Flourishing Activities in Physical Health

A major component of physical health is safety. That is, you need to do what it takes to stay safe, mostly from disease. You do so by maintaining a healthy lifestyle through physical exercise and a well-balanced diet. Get a physical exam annually, along with other routine medical exams. If symptoms of illness develop, consult a medical professional promptly and comply with the physician's orders. This is the least you can do. These are maintenance activities designed to keep you healthy. In contrast, you can do much more to flourish in relation to physical health. I will discuss three key flourishing strategies related to physical health: (1) regular physical exercise, (2) competitive sports activities, and (3) food and nutrition.

Regular Physical Exercise

There are several research programs on physical exercise that produce flourishing experiences, such as self-expressiveness, harmonious passion, and purpose and meaning.

Self-Expressiveness in Physical Exercise

To begin this discussion, let’s define the concept of self-expressiveness. In engaging in an activity, some people report the following experiences: (a) an unusually intense involvement in the activity, (b) a feeling of being complete or fulfilled while engaged in the activity, and (c) a perception that this is what they were meant to do. When experiences with an activity are referred to as personally expressive, or self-expressive.

A key to understanding the concept of self-expressiveness is grounded in Maslow’s ideas of growth motivation, specifically the need for self-actualization — ongoing actualization of potentials, capacities, and talents. Self-actualization could be viewed as fulfillment of a mission call, fate, destiny, or vocation. The self-actualization motive drives the person to accept one’s own intrinsic nature. As such, when quality-of-life researchers use the concept of self-expressiveness in relation to physical exercise, they refer to the self-actualization feelings people experience when they engage in physical exercise.

An example of a self-expressive physical exercise is a daily run around the neighborhood. This type of exercise makes some people feel like they are realizing their fitness potential. They do it with pleasure and no hesitation. Such an exercise becomes ingrained as part of who they are (actual self-concept) and who they like to become (ideal self-concept). As such, engaging in daily exercise helps the person express and validate who they are. Also, engaging in the activity helps them approach their ideal image of themselves.

To illustrate, let’s consider the following study conducted by my colleagues and me on physical exercise. Our study examined how self-expressiveness related to physical exercise influenced various well-being outcomes (i.e., healthy eating, BMI, satisfaction with health, and subjective well-being). The study involved a survey of college students at universities in three countries: the US, France, and South Korea. Example of survey items for self-expressiveness included: “This physical activity gives me the greatest feeling of really being alive”; “When I engage in this physical activity, I feel more intensely involved than I do when engaged in most other activities”; and “This physical activity gives me the strongest feeling that I am who I really am.” The items for well-being outcomes included: “When I engage in this physical activity, I feel more satisfied than I do when I engage in most other activities”; and “This physical activity gives me my strongest sense of enjoyment.” The study findings indicated that self-expressiveness associated with routine, frequent physical exercise tends to produce satisfaction with health and increase subjective well-being. Additionally, engaging in self-expressive physical exercise is likely to strongly influence healthy eating habits. Healthy eating is linked to lower body mass index and better perceived health.

So, what advice do we take from the research on the self-expressiveness principle of physical exercise? Simple: engage in the type of exercise that expresses your actual self (the image you have of your true self) and your ideal self (the image of yourself of who you would like to be).

Harmonious Passion in Physical Exercise

Let’s talk about passion in physical exercise. Passion is commonly defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, find important, and invest time and energy in. Quality-of-life researchers distinguish between two types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. Harmonious passion reflects an autonomous internalization of an activity into the person’s identity. In other words, those experiencing harmonious passion for physical exercise are in control of how and when they engage in it. In contrast, those who are driven by obsessive passion have an internal compulsion to engage in physical exercise even when it is not appropriate (such as neglecting work or family). In other words, physical exercise goes beyond the person’s self-control.

Research has shown that harmonious passion is associated with positive outcomes such as vitality, life satisfaction, and positive emotions. Conversely, obsessive passion can lead to life conflict and ill-health. Consider the following study, which demonstrated that harmonious passion leads to flourishing outcomes. Harmonious passion was operationalized as fostering an environment that nurtures intrinsic needs such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Kinesiology students were recruited for this study. They complete survey measures of passion for physical exercise and psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The study results indicate that harmonious passion was positively related to satisfaction with the needs for competence and relatedness, while obsessive passion was negatively related to satisfaction with the need for competence. These findings indicate that those who are harmoniously passionate about physical exercise can experience flourishing outcomes.

So, what advice do we take from the harmonious passion principle of physical exercise? The advice is to engage in physical exercise to enhance your competence in mastering its mechanics. To engage regularly in physical exercise and to do this autonomously. That is, don’t do it because people expect you to do this. Do it because this is what you want to do. Also, engage in regular physical exercise with others, especially with friends and/or family members, people you like and love. Doing so should make the exercise more sustainable.

Purpose and Meaning in Physical Exercise

The other day I ran across a news bulletin while I was watching the evening CBS News. The news segment involved this woman, who engages in a daily physical exercise routine: walking several miles around her neighborhood. At one point, she was significantly overweight. The reporter who interviewed her showed a woman in her sixties who looked to be in good physical shape. The reporter asked her how she sustains her daily walking routine. The camera then focused on what she does on her daily walking tour: she picks up trash. She says that picking up trash gives her daily physical exercise purpose and meaning. She feels like she is doing something good for the neighborhood: keeping the neighborhood litter-free.

The idea of injecting purpose and meaning in physical exercise is supported by research. That is, much research has supported the notion that daily physical exercise among the elderly can be sustained by linking the exercise routine to feelings of purpose and of being needed by others. Thus, habitual physical exercise helps build self-esteem, which in turn contributes to a fulfilling older age.

So, what advice do we take from the purpose and meaning principle of physical exercise? The advice is to link the physical exercise routine to a social goal—doing something that helps others, such as collecting litter in one’s neighborhood. That is, volunteer to help others and link this mission with routine physical activity.

Competitive Sports Activities

There are several research programs examining how engaging in sports activities can promote eudaimonic well-being, including intrinsic motivation and flow.

Intrinsic Motivation in Sports Activities

Consider the following measure, the Sport Motivation Scale. The survey starts out with the following statement: “Using the scale below, please indicate to what extent each of the following items corresponds to one of the reasons for which you are presently practicing your sport.” Examples of survey items include:

• “For the pleasure I feel in living exciting experiences”.
• “For the pleasure it gives me to know more about the sport that I practice”.
• “For the pleasure of discovering new training techniques.”
• “Because I feel a lot of personal satisfaction while mastering certain difficult training techniques.”
• “Because it is one of the best ways I have chosen to develop other aspects of myself.”
• “For the satisfaction I experience while I am perfecting my abilities.”
• “Because it is a good way to learn lots of things which could be useful to me in other areas of my life.”
• “For the intense emotions that I feel while I am doing a sport that I like.”
• “For the pleasure that I feel while executing certain difficult movements.”
• “For the pleasure that I feel while learning training techniques that I have never tried before.”
• “Because I like the feeling of being totally immersed in the activity.”

These survey items are designed to capture intrinsic motivation in relation to engaging in sports activities. Intrinsic motivation in sports refers to engaging in a sport activity purely for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from doing it. When a person is intrinsically motivated, he or she will perform the behavior voluntarily, in the absence of material rewards. People who practice a sport because they find it interesting and satisfying to learn more about the sport are considered intrinsically motivated. Intrinsically motivated people also practice their sport for the pleasure of constantly trying to surpass themselves. Social psychologists and quality-of-life researchers discuss intrinsic motivation in terms of the needs for competence and self-determination. Researchers have shown that there are three types of intrinsic motivation related to sport activities: (1) need to know, (2) need to accomplish, and (3) need to experience stimulation.

The need to know involves exploration, curiosity, and learning. People who engage in a sport activity motivated by the need to know tend to perform it for the pleasure and satisfaction they may experience while learning, exploring, or trying to understand its mechanics. For instance, athletes are intrinsically motivated to discover new training techniques for the sheer pleasure of learning and mastering the activity.

The need to accomplish focuses on mastery motivation, efficacy motivation, and task-orientation. As such, intrinsic motivation toward accomplishments can be defined as engaging in an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from attempting to accomplish or create something. Here, the person tries to master certain difficult sport-training techniques to experience personal satisfaction.

The need to experience stimulation involves the desire to engage in the sport because the activity generates stimulating sensations (e.g., sensory pleasure, aesthetic experiences, and fun and excitement). Athletes who participate in their sport have exciting experiences and are intrinsically motivated to experience stimulation.

The advice from the intrinsic motivation principle is to engage in a sport by focusing on learning new ways to participate, setting specific goals, and savoring the stimulating experience.

Flow in Competitive Sports Activities

Make it an enjoyable sport by joining a local intermural team and integrating it into your lifestyle. Participate in the sport not only to stay fit, but also because it can produce flow. Flow refers to the feeling of total absorption in a sport-related activity in which one loses sense of space and time.

Activities, especially sport-related, that produce a sense of flow can generate higher levels of subjective well-being than sports that do not produce flow-like experiences. Much research in social psychology and well-being shows a link between sports-related activities and subjective well-being. The flow principle explains how certain kinds of challenging sports-related activities, such as competitive sports, contribute to subjective well-being much more than noncompetitive forms of sports activities (e.g., noncompetitive running. Flow refers to the feeling of total absorption in an activity in which one loses sense of space and time.

Anyone who has played competitive sports can attest to the flow experience of playing against a player of comparable skill. The competition is intense, and the victory is particularly sweet. Playing against a player (team) unmatched in skill can produce feelings of boredom (when the opposition’s skill level falls significantly below the party in question) and anxiety (when the opposition’s skill level is significantly higher).

Another explanation involves predictive expectations. When a player faces a competitor who is much more skilled than he is, he is likely to feel quite anxious, but if he beats the competitor, he is likely to feel much happier than if the competitor had a comparable skill level. This is because such a situation may lead the person to form predictive expectations based on his own skill level and that of his competitor. When the competitor is perceived as more skilled, the person predicts they will lose. Winning in light of a loss prediction generates intense positive affect.

Hence, the advice stemming from the flow principle of skillful winning is to engage in sports activities with competitors matching your skill level, period.

Food and Nutrition

To meet survival or basic needs, we need to attend to the quantity and quality of the food we eat. With respect to quantity, we should eat in moderation. That is, we should not overeat, and neither should we undereat. We should not overeat just because the food is tasty. We should not overeat simply because we don’t want to waste food on our plates or simply because the food is easily accessible. We should stop eating because we feel satiated. We should not undereat because we’re afraid of gaining weight. The fear of gaining weight is pronounced in Western society, especially among women.

With respect to quality, we should eat a balanced diet. A balanced diet provides the body with the nutrients it needs: carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Nutrients must be consumed in proper proportions to maintain health and energy and prevent disease. A balanced diet means filling half the plate with fruits and vegetables, one-quarter with lean protein, and one-quarter with whole grains.

Hence, eating the right amount and quality of food is important for meeting basic needs. But what about growth needs? We need to eat and drink in ways to meet our growth needs, too. Doing so should help us experience eudaimonic well-being. For example, we can take up cooking. Look up delicious and nutritious recipes and start cooking—or learn to cook. Share your healthy meals with others. Make every meal a social occasion. Go to restaurants that offer healthy, nutritious food and beverages. Make these outings social and fun. Let’s discuss these flourishing ideas in some detail.

Consider the following study that compared the lifestyle habits, including diet, of two population groups: Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean. The study found that habits characteristic of Mediterranean people (e.g., eating a healthy, balanced, nutrient-rich diet and socializing with friends and family at meals) are linked to higher levels of subjective well-being. The Mediterranean culture places a high value on the combination of food quality, dining experience, and meaningful social connections.

I’ll discuss two programs of research that shed light on how food and nutrition contribute to eudaimonia: (1) eudaimonic eating, and (2) PERMA in relation to cooking.

Eudaimonic Eating

Eudaimonic eating is the balance between the quality and quantity of food consumption that supports health, pleasure, and human potential, and is consumed in a pleasant environment. The food consumption experience induces positive affect, reflects the individual’s personal values, and is guided by virtue. Briefly, eudaimonic eating is eating for optimal pleasure and health through virtue.

A popular model of eudaimonic eating includes immersion, sharing, and sensory process. Immersion refers to an intense focus, akin to a state of flow, in which an individual is deeply engaged in preparing a meal. Sharing involves the social benefit of being together with other people over a meal. The stronger the connection between the individuals, the greater the social benefit and contribution to well-being. The sensory process involves the interplay between procuring, preparing, and eating food and our senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. The highly sensory nature surrounding food can also elicit strong emotions and trigger memories. This model can be better understood using the three psychological needs that contribute to well-being: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Competence with regard to food well-being may be expressed as creativity in cooking and expressing one’s identity and individuality in the kitchen. The psychological need for autonomy may be expressed as choosing the best diet consistent with an individual’s values and preferences. The need for relatedness manifests in social bonds strengthened through shared meals. In sum, the model reflects meaningful self-fulfillment and growth through food preparation and consumption.

So, what advice can we extrapolate from the eudaimonic eating principle? To enhance your flourishing experience with food and nutrition, you should immerse yourself in meal preparation. You should share the experience of meal preparation, as well as eating and drinking, with others, especially your loved ones. And finally, you should savor this experience, especially the eating and drinking, with all your senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

PERMA in Relation to Cooking

Another model of eudaimonic eating is based on the popular PERMA model of well-being. PERMA stands for Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. Utilizing the PERMA model, we can illustrate the various ways cooking can promote well-being.

The first dimension of the model, positive emotion, is likely to be expressed through love, gratitude, and contentment. Increasing positive emotions around meal preparation may include expressing gratitude for fresh ingredients and effective cooking equipment, or perhaps perceiving cooking for someone as an act of love and generosity. Positive emotion can increase when engaging in creativity in the kitchen, by preparing new and interesting dishes and challenging what often become cooking habits. This is especially true when the dish turns out well.

The second dimension in the PERMA model is engagement. Here we see how relationships are enhanced through the act of cooking. This may be a social event with family, friends, or business associates, or perhaps a gift or an expression of love for another. Sharing a meal is a highly social and culturally prominent activity. Few activities, apart from cooking, are as closely tied to survival as they are to cultural, social, psychological, and emotional dimensions.

The third dimension of the PERMA model is about relationships. The shared experience of cooking allows people to strengthen social bonds and enhance their relationships with others who are also cooking.

Meaning is the fourth dimension of the PERMA model. Meaning is derived from the roles and responsibilities people assume in caring for others through cooking. The act of caring adds meaning to one’s life. In other words, nurturing others can give life a tremendous sense of meaning.

The final dimension in the PERMA model is achievement. This is highly related to cooking as a skill-based endeavor. Gaining a sense of achievement from a well-cooked meal, trying new cuisines, or integrating healthier ingredients into a diet can enhance one’s well-being and quality of life.

So, what advice can we extrapolate from the PERMA principle of cooking? To enhance your flourishing experience with food and nutrition, engage yourself in cooking. Prepare meals for others and with others' help. Make it a social event, not only for entertainment and pleasure but also to strengthen community bonds, especially with significant others. Recognizing how cooking, not only for yourself but also for others, adds meaning to your life. Such an act expresses nurturing and caring for others. Also, recognize the achievement of the final product, the prepared meal, and how you experience pleasure and delight in consuming it. Bask in the glory of this achievement and accept the love, gratitude, and contentment that you and others may feel from consuming the meal.

Flourishing Activities in Love Life

Love is a fundamental aspect of human existence that plays a central role in achieving enduring happiness. It enriches our lives in numerous ways, providing emotional support, fostering positive relationships, giving meaning to our experiences, and promoting overall well-being. Love provides emotional fulfillment by fostering a deep emotional connection that satisfies our innate need for belonging and intimacy. Love provides support and security by creating an environment where people feel safe, valued, and understood. Knowing that there's someone who cares for you provides a sense of security and stability, which are crucial elements for persistent happiness. Love is a conduit for positive relationships. Love fosters positive relationships with romantic partners, family members, or friends through companionship, shared experiences, and mutual support, all of which contribute to a sense of happiness and well-being over time. Love builds resilience. It does so by acting as a buffer against life's challenges and adversities. When faced with difficulties, having a strong support system for loved ones can help individuals cope better and bounce back more effectively, thus enhancing overall happiness. Love provides purpose and meaning. It gives meaning to our lives by providing us with a sense of purpose beyond ourselves. Love nurtures relationships and cares for others. Love provides health benefits—experiencing love can positively affect both mental and physical health. It does so by reducing stress and boosting the immune function.

There are two strong motives that govern our love life, namely the need to belong and desire. The need to belong (or “companionate love”) refers to the need to have a partner in life — to belong to this partner and to feel that we belong to them. The attachment to a life partner is fundamental. It involves building a stable relationship that provides a sense of security. Families are built around this need. The propagation of our species and others in the animal kingdom is built around this need. To meet this need to the fullest, we invest resources in creating and sustaining romantic relationships with significant others. This means investing time, effort, and perhaps money, too.

In contrast, romantic-type activities are also related to the need for desire (or “passionate love”). Desire involves lust, excitement, and passion. You have likely felt romantic desire at some point in your life, typically strongest in the early stages of any relationship. Usually, desire wanes, and the feelings of lust, excitement, and passion dissipate over time. Investing time, effort, and money is necessary to keep passionate love alive and, in turn, ensure your love life flourishes. Examples of flourishing activities in love life include planning a date. Take your partner out for a romantic dinner. While dining, don’t talk about the mundane; talk about exciting things like getting together with good friends, going on a cruise, and traveling to exotic places. Talk about shared past events that you found exciting or future adventures. Take your partner to an exotic location and make love. Use your imagination to inject more excitement into the relationship. Passionate love is commonly referred to, in layman’s terms, as “puppy love,” a “crush,” “lovesickness,” “infatuation,” or simply “being in love.” In contrast, companionate love is commonly referred to as “true love.”

Consider the following study, which focused on the distinction between companionate and passionate love. College students from the USA and South Korea participated in a survey that captured love type (companionate versus passionate) and various measures of subjective well-being. The study found that the two love types are related to subjective well-being in different ways. Specifically, life satisfaction was more strongly predicted by companionate love than by passionate love. In contrast, positive and negative emotions were more associated with passionate love than with companionate love.

Before getting into the specifics of the distinction between companionate and passionate love, let's spend a few minutes talking about the evolutionary biology of these concepts. Love is a biological phenomenon. In human and nonhuman primates, love is biologically ingrained in infant-mother attachment. Infants cling to their mothers. The infant is in close proximity to the mother most of the time. When the infant and mother are separated (often when the mother leaves the den to search for food), the infant becomes desperate. The infant howls and frantically searches for the mother. When the mother returns, the infant experiences joy — the infant clasps the mother with great excitement. Thus, passionate love is very much like the desire for union between infant and mother. In contrast, the contentment the infant feels in the secure company of the mother sounds much like companionate love.

Companionate and passionate love helps individuals flourish, reach their full potential, and prosper in both personal and societal contexts, making it a key factor in achieving optimal human functioning. We’ll discuss research on both concepts of love: companionate and passionate. We’ll then provide advice on romantic activities based on the current state of the science. To reiterate, passionate love is referred to as infatuation, erotic love, or romantic love. It involves sexual feelings and intense positive emotions (e.g., passion) and negative emotions too (e.g., anxiety, jealousy). In contrast, companionate love involves less intense emotions such as attachment, intimacy, trust, closeness, and commitment.

In sum, research has demonstrated that both components of love are important in successful marriages. However, each component may account for different relationships and aspects of well-being. Specifically, passionate love is strongly associated with positive affect, while companionate love is more strongly associated with life satisfaction. Both components are associated with relationship satisfaction.

Companionate Love

Let’s start out with a definition of companionate love. Psychologists typically use the following definition: The affection we feel for those with whom our lives are deeply intertwined. This type of love involves friendship, understanding, and concern for the other's welfare. In sum, companionate love involves relationship investment, care, sharing, intimacy, and attachment.

Specifically, companionate love captures a partner’s mature, long-term devotion to their partner, rather than the satisfaction of needs. Companionate love is selfless, caring for and treating the partner as an extension of oneself. Companionate love is more valued by women than men. Companionate lovers are generally invested in their relationship. They accept their partner with gratitude and seek to serve their partner. Companionate lovers are not obsessed with their partners. The focus is on unity and harmony. Their attachments to their partners tend to be secure. There are feelings of joy and sexual desire, of course, but these feelings are translated into the form of affection and fondness. Companionate lovers place much emphasis on care and service to their partner. Equality between the partners is also common. Lastly, companionate lovers place much emphasis on sharing; nevertheless, they maintain a certain degree of autonomy. They forgive their partner for what they consider “errors” and make every attempt to exist peacefully with one another.

To identify and describe activities that nurture companionate love and eudaimonic well-being, we first have to discuss research on companionate love guided by self-determination theory. The central tenet of the theory is the concept of basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Fulfilling these needs in close relationships leads to the growth and development of both partners. Autonomy literally means “self-rule” and refers to self-initiation, volition, and willing endorsement of one’s behavior. The opposite of autonomy is heteronomy, which involves feeling compelled or controlled in one’s behavior. Competence refers to the propensity to experience challenge and mastery in one’s activity. Finally, relatedness, or the “need to belong,” refers to the tendency to form strong, stable interpersonal bonds. How one achieves relatedness is the key focus of most traditional relational theories. Optimal functioning in romantic relationships occurs when partners actively attempt to meet the needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness of both parties. Meeting the need for autonomy comes about when both parties try to understand each other’s interests, preferences, and perspectives. Meeting the need for competence takes place when both parties provide clear, consistent, and reasonable expectations and structure. Meeting the need for relatedness occurs when both parties become involved with, show interest in, direct energy toward, and convey that the other person is significant and cared for noncontingently. In contrast, optimal functioning suffers when romantic partners are excessively controlling, have unreasonable expectations, and are overchallenging. Research has clearly demonstrated that the more needs are fulfilled in people’s romantic relationships, the higher their self-esteem, vitality, and positive affect, and the lower their overall negative affect. Further, with regard to relational quality outcomes, the more people experience need fulfillment in their romantic relationships, the greater their relationship satisfaction and commitment.

Shared Experiences

Recent research has shown that relatedness characterized in terms of shared experiences tends to promote compassionate goals (captured by self-report statements such as “In my romantic relationship, I try to avoid being selfish or self-centered, do things that are helpful for both me and my partner,” which in turn contribute to eudaimonic well-being and partner satisfaction. That is, shared experiences in romantic relationships contribute significantly to relationship satisfaction and eudaimonic well-being.

There are many activities couples engage in that foster eudaimonic well-being. Examples include learning something new, traveling to exotic places, volunteering, creating a bucket list, cooking together, exercising together, engaging in home projects, hosting social events, and going out to see a movie or a comedy show, among others.

Passionate Love

Here is a good definition of passionate love. It is a state of intense longing for union with another. Passionate love involves passion, reciprocity, protection, unity, and attraction.

The best way to appreciate the concept is to examine how psychologists measure it. A popular measure of passionate love is the Passionate Love Scale. This measure contains survey items divided into three categories, namely cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. The cognitive dimension contains three components: (a) intrusive thinking or preoccupation with the partner; (b) idealization of the other or of the relationship; and (3) desire to know the other and be known. The emotional dimension contains five components: (a) attraction to the other, especially sexual attraction; positive feelings when things go well; (b) negative feelings when things go awry; (c) longing for reciprocity; (d) desire for complete and permanent union; and (e) physiological arousal. The behavior dimension comprises four components: (a) actions toward determining the other’s feelings; (b) studying the other person; (c) service to the other; and (d) maintaining physical closeness.

Research has demonstrated that passionate lovers are driven by passion, sexual desire, and need satisfaction. Passionate love is likely experienced in the early stages of a romantic relationship. Passionate love is more valued by men than by women. This type of love may appear irrational at times. Passionate lovers have a deepened sense of physical unity, not necessarily friendship. The relationship is characterized by mutual benefits, not necessarily by selfless caretaking. Passionate lovers seek partners they perceive as special and remarkable. As time passes, passionate love tends to mature into companionate love.

Here are suggested activities that can promote passionate love and eudaimonic well-being. The concept of romantic creativity captures these activities.

Romantic Creativity

Here is a recognized definition of romantic creativity. Romantic creativity is a dyadic process that favors new and meaningful directions in a romantic relationship through dynamics of discovery and self-expansion in one or both members of the dyad.

Research suggests that creativity can foster quality and stability in romantic relationships, particularly with respect to passionate love. One study found that, compared with lone creators, individuals who create as a dyad tend to report higher levels of originality, stimulation, and enjoyment. This evidence suggests an association between dyadic creativity and well-being. Another study found that the personality trait openness to experience, which is associated with creativity, tends to correlate with passion. In another study, positive illusions about one’s partner’s physical appearance were found to predict passion, too. That is, these study findings indicate that individuals with high creativity-related personality traits and behaviors tend to find their partner especially attractive.

Creativity can help prevent a decline in passion. In other words, it is important to prevent boredom in passionate love, which tends to decline over time. That is, given that relationships tend to dissolve once passionate love fades, partners must continually find ways to sustain it.

Here are examples of activities of romantic creativity. Both partners can explore new geographical territories. That is, they may decide to move to a new country together or learn a new language together. Another example could relate to specific activities, where one partner invites the other to participate together, say, in a triathlon, skydiving, or spending a weekend fishing, dancing, or meditating. This activity could foster eudaimonic well-being as long as it involves trying new things and discovering them, and is perceived by both partners as meaningful. What is important is that both partners perceive the experience as meaningful enough to move them in novel directions in their life together.

The underlying rationale is self-expansion. Both partners desire to expand their romantic relationship by seeking new stimuli. They seek such growth to improve their efficacy and develop new self-concepts. That is, they seek to develop new parts of their identity through challenging, arousing, and novel activity. Through self-expansion, we shape our identity and gain access to new types of resources (e.g., new friends through our partner’s social network; new materials when partners cohabit together; more money) or new types of activities (e.g., one partner helping the other to discover new interests, such as classical music or eco-friendly everyday behaviors).

Companionate Love + Passionate Love

There is considerable research based on a theory of love that integrates both companionate and passionate love. The theory is referred to as the triangular theory of love. The focus is on romantic or marital relationships. The theory proposes that the total amount of love depends on the overall sum of the three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Specifically, intimacy encompasses the feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness one experiences in loving relationships. Passion encompasses the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation. Commitment encompasses, in the short term, the decision to love another, and, in the long term, the commitment to maintain that love. The three components interact with each other and with the actions they produce and those that produce them, forming a number of different kinds of loving experiences. Over time, all three components increase as couples transition from casual dating to monogamous dating to engagement. Once married, passion and intimacy tend to decline while commitment increases. When comparing the associations of these components with overall relationship satisfaction, research shows that commitment has the strongest association. The theory also predicts that relationship dissatisfaction is largely determined by mismatches among the three qualities within couples.

Flourishing Activities in Family Life

Family life extends beyond the household. Family life often involves children, parents, siblings, and other close relatives. Family structure tends to differ for those who are single, divorced, or widowed; as a result, family members are likely to be defined differently in these households.

Maintaining good relationships with family members is very important to personal happiness. For those who are divorced, maintaining a good relationship with your ex is equally important. Maintaining a good relationship with family members requires significant time, effort, and money. This includes childcare, schooling, meal preparation, caring for the sick, elderly care, household chores, and shopping for family needs, among many other “essential” tasks.

In contrast, flourishing in family life entails injecting excitement into the family mix. Examples include planning a family vacation (or a family reunion), hosting social events with family members, engaging in sports or other activities with family members, recreating and enjoying leisure activities with family members, and making meal preparation a social event in which each family member is assigned a task.

Consider the following seminal study. Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, the study investigated relationships between kinship bonds and subjective well-being. The study found that subjective family closeness is a strong predictor of personal happiness among all Black individuals, and the same construct (subjective family closeness) is a strong predictor of life satisfaction among older Black adults only. I previously argued that the well-being literature provides substantial evidence that personal happiness is a lower form of subjective well-being, directly related to positive and negative affect, whereas life satisfaction is a higher form. Lower forms of subjective well-being can be construed as directly related to “maintenance” activities, whereas higher forms of subjective well-being are more related to “flourishing” activities. As such, the finding that subjective family closeness is a strong predictor of life satisfaction among older Black adults is unsurprising, given that life satisfaction is associated with “flourishing” activities.

The focus of this module is on flourishing activities in family life rather than maintenance activities. Flourishing activities are linked with eudaimonic well-being; maintenance activities are associated with hedonic well-being.

What is Family Well-Being?

Let’s begin by discussing definitions and conceptualizations of family well-being from a psychological vantage point. These include family life quality, satisfaction with family life, social and family functioning, and family quality of life.

There is the popular Perceptual Indicators of Family Life Quality (PIFLQ) scale. The measure is theoretically grounded in resource theory. It involves items related to six resources: love, status, services, information, goods, and money. An individual's evaluation of family life essentially reflects the degree to which the family environment satisfies personal needs for love and affection (love), respect and esteem (status), comfort and assistance (services), communication resulting in shared meaning (information), ownership of personal things (goods), and money for personal use (money). As such, family well-being researchers equate family well-being with family life quality, as measured by the PIFLQ.

Then there is the concept of satisfaction with family life. Well-being researchers have conceptualized family well-being in terms of several constructs, such as marital satisfaction, satisfaction with children, home life, family, parenting, and family relationships. An example of a measure developed based on this concept is the Kansas Family Life Satisfaction Scale. The measure comprises four sets of self-report satisfaction statements: family, relationship with spouse, relationship with children, and children’s relationships with each other.

We also have the concept of family functioning, which is broken down into five dimensions: mutuality, communication, conflict and harmony, parental concern, and parental control.

Family quality of life is yet another conceptualization comprised of two major dimensions with sub-dimensions:

parenting quality

• paternal/maternal knowledge of their children’s behavior,
• paternal/maternal expectations of their children’s good behavior,
• paternal/maternal monitoring of their children’s behavior,
• paternal/maternal discipline of their children,
• paternal/maternal parenting style based on parents’ degree of demandingness of their children and responsiveness to their demands, and
• paternal/maternal perceived control of their children.

parent-child relational quality

• paternal/maternal trust in their children,
• children’s trust in their parents,
• children’s readiness to communicate with parents, and
• children’s satisfaction with parental control.

Does Family Well-being Contribute Significantly to Eudaimonia?

There is substantial evidence that family well-being plays a significant role in eudaimonia. Let’s consider some evidence.

• A seminal study found family well-being to be a significant predictor of life satisfaction and eudaimonia, controlling for the effects of efficacy, money, amount of fun one is having, house/apartment, things done with family, time to do things, spare-time activities, recreation, national government, and consumer.
• A study involving 2,850 young people aged 11 to 19 years and their parents in Australia found that satisfaction with relationships within the family is a strong predictor of life satisfaction and eudaimonia for both adolescents and parents.
• Another study has shown that family satisfaction is a stronger predictor of life satisfaction (and eudaimonia) than career satisfaction among dual-career couples in university settings.

Explaining the Family Well-being Effects on Eudaimonic Well-being

There is substantial evidence in psychology suggesting that we, as humans, are motivated to belong to families. People spend much time thinking about their hopes and fears about others, particularly intimate others, such as romantic partners and family members. When people are asked, “What is necessary for your happiness?” or “What is it that makes your life meaningful?” most people mention “satisfying relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners.” These relationships have to be intimate and long-term. Short-term relationships are not satisfying to humans. This sense of belonging aids survival in many ways. Intimate social bonds serve survival by keeping children close to their parents. Adults who become romantically involved tend to marry, bear, and raise children in healthy ways to ensure that the children will repeat the same behavior, thus propagating the human species. Much of our behavior as humans is geared toward seeking social approval from romantic partners and family members and avoiding their disapproval.

Infants and children are emotionally attached to their parents. This emotional attachment creates strong social bonds and has survival value. Infants feel comforted when they hear familiar voices and see familiar faces—their parents'. When separated from their parents, infants become highly distressed; when they are reunited with their parents, they feel joy and relief. Attachment leads infants to explore, as infants who feel secure in their attachment to their parents freely explore their environment. By the same token, those who do not feel secure in their attachment to their parents exhibit fear and anxiety and cling to their parents seeking security through their parents. Thus, they are unable to explore freely due to their insecure attachment to their parents.

Shared Experiences as Activities to Enhance Family Well-Being

There is one set of flourishing activities that enhances the sense of relatedness among family members. These are shared experiences. Shared experiences foster connections among family members. These experiences deepen bonds and strengthen relationships, which in turn contribute to eudaimonic well-being among family members. Shared experiences include:

• cooking and dining (e.g., hosting potluck dinners or cooking new recipes together),
• engaging in hobbies and learning new things (e.g., starting a new hobby like painting, yoga, or playing games together),
• tackling home-related tasks (e.g., organizing, cleaning, or doing household chores together to make mundane tasks bonding opportunities),
• engaging in meaningful conversations (e.g., creating, practicing, or reviewing shared experiences to discuss personal growth; sharing family history by looking at old photos and recounting past events),
• maintaining family traditions (e.g., creating family legacies with continuity and memories such as holiday and birthday celebrations, special Sunday breakfasts, and annual vacations), and
• engaging in new adventures (e.g., trying new activities together, such as hiking, visiting new places, or learning new sport-related skills; traveling to new tourist destinations).

Flourishing Activities in Material Life

Making money and spending it on material things can also be decomposed into maintenance and flourishing activities. Making money to pay the bills and taking care of urgent and immediate household needs are “maintenance” activities. In contrast, investing in the stock market and business ventures should be considered as “flourishing” activities. The same can be said of shopping. One can shop for the bare essentials, such as food, beverages, clothing, and household goods, as well as for items like a fancy sports car, a sailboat, and other luxury goods. Imagine going to the shopping mall, not necessarily to buy something you need, but simply to browse and experience its aesthetics and ambiance. The latter activities may be viewed as “flourishing,” whereas the former activities are viewed as “maintenance.”

This module will focus on flourishing activities within the material domain. To address these activities, we’ll need to refer to the concept of material well-being. What is material well-being anyway?

What is Material Well-Being?

Material well-being is often used interchangeably with financial and consumer well-being. I will describe several definitions of financial well-being, followed by several other definitions of consumer well-being.

Financial Well-Being

Here is a popular definitions of financial well-being: evaluation of one’s financial situation. Well-being researchers have defined financial well-being as an individual’s evaluation of their or their family's current financial situation. Examples of survey items capturing financial well-being include: “Indicate how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with your financial situation: from 1=Very dissatisfied to 5=Very satisfied”; “All in all, how do you rate the standard of living of your family today? 1=Very unsatisfactory, 2=Unsatisfactory, 3=Satisfactory, and 4=Very satisfactory.” This latter question is broken down into evaluations of income, material possessions, and other financial assets such as savings and investments.

Consumer Well-Being

Here is an all-encompassing definition of consumer well-being. It involves satisfaction with the acquisition, preparation, possession, consumption, maintenance, and disposal of material goods in the local area. Specifically, consumer well-being is expressed in terms of aggregate-level satisfaction with material goods and services available in the local area: satisfaction with shopping (product acquisition), preparation (product assembly for personal use), use (product consumption), possession (product ownership), maintenance (product service and repair), and disposal (the selling, trading in, or actual junking of the product).

Does Material Well-being Contribute Significantly to Eudaimonia?

Research has documented much evidence suggesting that satisfaction with the standard of living contributes significantly to life satisfaction, controlling for the effects of non-working activities, family life, savings and investments, work, marriage, friendships, and housing, among others. Here are some highlights:

In the same vein, research has shown that subjective indicators related to income play a significant role in the subjective aspects of quality of life such as eudaimonia. Satisfaction with the material life domain spills over into overall life satisfaction. Specifically, research has shown a positive correlation between subjective economic well-being and eudaimonic well-being.

Other reviews that examined much of the evidence on the relationship between income and subjective well-being concluded that satisfaction with income (or financial well-being) correlates strongly and positively with measures of subjective well-being and eudaimonia.

Explaining The Material Well-Being Effects on Eudaimonic Well-Being

A compelling case can be made that satisfaction with material life influences eudaimonic well-being through personal control and pride. People who succeed in the labor market (and thus have higher incomes) tend to attribute their financial success to themselves and feel proud of their accomplishments. These feelings of pride and personal control play a significant role in eudaimonia.

Those who have a sense of control over their finances often acknowledge that if they cannot afford a material object, they either save for it or forget it; they express material desires within their financial means. They keep a close tab of how much they have in their savings account. These people are likely to experience a greater sense of eudaimonia than those who lack control over their finances.

Flourishing Activities Pertaining to Material Well-Being

I’ll break down this discussion in terms of financial and consumer well-being.

Activities that Can Enhance Financial Well-Being

Most activities discussed in the financial well-being literature focus on maintenance strategies. That is, strategies to avoid financial ill-being. Examples include establishing a budget, building an emergency fund, automating finances, tracking spending, tackling debt, practicing mindful spending, seeking financial advice, reviewing credit reports, and using discount programs. Of course, these activities are imperative to avoid financial adversity. However, they are not flourishing activities that can contribute to eudaimonia.

Examples of flourishing activities that can enhance financial well-being and eudaimonia include:

• Increase financial literacy (e.g., attend workshops, read personal finance books, use apps to understand investing and financial planning),
• Invest wisely (e.g., diversify investments for long-term growth and wealth), and
• Retirement planning (e.g., contribute to a 401(k) or IRA using retirement calculators to ensure goals are on track).

Activities that Can Enhance Consumer Well-Being

There is a great deal of research on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, as well as on ways to enhance satisfaction and reduce dissatisfaction. Much of this research focuses on activities aimed at reducing dissatisfaction in the marketplace. For instance, research on pre-purchase activities to reduce dissatisfaction includes research and vetting (e.g., researching company reputations, checking for scams and poor service, and reading verified reviews), verifying details (e.g., reading detailed product specifications, measurements, and materials to ensure they meet expectations, as photos can be misleading), check policies (e.g., understanding return, refund, and warranty policies before finalizing the purchase), and compare brands (e.g., evaluate different sellers for better pricing and service items).

With respect to the during and post-purchase activities to minimize dissatisfaction, suggested activities include maintaining records (e.g., keeping all confirmation emails, receipts, tracking numbers, and shipping details), tracking shipments (e.g., monitoring the delivery to anticipate arrival to help identify problems immediately), and prompting communication (e.g., contacting the seller promptly if the product is damaged or defective, stating the problem clearly). These suggested activities are all designed with one thing in mind: to reduce dissatisfaction or consumer ill-being.

In contrast, the consumer well-being research literature suggests activities related to the circular economy can nurture eudaimonic well-being. Here are examples of circular economy activities:

• Reduce and refuse (e.g., choosing products with minimal packaging, adopting digital tools to reduce paper waste, and selecting high-quality items that last longer),
• Repair and maintenance (e.g., repairing broken items such as electronics, clothing, and furniture rather than replacing them)
• Reuse and resell (e.g., extending the life of products by selling on platforms like eBay, Vinted, or Depop, or sharing via Freecycle),
• Recycle and recover (e.g., using municipal recycling, composting food waste, and implementing circular industrial practices like The Plastic Bank, which turns plastic into currency), and
• Rent a product or share (e.g., renting items like clothes, tools, or cars instead of owning them to maximize usage).

Flourishing Activities in Social and Leisure Life

Let’s start by discussing the social life. We, as human beings, are social beings. However, saying that we are simply social beings is an understatement; we are “hyper social.” This means that being alone and feeling lonely run counter to our most basic human needs. We like being with people, interacting with them, and feeling connected to others. We join groups of all kinds: professional, religious, educational, sports, recreational, and familial, among many others. Social networking is very important to “having a life.” Becoming a member of, and maintaining membership in, social groups is built into our genetic code. There is an interesting book by Lydia Denworth that was recently published. The title is “Friendship: The evolution, biology, and extraordinary power of life’s fundamental bond.” Denworth demonstrates that social connection with others has been recognized by well-being researchers as fundamental to public health. Creating and maintaining social bonds improves our health, both physically and mentally. Those with strong social bonds are less likely to be depressed, more likely to be happy, and more likely to live longer.

An example of a maintenance activity related to social life is attending important social functions, such as weddings and funerals, within your extended circle of friends and acquaintances. Offering support or gathering to comfort friends when they are sick or are in need is also a maintenance function in social life. Attending social events at work to ensure you are viewed as an integral member of the firm is also a maintenance function.

Flourishing in social life is about passion, excitement, and fun. Playing games such as bridge, bingo, or trivia with your friends regularly is a social activity that helps individuals flourish. The same can be said of planning outings with friends, from going out to dinner and a movie to organizing vacations. Belonging to social clubs is also a flourishing activity; examples include a chess club, an intermural sports team, a book club, or even a yacht club. To experience eudaimonic well-being in social life, one needs not only to engage in maintenance social activities but also, and more importantly, flourishing activities.

Now let’s discuss what we do in our leisure time. Consider the following example of a couple visiting a golf resort for leisure. The husband is an avid golfer; the wife is not. The golf resort is a beautiful place with a range of amenities, including a spa and massage, fine dining, a shuttle service to nearby attractions, a social club, and several gift shops. Who is likely to experience a higher level of leisure well-being? The husband or the wife? The answer is that the husband is likely to be happier than the wife. The wife is likely to feel positive while playing golf and enjoying resort amenities, whereas the husband is likely to experience heightened leisure and well-being as an avid golfer. That is, for the wife, visiting the golf resort primarily serves a maintenance function; for the husband, the leisure experience is not simply about maintenance but also about flourishing.

So, you see, leisure can be experienced in different ways. When we talk about leisure well-being as “maintenance,” we mean a hedonic experience — fun and pleasure. In contrast, leisure well-being as “flourishing” is more than hedonic; it is “eudaimonic.” Eudaimonic happiness is achieved through experiences that are intrinsic, meaningful, and growth-oriented. Eudaimonic happiness might be generated if the leisure activity reflects the person’s identity or if their experience is enduring. Hedonic well-being is much more ephemeral and momentary. It is fun, pleasurable, and exciting, but highly situational. That is, the person experiences positive emotions for a brief period, which then dissipate. For example, going on a vacation completely planned by your significant other is likely to produce hedonic happiness. In contrast, the travel planner (your significant other) is most likely to experience eudaimonic happiness.

In sum, to experience eudaimonic well-being in leisure, we need to engage in both maintenance and flourishing activities within this domain.

What is Social and Leisure Well-Being?

We’ll break this discussion of social and leisure well-being into two parts: the first focusing on social well-being, and the second on leisure well-being.

Definition of Social Well-Being

Here is a definition of social well-being aligned with the research literature on eudaimonic well-being. Quality-of-life researchers equate social well-being with social adjustment. As such, social well-being encompasses four constructs: social coherence, social integration, social contribution, and social actualization. Social coherence refers to the belief that the world is predictable and understandable. An example of a survey item capturing this construct is “I find it easy to predict what will happen next in society.” Social integration refers to personal beliefs that reflect acceptance in a community. An example of a survey item capturing this construct is “I feel close to other people in my community.” Social contribution refers to personal beliefs that one has an important role to play in the community at large. An example of a survey item capturing this construct is “I have something valuable to give to the world.” Finally, social actualization refers to the personal belief that people are working together to improve the human condition and that society is becoming more civilized. An example of a survey item capturing this construct is “The world is becoming a better place for everyone.”

Definition of Leisure Well-Being

Here is a definition of leisure well-being that aligns with research on eudaimonic well-being. Quality-of-life researchers have treated the concept of leisure well-being as multi-dimensional, involving the following constructs:

• Arousal (e.g., “I was involved in high-risk activities”),
• intrinsic satisfaction (e.g., “I was able to learn much about myself through participating in the leisure activities at the site”),
• involvement (e.g., “I was able to fully participate in the leisure activities at the destination site”),
• mastery (e.g., “I was able to master my sport”),
• perceived freedom from control (e.g., “I did whatever I wanted at the leisure destination; I managed to live out my fantasies”), and
• perceived freedom from work (e.g., “I felt total escape from work at the leisure site”).

These subjective states associated with leisure experience are consistent with the concept of eudaimonia.

How Do Social and Leisure Well-Being Contribute to Eudaimonia?

Again, we’ll break this discussion of well-being into two parts: the first focusing on social well-being, and the second on leisure well-being.

Social Well-Being and Eudaimonia

Consider the following study of Italian, American, and Iranian university students. The study was designed to assess the relationship among social participation, sense of community, and social well-being. Social participation was assessed using a list of 14 items that captured the frequency of students' involvement in various forms of social activity over the last three months, including social, recreational, sports, political, religious, and volunteer activities. Responses were captured using a 3-point rating scale for each activity: 1 = never, 2 = once, and 3 = several times. Sense of community was measured by the Sense of Community Index. This measure asks respondents to choose the most important community for them (hometown versus the town where they live to take classes). The results of the study show that students who report higher levels of social participation and a sense of community also report higher levels of social well-being.

Leisure Well-Being and Eudaimonia

Consider the following study. The researchers compared the extent to which watching TV enhanced well-being with that of other leisure activities (reading, traveling to exotic places, engaging in sports, etc.). They hypothesized that, compared with other leisure activities, watching TV enhances well-being by allowing people to relax and detach from daily stress. However, TV watching is less conducive to higher-order needs such as meaning, mastery, and affiliation. Relaxation and detachment from stress are outcomes related to basic needs, whereas outcomes associated with meaning, mastery, and affiliation are essentially related to growth needs. They tested this hypothesis by instructing study participants to report their subjective well-being using a daily diary. The study results supported their hypothesis. As such, watching TV seems to serve as a maintenance function, whereas other, more engaging leisure activities are better suited to a flourishing function.

Research on the benefits theory of leisure well-being has distinguished between two types of leisure benefits: benefits related to basic needs (e.g., symbolic, aesthetic, moral, mastery, relatedness, and distinctiveness needs) and those related to growth needs (e.g., need for safety, health, financial, sensory, escape, and sensation/stimulation). As such, leisure activities associated with growth-related benefits tend to elicit greater eudaimonic than hedonic well-being.

Flourishing Activities in Social and Leisure Life

We’ll break this discussion of well-being into two parts: the first focusing on social activities that can contribute to eudaimonic well-being, and the second on leisure activities that would do the same.

Flourishing Activities in Social Life

The following social activities have a strong element of competence and relatedness (i.e., fostering social connectedness and a sense of community).

• Active Sports: Team sports (soccer, basketball), hiking, yoga classes, dance classes, bowling leagues, and pickleball.
• Creative and Learning Activities: Arts and crafts groups, pottery workshops, photography classes, cooking classes, and book clubs.
• Community and Service Activities: Volunteering, community gardening, organizing neighborhood events, and church-related functions.
• Household and Lifestyle Activities: Cooking, cleaning, DIY projects, and pet care.
• Outdoor and Adventure Activities: Camping, fishing, bird watching, scuba diving and snorkeling, rock climbing, and sightseeing.
• Cognitive and Educational: Playing chess, learning a language, attending classes.
• Social and Leisure Activities: Hosting and attending parties, going to movies, dining out, visiting museums, and going to concerts.

Flourishing Activities in Leisure Life

The following leisure activities have strong elements of competence, personal meaning and purpose, and relatedness.

• Creative Leisure: Painting, photography, knitting, writing, DIY projects, and playing musical instruments.
• Cognitive/Learning Leisure: Learning a new language, visiting museums, researching, and solving puzzles.
• Active/Physical Recreation: Hiking, cycling, swimming, dancing, yoga, skiing, and gym workouts.
• Passive/Sedentary Leisure: Reading books that enrich your understanding of yourself, others, and the world around you; watching movies/shows that are enriched with purpose and meaning.
• Nature/Outdoor Recreation: Gardening, birdwatching, camping, picnicking, and fishing.
• Games and Competition: Board game nights, trivia nights, card tournaments (poker, bridge), video game meetups, and karaoke.
• Social Gatherings and Entertainment: Dinner parties, potlucks, attending concerts, going to the movies, and exploring local markets.
• Online/Virtual Socializing: Online gaming, virtual cooking workshops, and engaging in online hobby groups and specialized forums.

Flourishing Activities in Work Life

Do you work to live, or do you live to work? Many industrial/organizational psychologists have long asked this question and answered it with a resounding BOTH. In other words, we work to make a living – to earn income that supports our way of life. We work to meet our basic needs – food security, housing and shelter, health and safety, family needs, etc. We also work because we are wired to work. Not working is against our human nature. Through work, our many growth needs — social, esteem, self-actualization, knowledge, and aesthetic and creative — can be met.

This distinction is made clear when you ask yourself whether your job is just a job or a conduit to a fulfilling career. If it is just a job, then your work life is mostly about maintenance – your job allows you to maintain a lifestyle you are accustomed to. As such, it is important that you work to make a decent living, the kind of income that can support your basic needs and possibly your family's. However, a job can be much more. It goes beyond maintenance. It can bring about flourishing experiences. The goal of working solely to make money is unlikely to be fulfilling. For most people who identify themselves as having a “career,” work provides the opportunity to set important lifelong goals and strive to meet them. Monitoring goal progress and anticipating goal attainment is key to positive emotions related to achievement, pride, hope, optimism, esteem, meaning, purpose, self-determination, competence, autonomy, and internal locus of control. Given this, it is important to develop a career and pursue career growth.

Much of the research literature on work motivation in industrial/organizational psychology distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which can be viewed through the lens of the traditional distinction between low-order and high-order needs (or what we’ve been calling basic and growth needs). A person who is motivated to do a job because it is a job that provides them a paycheck and other fringe benefits is “extrinsically motivated.” As such, the job primarily satisfies low-order (basic) rather than high-order (growth) needs. Conversely, a job considered part of a career involves intrinsic motivation — the job satisfies higher-order (growth) needs. Low-order needs are essentially needs related to survival: biological needs (needs for food, water, air, sex, etc.), health and safety needs, social and family needs, and ultimately the minimum financial resources for the sustenance of oneself (and possibly one’s family). Low-order needs are essentially basic needs (needs related to survival and the propagation of the human species). Satisfying basic needs involves “maintenance” activities in work life. In contrast, high-order needs are growth-related. They include a wide range of needs, such as social and relatedness needs; esteem and effectance (perception of agency or control over one’s environment) needs; self-actualization needs; aesthetic and creative needs; intellectual and autonomy needs, among others. Many of these human needs are met through one’s career. Satisfying growth needs involve “flourishing” activities in work life.

Research has demonstrated that a job that fails to meet basic needs causes much job dissatisfaction (negative feelings and emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, despair, hopelessness, and depression). However, a job that meets basic needs contributes little to job satisfaction or positive emotions (e.g., happiness and joy). A good job that meets basic needs can provide only relief, not joy or happiness. Conversely, a job that satisfies higher-order needs can significantly contribute to positive emotions such as happiness. A job that fails to meet higher-order needs is unlikely to cause much job dissatisfaction.

What is Work Well-Being?

To begin with, I should alert the reader that the concept of work well-being is referred to in the literature by different terms such as “employee wellbeing,” “quality of work life,” “quality of working life,” “work quality of life,” as well as “work well-being.” There are many definitions and conceptualizations of work well-being. However, given the focus on flourishing activities, I will concentrate on three definitions that are directly related to eudaimonic well-being. These are (1) work well-being as meaningful work, (2) work well-being as need satisfaction through work, and (3) work well-being as psychological well-being.

Work Well-Being as Meaningful Work

Robert Lane, a political psychologist and economist, in his now seminal book, The Market Experience, and his follow-up book, The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies, argued that the market contributes to quality of life not only by enhancing economic well-being but also through meaningful work. Meaningful work contributes to self-esteem, the sense of control over one’s environment, and happiness in life. In other words, according to Lane, work well-being is meaningful work.

That is, employees who view their job not as a job but as a career, or better still, as a calling, find more meaning in their work and find it more “eudaimonically” satisfying than those who regard their job as an economic means.

Work Well-being as Need Satisfaction through Work

A popular measure of work well-being is the Need Satisfaction Questionnaire. The guiding concept underlying the development of this work-well-being instrument is based on the notion that well-being at work is determined by the full spectrum of human developmental needs – satisfaction of survival, social, ego, and self-actualization needs, and the extent to which organizational resources are channeled for meeting them.

My colleagues and I developed and validated a measure of employee well-being based on this concept (i.e., satisfaction of the full spectrum of developmental needs). The measure was designed to capture the extent to which the work environment, job requirements, supervisory behavior, and ancillary programs within an organization are perceived by employees as meeting their developmental needs. Specifically, we identified seven major needs, each having several dimensions:

1. health and safety needs (protection from ill health and injury at work and outside of work, and enhancement of good health),
2. economic and family needs (pay, job security, and other family needs),
3. social needs (collegiality at work and leisure time off work),
4. esteem needs (recognition and appreciation of work within the organization and outside the organization),
5. actualization needs (realization of one's potential within the organization and as a professional),
6. knowledge needs (learning to enhance job and professional skills), and
7. aesthetic needs (creativity at work as well as personal creativity and general aesthetics).

As such, an employee is likely to experience eudaimonic well-being in their work life if the full spectrum of their developmental needs is met through work.

Work Well-being as Psychological Well-Being

The more recent research on work well-being has focused on treating this construct through the lens of psychological well-being. As you may recall, we discussed psychological well-being as involving six dimensions:

1. self-acceptance (i.e., the extent to which the employee feels that they can express their true self through their job and workplace, as well as the extent to which their job reflects their identity or true self),
2. purpose in life (i.e., the extent to which the employee feels that their job and work contribute significantly to their purpose in life),
3. environmental mastery (i.e., the extent to which the employee feels that they have mastered many of the skills required for successful job performance and the spillover effects of work-related mastery spilling over to other life domains),
4. positive relations with others (i.e., the extent to which the employee perceives that many of their coworkers are not simply coworkers but also friends they socialize with outside of the workplace),
5. autonomy (i.e., the extent to which the employee believes that they have control over many aspects related to their job, unhindered by the dictates of their coworkers and management), and
6. personal growth (i.e., the extent to which the employee believes that they are making progress in their career development and their growth to meet other life-related goals and aspirations).

How Does Work Well-being Contribute to Eudaimonia?

The research literature on quality-of-life studies is very rich, documenting links between work well-being and overall well-being, positive mental health, and eudaimonia. Let’s describe a sample of the extant evidence.

Much research has been conducted, guided by the seminal Job Characteristics Model. This model is based on the notion that skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback are factors that management can control to heighten employee engagement and ego-involvement. Doing so leads to positive organizational outcomes, including job performance, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship, and low turnover.

Other research focused on the three work-related dimensions: work enjoyment, work challenge, and work meaning. Employees who enjoy their work, find their jobs challenging, and derive meaning from their assigned tasks are likely to be happier than those who do not experience these states. In other words, eudaimonia results from the interactive effects of these three dimensions of engagement.

There are other research programs that are directly and indirectly related to employee well-being in the eudaimonic sense. For example, there is research grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory. This theory posits that the primary determinants of employee well-being are factors intrinsic to the work that employees do (i.e., recognition, achievement, responsibility, advancement, and personal growth). These factors are referred to as “motivators” because they motivate employees to excel in the workplace. By the same token, these motivators determine workplace satisfaction and eudaimonia. In contrast, factors that determine dissatisfaction are referred to as “hygiene factors.” These are extrinsic to the work itself and include company policies, supervisory practices, working conditions, salaries, wages, and interactions with co-workers. Research has shown that eudaimonia in work life can be achieved when the workplace provides opportunities for personal growth (motivators).

Another stream of research concerns self-determination theory. This theory posits that subjective well-being, and particularly eudaimonic well-being, can be enhanced by satisfying three major needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These three needs are essential for social development and personal well-being. Of course, these three needs are likely to be met in the workplace, thus explaining how the workplace contributes to eudaimonia. As such, to experience eudaimonia, the employee must have support from significant others who are either role models or provide moral support, thus satisfying the need for relatedness. The activity must generate feelings of effectance, making the employee feel competent in this endeavor, thus satisfying the need for competence. Furthermore, the employee has to make an autonomous decision to engage in the activity. Doing so allows the employee to feel a sense of ownership of the activity, thus satisfying the need for autonomy.

Flourishing Activities Pertaining to Work Well-Being

Research has shown that discretionary activities can induce eudaimonic well-being. Discretionary activities are those that employees choose to engage in of their own free will and are not required of them by job demands. What are examples of these discretionary activities? There are three types of discretionary activities: (1) voluntary overtime, (2) prosocial activity, and (3) adaptive behavior.

Voluntary Activities

Here is an example of voluntary activities based on current research. School teachers who volunteer extra time (unpaid) tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and experience eudaimonia than those who volunteer less. Here are examples of voluntary activities employees can engage in to foster eudaimonia.

• Skilled/Pro-bono Activities (i.e., using your professional skills such as accounting, graphic design, or legal advice to support nonprofits)
• Virtual/Remote Activities (i.e., take on tasks such as web development, administrative support, or online tutoring)
• Environmental and Conservation Activities (i.e., engage in tasks related to reforestation, beach cleanups, trail building, or wildlife rehabilitation)
• Animal Welfare Activities (i.e., foster abandoned dogs and cats, volunteer to walk dogs of your neighbors and friends, provide assistance at the animal shelter)
• Activities Related to Community and Social Services (i.e., working at food banks, soup kitchens, or volunteering in shelters)
• Activities Related to Healthcare and Senior Care (i.e., supporting hospitals, providing companionship to the elderly, or offering counseling)
• Activities Related to Education and Youth (i.e., Tutoring, teaching, or leading youth sports)

Prosocial Activities

Prosocial activity at work refers to actions that employees take to help others. A meta-analysis found that job satisfaction and eudaimonic well-being are positively associated with employees' prosocial behavior at work. Here is a list of prosocial activities that employees can engage in to induce feelings of eudaimonia.

• Helping Activities (i.e., assisting someone with a task, such as carrying groceries, providing assistance to co-workers, or aiding a peer)
• Sharing-type Activities (i.e., dividing resources, food, or personal items with others)
• Volunteering-type Activities (i.e., freely offering time and expertise to a cause or organization)
• Comforting-type Activities (i.e., providing emotional support or consoling someone in distress)
• Cooperation-type Activities (i.e., working together with others toward a common goal)
• Altruism-type Activities (i.e., engaging in activities with the intention of benefiting another, without expecting a reward)
• Donating-type Activities (i.e., giving money, goods, or personal belongings to help others in need)

Adaptive Activities

Adaptive behavior is the behavior employees undertake to adapt to a changing work environment. There is suggestive evidence showing that employees who score high on eudaimonic well-being measures tend to engage in more adaptive behaviors than those who score low.

Here are examples of adaptive activities employees can engage in to foster eudaimonia.

• Activities Related to Adaptive Skill Development (i.e., engaging in training activities in technical problem-solving or creating flexible, customer-focused solutions)
• Activities Related to Immersive Team Building (engaging in activities designed to foster collaboration and participative decision-making)
• Resilience Workshops (i.e., participating in programs that teach practical strategies for managing stress and boosting team well-being during organizational change)
• Project Re-allocation Activities (i.e., voluntary helping with different projects to learn new skills and adapt to changing team needs)