session course for a small group of individuals will offer 90-minute meetings designed to give participants the opportunity to talk about how to apply each principle to their own situation. Here’s an outline of what each person will learn:
Session 1: Passion
- Tapping into one’s deeply held values to generate passionate energy for achieving authentic happiness.
- Creating a “what will it look like” vision in order to focus each person’s brain on their specific goals.
- Learning to sustain the passionate mindset that enables growth.
Session 2: Relationships
- Discovering how to experience at least six positive interactions for every negative encounter in relationships.
- Developing strong connections to people in personal networks and work groups in order to generate abundant support.
- Learning how to foster positive emotions and collaboration even when others are advocating for themselves or being extraordinarily negative.
Session 3: Optimism
- Determining how to prevent negative events from keeping people down for long by finding ways to change the situation.
- Celebrating positive events as the best method for making many more good things happen.
- Overcoming feelings of frustration about a problem by learning to think more resiliently in order to uncover solutions.
Session 4: Proactivity
- Learning about the unique set of “strengths” individuals can use to be at their best in order to successfully overcome a challenge.
- Applying one’s best personal qualities needed to create a satisfying life.
- Discerning the capabilities that others possess that can empower people to work together to achieve happiness.
Session 5: Energy
- Developing strategies for keeping one’s body healthy, mind sharp, emotions positive and spirits high.
- Creating regular routines for recharging energy in order to wake up feeling rejuvenated almost every morning.
- Thinking about how to help loved ones to able to actively engage in taking good care of themselves.
Session 6: Legacy
- Making a meaningful difference in the world to attain a deeply rooted feeling of purpose and life satisfaction.
- Figuring out what to do each day to make someone else’s life a little better.
- Expressing gratitude to the people who helped in each person’s life: mentors, coaches, caregivers and teachers.
The six-week PROPEL principles program will be conducted by Sue Knight, LCSW-C and certified PROPEL coach. It will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, beginning May 5. The cost for all six sessions, which includes the PROPEL e-book and personal PROPEL workbook, is $295.
To contact Sue for more information or to reserve a spot in this small group learning experience, email her at snite@msn.com.
Dr. Tom Muha is a psychologist practicing in Annapolis. Previous articles can be found at www.achievinghappiness.com. To contact him, call 443-454-7274 or email drtom@achievinghappiness.com.
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Sunday, April 27, 2014 12:00 am.