From my point of view, happiness is inside each human being and it does not depend on how much we possess, but on how much we enjoy what we have, on how we take advantage of every minute of our existence and on the perspective we have of the outside world.
The human being throughout the history of his existence has always sought true happiness. You have spent a lot of time and effort trying to find a way to be completely happy. However, in that incessant search it seems as if the ironic failure has been mocked. Well, in that tireless persecution to find the long-awaited happiness, he has only materialized it, giving him personality in money, material possessions, pleasures, among others, in short, he wanted to give him an image; However, he has had to recognize that happiness is much more than material things and transitory pleasures.
Although it is true what a beautiful poem says "… with money you can buy amusements, but not happiness" that is, the happiness that is so much sought is found where we least think.
Every human being yearns fervently to find that perfect state "to be happy" and that is why, in the following synthesis of the so-called Positive or Happiness Psychology "I want to highlight that search to which I have referred taking into consideration the basic concepts and descriptive models that have emerged.
The term Positive Psychology has been coined developed by Martín Seligman, a researcher who coined this concept and has dedicated a large part of his work giving it a radical turn in its orientation, elaborating and promoting a more positive conception of the human species.
"Positive psychology is not a philosophical movement that aims to promote human spiritual growth based on non-scientific methods, positive psychology is a branch of psychology that tries to understand through scientific research the psychological processes that underlie the qualities and emotions positive of the human being ”(Vera, 2006, p. 4).
In other words, she seeks to discover in these basic psychological processes (perception, learning, language, thought, attention, memory, motivation and emotion) how they intervene in the process of seeking that human well-being and that they are in some way the tools that the individual possesses to achieve that objective "happiness".
The objective of positive psychology is to optimize positive human functioning through scientific knowledge and effective interventions that make individuals, families, communities (organizations) flourish so that they can be fully benefited.
From this point of view, positive psychology aims to create a scaffolding of skills and prevention. For Seligman, the concept of positive psychology is not new in psychology, since before World War II Psychology had set out to achieve three different missions: Cure mental illness, that the life of all people was more productive and satisfying, the identification and care of great talent.
In this search for the improvement of the human being, of the characteristics that make its potential flourish, positive psychology is based on tangible facts for its validity and that in this way individuals can confidently use these competences. The techniques that emerge from research in positive psychology come to support and complement existing ones.
Considering what from the point of view, the positive psychology that insists on the construction of competencies and prevention, then we can say that the well-being that the human being seeks is the responsibility of each one because there is no magic formula, treatment or specific therapy that results in that happiness that we long for.
In the flow theory proposed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, he tries to explain what happens when carrying out an activity causes a person to feel so pleasant that the individual will do it for the sheer pleasure of doing it, even if the activity is very difficult.
The state of intense and satisfactory concentration is called flow, and when a person experiences this sensation, they become totally absorbed in the activity they are currently carrying out, the author defines as being in a "state of flow". This state of "flow" is defined as a state of concentration or absorption in the activity in which it is found. We can say that it is a perfect state of internal motivation, in which the person is totally immersed in what he is doing. The subject is so focused on what he is doing that, many times, he loses the notion of time and space, which indicates that he is enjoying what he is doing to the fullest.
According to what Mihaly defines in his theory of flow, if we integrate this concept in the family system in that search, then we can say that in order to find that balance within said system, each member must concentrate on carrying out those activities that give him pleasure by integrating the other members and ensure that they can also find that satisfaction. If it is reasonable that within that family system there should be those healthy coalitions and reach consensus where each and every member is integrated in both directions so that they can contribute and achieve the desired objective.
Now, what we are looking for so much is clear that it is not only a personal and selfish desire, it is evident that we long for it also for those people whom we love and who have a special place in our lives. That is to say, the father who wishes that happiness for his family, the boyfriend who wishes and promises before an altar to make his future wife happy, the son who longs to give that happiness to his elderly parents, in short we all struggle to find that hidden treasure called happiness and being able to offer it with all liberality to other people. If we have happy families then we will have happy and healthy societies; However, this does not mean that everything will be perfect because it is obvious that we do not have perfect families and therefore we will not have perfect societies.
All this is due to the fact that since we have visualized perfection in the wrong way, thinking that perfection is being free from all those evils that afflict humanity and are forms of wrong thoughts that make us mistakenly create wrong concepts.
"The role that positive psychology plays in family dynamics in search of that happiness is important. Experimental studies related to positive affect have shown that it is related to a more open, flexible and complex cognitive organization that enables better integration of information. The result of this way of thinking facilitates problem-solving processes and, therefore, decision-making (Vecina, 2006,) ”.
In other words, it will help individuals to have a clearer vision of what happiness and being happy really are. It is evident that families are made up of individuals and that each one has a different way of seeing things and of processing information from the world around us, however, if each member of the family is ready to make use of their potentialities and contribute to that search without a doubt this will become visible because of course happiness is found within each human being.
This perspective perfectly coincides with Aristotle's classic approaches: "things are not as they are, but as those who see them see them", that is, the subjective interpretation of the facts, not the facts themselves, is what determines emotion, Emotions are reactions to the information we receive in our relationships with the environment, as well as the ones we process internally (recovery of events from our memory), resulting from all that we usually understand by "knowledge".
Each member of the family in a particular way has an extremely important role regardless of their age, but what is certain is that parents greatly contribute the necessary elements so that their children can have the opportunity to be happy, growing up in happy homes and passing on the knowledge of that happiness to their future generations.
Descriptive Models
- The Evolutionary-Cybernetic Theory Of Happiness ( Heylighen, 1992)
From this perspective, "passing happiness" is defined as the pleasant feeling or the subjective experience of well-being. The "lasting happiness" corresponds then, to the predominance of pleasant feelings in a prolonged period. This control over the situation has three elements (Heylighen, 1992):
Material capacity: Having the necessary resources and opportunities to satisfy the needs.
Cognitive capacity: It is not enough that the necessary resources are there, we must also be able to find them, recognize them and use them effectively.
Subjective capacity: It is not enough that the resources are there and that we are able to find them, in addition, we must believe in our own capacity to solve problems.
- The Three Ways to Happiness Model (Seligman, 2002)
Martin Seligman (2002) proposes a structural framework to point out the various pathways that seem to lead to well-being and happiness. However, their proposal is not arranged as a theory, or even as a model, but rather as a way to initially structure the research carried out in this field and project it into the future (Duckworth, Steen, & Seligman, 2005). In Professor Seligman's opinion, research has shown that there are at least three fundamental ways in which people can approach happiness:
- the pleasant life (pleasant life), this kind of happiness is short - lived and is achieved by maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative emotions about the past, present and future. Engaged life refers to the daily implementation of personal strengths with the aim of developing a greater number of optimal experiences («flow»). Meaningful life is the most durable of the three, and would include the development of goals that go beyond oneself and membership in so-called positive institutions (democracy, family, education, etc.) (Duckworth et al., 2005).
Mattieu Ricard, a 61-year-old Frenchman, who decided to leave his job as a cell geneticist at the prestigious Pasteur Institute in Paris, to study the great masters of Buddhism and become the Dalai Lama's personal advisor. The “happy monk” as he is known, defines happiness as “a treasure hidden deep within each person. Catching her is a matter of practice and willpower, not of material goods, power or beauty. Those who reach the end of the journey and achieve the serenity that leads to happiness, feel the same as a bird when it is released from its cage.
Perhaps for many, the decision made by Mattieu Ricard is considered a foolish decision from the point of view of other people. But the interesting thing is that for him, he was able to find that well-being. When it comes to that well-being, we try to possess it, enjoy it and share it with those people who are very significant to us. However, throughout history, this tireless search struggle has created new challenges.
That well-being is about enjoying what you have and stop regretting what you don't have. It is being grateful to the Supreme Being for the opportunity to live. It is setting new goals, reaching new challenges and having a comprehensive balance to avoid falling into extremes: either in conformity or in the insatiable desire to have.
In the family system the greatest challenge is to provide all the information to the members starting from the children and teach them to process this information in a positive way, that is, teach them to channel and crystallize it so that as they grow up they can learn to use all their skills, abilities, qualities and all the resources as a human being so that they can discover true happiness within themselves.
It is worth mentioning that undoubtedly each individual has a great job taking into consideration those things that help him in that search.
Regarding the role of positive psychology in the utopia of family happiness, it seeks to turn that dream into a reality; that their concepts and achievements are tangible and that families can finally find the long-awaited Happiness.
CONCLUSIONS
Regarding happiness, Positive Psychology is not limited to achieving it in a particular and transitory way since it considers that it also consists in thinking that the life we live is authentic and is not a merely particular opinion, but implies the decision of Obtain these gratifications and positive emotions through those skills thought of as the natural and lasting pathways to satisfaction.
Every human being yearns fervently to find that perfect state “to be happy”, however, in that search they have dedicated more time than they should, thus forgetting that this well-being or happiness is within each individual, since it is not about material things but to enjoy what we have and value those activities that produce emotionally healthy pleasures.
Therefore, the individual is responsible within a family system to contribute greatly in order to find that well-being and thereby find balance within society.
When it comes to that well-being, we try to possess it, enjoy it and share it with those people who are very significant to us. However, throughout history, this tireless search struggle has created new challenges.
Undoubtedly we can find what we are looking for "happiness" if we put into practice the knowledge that is acquired using the qualities and all the potential that we possess.
The interpretation that we have of the outside world will be what determines to a great extent the way in which we make the most of the resources that are in ourselves to find the happiness that we seek so much.
Sources of References
- Vera, B. (2006). Positive Psychology: A new way of understanding psychology. Papeles del Psicólogo, 27 (1), 4.Vecina, M. (2006). Creativity. Psychologist Papers, 17 (1).Heylighen F. (1992) A Cognitive-Systemic Reconstruction of Maslow's Theory of SelfActualization. Behavioral Science 37, 39-5. Seligman, M. (2002). Aunthentic Happiness. New York: Free Press.Duckworth, AL, Steen, TA and Seligman, ME (2005) Positive psychology in clinical practice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 629-651.
By: Silvia Ortega
