Guțu Eva, XII A
In a world filled to the brim with stupendous obstacles and perpetual challenges, one finds themselves swimming in a sea of unpleasant experiences and similar issues, and in most cases, involuntarily. Positive psychology and related topics have been proven conspicuously successful in the assiduous process of increasing the well-being of one person.
Thus, living a meaningful life and feeling content is not as easy as it might seem. Yet, even countries such as Finland which ranks among the happiest nations, are also in the top percentages amongst the highest depression rates.
Positive psychology might be a propitious factor in the considerable decline of general public unhappiness and dissatisfaction. At its core, it focuses on the individual ability to discover true purpose and live life to its fullest. In other words, transforming the “survival” mindset into the famous “joie de vivre”. Furthermore, positive individual traits are considered strengths and virtues that one should always aspire towards, and positive attitudes are particularly encouraged. Such implementations could be slowly but surely introduced into our daily lifestyles by simply minimizing pathological thoughts and behaviours and replacing them with an augmented sense of optimism. It has been scientifically proven that optimism benefits healing, not only mentally but also physically. Emotional wellness also aids the overall quality of life and improves our approach towards a plethora of distinct aspects, as well as diminishes particular health risks such as high cholesterol levels.
Moreover, another positive psychology practice is the idea of building on our strengths. A more efficacious pathway to success is to develop into suitable directions that match one’s attributes and assets, rather than focusing on forced excellence in unfitting domains. This is a particularly strenuous task, especially for students in the Romanian educational system. Finding and choosing the right class profile when one has knowledge of only middle school methods and approaches towards learning and any school subject, finding penchants is quite laborious for an 8th grader. Consequently, in order to succeed, not only in school on an academic level, but also professionally, one has to acknowledge their abilities and strong suits and work to provide themselves with opportunities that shall further benefit them.
To conclude with, taking into consideration all aspects mentioned above, positive psychology is an essential practice and when built upon such virtues, life gains a more profound meaning and poses a greater chance at success and longevity for individuals worldwide.