Assignment 3: The How and Why of Well-Being

According to Martin Seligman (2005), there are three basic positive psychology pillars. These are the following:

• The pleasant life
• The good life
• The meaningful life

Seligman purports that experiencing these three pillars creates what is called "the full-life." This assignment focuses on the first pillar: the pleasant life.
The pleasant life encompasses subjective well-being and happiness along with encouraging encounters with positive affect and experiences. The good life includes identifying signature strengths to facilitate flow. The meaningful life includes participating in activities for the good of society.
For this assignment, you will focus on the pleasant life. Do the following:

• Design an ideal day for yourself. Include positive emotions and experiences that facilitate positive emotions.
• Live your ideal day.
• Summarize your experiences in a paper.

Address the following points in your paper:

• What was your general emotional state during the day?
• What helped to create this emotional state?
• Was there anything that minimized or countered your positive emotional affect? If yes, then what could have been done differently to change this experience?
• According to the positive psychology model, why is this activity important?