Quiz: What does your wellbeing score say about you?

wooden-blocks

What’s your approach to wellbeing? Do you do the bare minimum to feel okay? Are you really invested in it, or are you ignoring your own needs?   

In this scientifically validated quiz we are going to ask you a series of questions about the five pillars of wellbeing, which were designed by the godfather of Positive Psychology Martin Seligman. 

 The PERMA pillars of wellbeing are: 

Positive emotions; such as joy and contentment  

Engagement; how often you get into the zone, feeling fully engaged in what you do? 

Relationships; refer to how loved and supported you feel.  

Meaning; refers to having a sense of purpose in your life or feeling connected to something bigger. 

Achievement; are you working towards goals and feeling that daily tasks are manageable? 

Take our quiz and find out how your approach to wellbeing is affecting your scores — and get some helpful suggestions on how you can futureproof your wellbeing so that you can lead a happier and healthier life.  

 

1. How much of the time do you feel you are making progress towards accomplishing goals?

 

2. How often do you become absorbed in what you are doing?

 

3. In general, how often do you feel joyful?

 

4. In general, how often do you feel anxious?

 

5. How often do you achieve the important goals you have set for yourself?

 

6. In general, to what extent do you lead a purposeful and meaningful life?

 

7. To what extent do you receive help and support from others when you need it?

 

8. In general, to what extent do you feel that what you do in your life is valuable and worthwhile?

 

9. In general, to what extent do you feel excited and interested in things?

 

10. In general, how often do you feel positive?

 

11. In general, how often do you feel angry?

 

12. How often are you able to handle your responsibilities?

 

13. In general, how often do you feel sad?

 

14. How often do you lose track of time while doing something you enjoy?

 

15. To what extent do you feel loved?

 

16. To what extent do you generally feel you have a sense of direction in your life?

 

17. How satisfied are you with your personal relationships?

 

18. In general, to what extent do you feel contented?

 

GET YOUR RESULT

You scored __ out of a possible 180

You are a Coper 

 

Wellbeing quiz - coper

 

Your score tells us that you are managing aspects of your wellbeing, but it’s not something you are necessarily prioritising. Copers are like frogs in hot water. They soldier on — not realising that the water is getting hotter and hotter until it’s too late and they are desperate to jump out. This makes them more prone to burnout. There are lots of things that you can do to help yourself jump out of the heating water before it gets too hot.   

Positive Emotions are a bit like Teflon — they slide right off us, while the negative emotions tend to stick like Velcro. So we want to help you become more aware of when you experience positive emotions and where the gaps are.  

 

TASK 

Create a daily calendar marking out mornings, noon and evenings. 

For the next two weeks, record your emotional state as either a negative emotion or positive emotion on each section of the calendar. 

  By identifying the triggers of your particular emotional state, you can start to do something about them. Increasing the interactions that cause more positive emotions. Savour them for longer. Make a note of them. You’re not trying to eradicate negative emotions — your goal here is to create a healthier emotional balance.  

 

ENGAGEMENT 

Let’s start with the basics here. One of the best ways to get yourself more engaged in your work and in your life, is through becoming more aware of your strengths and applying them on a daily basis. This is because strengths energise us and they celebrate what we are naturally good at. It’s this that allows us to get into the zone — you know that feeling you get when you are doing a task and time just flies by? That’s your goal. 

Spend some time thinking about your key strengths (ask for feedback from people you trust if you need some support on this task). Then, over the next two weeks, make a note of when you are using your strengths at work and/or at home. What does that feel like? How can you use these strengths more regularly? When you are using your strengths, do you enjoy your work more and lose track of time? 

See how doing this exercise might change your emotion calendar that you are completing from the earlier task. Have you noted any difference? 

 

RELATIONSHIPS 

If there’s one thing we identified during the pandemic, it’s that having meaningful relationships in our lives is key to our wellbeing. Social connections matter. Make a note of the important people in your working and personal life. Write a short gratitude note to five of the people on your list expressing why you are grateful to them and how they have impacted your life. This is a great way of increasing positive emotions and it will help you connect on a deeper level with the people who matter. 

 

MEANING 

The search for meaning and the need to have a sense of value and worth is an intrinsic human quality. This can, however, feel like quite a lofty ideal when you are just about managing your wellbeing. So let’s keep things simple. Focus on spending quality time with your loved ones. Turn off the phone and really enjoy the moments you have together.  

 

ACHIEVEMENT 

When you work towards achieving a goal, mastering it and having the self-motivation to finish what you started, you feel a sense of pride. However, it’s easy to forget your achievements if you’re busy just coping. So at the end of every day (or each week, if that feels more manageable), note down three successes. They can be big or small. It really doesn’t matter. The important thing is to note down what you want to celebrate.   

BEFORE YOU GO… 

You got this

 

No matter your score, it’s important to meet yourself where you are, and without judgement. By completing the exercises we’ve suggested, you will grow and improve your wellbeing, along with your sense of fulfilment and joy in your working and personal lives.   

SOURCE: Butler, J. & Kern, M.L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1-48. doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i3.1 

You scored __ out of a possible 180

You are a Coaster

 

Wellbeing quiz - coaster

 

There is nothing wrong with being a coaster — it’s not a negative. In fact, your score suggests you are doing enough to look after yourself. You’ve unlocked the door to happiness in your life, but you haven’t fully opened the door to flourishing — and that’s where we want to move you towards. 

So let’s build on the good work that you are already doing. 

Positive emotions include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude. Increasing positive emotions helps individuals build physical, intellectual, psychological and social resources that lead to higher levels of resilience and overall wellbeing. 

 

TASK 

We want you to keep a gratitude journal and note down three things you are grateful for every day. When you express gratitude, your brain releases serotonin and dopamine, making you feel happy from the inside. Your goal here is to train your brain to remember positive emotions, so you can balance out the negativity bias in your mind.  

 

ENGAGEMENT 

Engagement is in line with Mihály Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow. Flow is living in the present moment and focusing entirely on the task at hand. You can train yourself to get into a state of flow at different times of the day.  

Try noting down the activities that help you feel energised and raring to go during the working day. It might be going for a run, being in nature, meditating or listening to your favourite songs. Incorporate these into your daily routine, especially before you are due to complete a work task that requires you to be fully focused.  

 

RELATIONSHIPS 

Positive and meaningful relationships are key indicators of your wellbeing levels. To move your score along, try getting in touch with people you haven’t spoken to in a while but you wish you made more time for. This is a great way of increasing positive emotions in your life and helping you to reconnect with important people who energise you and make you feel good.  

 

MEANING 

Did you know people who report having purpose in life live longer, have greater life satisfaction, and report fewer health problems? Try reflecting on your life passions and how you can use that to help others. It might be that you love knitting or running. Is there a way you can use your skill to donate knitted clothes to charities or perhaps set up a running club to help people improve their mental health?  

 

ACHIEVEMENT 

Flourishing and wellbeing come when accomplishment is tied to striving toward things with an internal motivation. So think in terms of more growth and connection — rather than money or fame.  

According to research by Teresa Amabile from Harvard Business School, people who tracked their small achievements every day enhanced their motivation. Try tracking your small wins every day by writing them down in a journal every evening. Any accomplishment, no matter how small, releases the neurotransmitter dopamine which boosts your mood, motivation and attention. It also signals you to keep doing the activity again and again. So get celebrating!  

BEFORE YOU GO… 

You got this

 

No matter your score, it’s important to meet yourself where you are, and without judgement. By completing the exercises we’ve suggested, you will grow and improve your wellbeing, along with your sense of fulfilment and joy in your working and personal lives.   

SOURCE: Butler, J. & Kern, M.L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1-48. doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i3.1 

You scored __ out of a possible 180

You are a flourisher

 

Wellbeing quiz - Flourisher

 

Congratulations! Your score suggests you are already experiencing high levels of wellbeing and you are thriving. You prioritise your own wellbeing, which means you are pouring from a pretty full cup. To help you maintain those levels and make some incremental improvements, we recommend the following tips: 

 

TASK 

Positive Emotions are something you already experience frequently so to take this to the next level, try an exercise called the Joy of Anticipation.  

Think of three positive things that you expect to happen tomorrow and write them down. Choose one of the examples and anticipate the positive feelings you associate with it. Relax and spend 5 minutes maintaining these positive feelings.  

 

ENGAGEMENT 

Engagement is a state that we can get ourselves in, just as we can encourage ourselves to get into a state of Flow — in other words, ‘being in the zone’. To create the conditions in which you can enter into a state of full absorption more often, try the Nature’s Treasure exercise.  

Find a comfortable seat outside — somewhere green preferably — and initially use your sense of sight to really notice every detail around you. Then close your eyes and use only your hearing. Do the same for smell. What do you notice? Walk around and use your sense of touch to feel things around you. The more absorbed you are in the activity, the more you train your brain to enter into a state of full absorption when you are working too.  

 

RELATIONSHIPS 

A great way to enhance positive relationships among your colleagues is to write appreciation notes for the brilliant work they have done or for the amazing human beings they are (or both). Here’s some pointers on crafting a great appreciation note:  

Be genuine and avoid excessive flattery, which can seem insincere.  

Be specific in your praise, and explain exactly why you are writing the letter and what impact that had on you or others. 

Write from the heart and remember to actually say ‘thank you’ in the letter.  

Don’t delay sending the letter — do it as soon as possible after the moment you want to appreciate them for has occurred. 

Don’t underestimate the power of receiving a thank you note from someone who is important to you at work. 

 

MEANING 

To live a life full of meaning requires you to look beyond yourself. A great way of focusing on that is by thinking about the legacy you want to leave behind. Imagine you’re at your 90th birthday party. Your family is giving a speech about your life. What would you like them to say about the legacy you are leaving? What does your legacy tell you about why you are here on earth? If today is ground zero, how can you live your legacy every day and fulfil it?  

 

ACHIEVEMENT 

In such a fast-paced world, it can be easy to forget your successes in life. Taking the time to celebrate your many achievements is a great way of celebrating yourself for who you are —just as much as what you have achieved. The Savouring your Achievements exercise asks you to spend some time reflecting on your life, listing your most significant, memorable or meaningful achievements, both personal and/or professional, decade by decade.  

BEFORE YOU GO… 

You got this

 

No matter your score, it’s important to meet yourself where you are, and without judgement. By completing the exercises we’ve suggested, you will grow and improve your wellbeing, along with your sense of fulfilment and joy in your working and personal lives.   

SOURCE: Butler, J. & Kern, M.L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1-48. doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i3.1 

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