Well-Being and Success For University Students Applying PERMA+4
Your Pink Book
Just as we can strengthen our bodies, play with our mindset and learn new skills, we can also learn how to build a good life.
Decades of research show that while our circumstances matter, the daily choices we make have remarkable power to shape our well-being and quality of life. This book combines the science of a good life with practical self-reflection and a carefully curated large collection of evidence-based activities that have been shown to improve well-being in university students.
Choose the topic that interests you the most, reflect on your current well-being and start with one practice that resonates with you.
Put it into action, and see what happens! The most convincing evidence won't come from this book. It will come from your own experience.
What can you find in the book?
You will be introduced to an evidence-based framework for enhancing well-being and positive functioning, including academic performance. The book emphasizes practical applications of findings from the best available research to help students learn practical steps they can take to strengthen both their well-being and academic success. Individual chapters explore key topics in positive psychology, including positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, achievement, physical health, mindset, environment, and economic security.
Each chapter summarizes current scientific knowledge on a specific topic, invites students to assess their own well-being within that life domain, and encourages them to explore evidence-based activities and interventions that support both learning and personal growth. The book is an engaging guide for university students while also serving as a valuable resource for professors seeking to enrich their courses with well-being education and for student wellness centers around the world.
Abstracts of the Individual Chapters
Your Well-Being
What actually is well-being to you? How can positive mental health benefit university students, and what can you do not only to increase your life satisfaction but also to support your academic success?
In this chapter, you'll discover the foundations of well-being and learn how to care for it in your own unique and beautiful way. Well-being represents a good life. It is measurable, and although it naturally changes over time, there are key areas of life that consistently contribute to happiness and flourishing. The encouraging news is that these areas can be intentionally developed and strengthened. Are you ready to explore your well-being on a deeper level in a fun and engaging way? Let's start exploring together.
Your Positive Emotions
We all enjoy feeling good and seek moments of excitement, joy, and happiness. But did you know that positive emotions do much more than simply make us feel good?
Together we'll learn about the remarkable power of positive emotions and explore practical ways to cultivate more joy in everyday life. This chapter explains the science behind emotions and positivity while inviting you to experiment with evidence-based activities that may help you experience more positive emotions throughout your days. Enjoy!
Your Engagement
Do you often find yourself feeling bored? Or anxious? Or perhaps somewhere in between, experiencing engagement or even flow?
You'll explore why engagement is one of the essential building blocks of well-being and discover how to experience greater presence, enjoyment, and deep involvement in your daily activities. One helpful starting point is understanding your own engagement strengths. You'll have the opportunity to assess these strengths and learn evidence-based strategies for minimizing distractions and increasing your capacity for engagement. Let's discover what really engages you.
Your Relationships
As Chris Peterson famously said, "Other people matter. Period."
Research consistently shows that the quality of our relationships influences nearly every aspect of our well-being. In fact, the longest scientific study on happiness, conducted by Harvard University over more than 80 years, demonstrates that positive relationships keep us healthier and happier (Waldinger & Schulz, 2023). Science has shown that caring, loving, and respectful relationships are just as important for our health and well-being as nutrition, physical activity, or the environment we live in. This chapter invites you to develop the social skills that help build meaningful relationships at home, at university, at work, and within your community. Together, we'll explore how relationships help us flourish.
Your Meaning
Did you know that a strong sense of meaning and purpose can motivate you and help you achieve your academic goals? And did you know that students who find meaning in what they do tend to experience greater success, higher well-being, and stronger resilience during challenging times?
This chapter invites you to explore the science of meaning while reflecting on your own purpose. The activities presented will help increase your happiness and strengthen your ability to flourish in everyday life. Let's discover the meaning that gives direction to your life.
Your Achievement
Do you follow your passion? Do you keep going when things become difficult?
In this chapter, you'll discover the science of passion and perseverance while learning how to become "grittier." More importantly, you'll reflect on how to use your own strengths every day to experience greater academic satisfaction, deeper engagement, and a more meaningful life. You may think you don't have any superpowers. You do. Positive psychology will help you recognize them, develop them, and use them intentionally. Are you ready to share your superpowers with the world?
Your Physical Health
Building physical health day by day is one of the greatest investments we can make in ourselves and our vitality.
This chapter explores simple yet powerful habits that support long-term health and well-being, including movement, posture, nutrition, sleep, relaxation, breathing, and the avoidance of risky behaviors. You'll have the opportunity to try evidence-based activities that promote physical health in an enjoyable and holistic way. Your future self will thank you.
Your Mindset
Whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right.
Have you ever reflected on how true Henry Ford's famous statement really is? Mindset shapes our assumptions, beliefs, expectations, explanations, and goals. This chapter invites you to reflect on your own mindset while introducing the science of growth mindset. You'll discover practical ways to cultivate ways of thinking that better serve your goals, well-being, and future. Ready? (MIND)set, go!
Your Environment
First, you create your environment. Then your environment creates you.
A healthy environment is essential for a fulfilling life. The spaces we intentionally create influence our health, happiness, relationships, creativity, learning, and ability to recover. Positive environments help us feel safe, welcomed, connected, and inspired. They encourage healthy behaviors while providing opportunities for both growth and restoration. This chapter invites you to reflect on how your surroundings shape your everyday life and how you can intentionally create environments that help you thrive. I believe you will.
Your Economic Security
Money does not buy happiness. We all know that. At the same time, economic security is an important contributor to our well-being.
This chapter explores practical ways to strengthen your financial well-being through greater financial literacy, thoughtful money management, goal setting, saving, informed investing, and planning for long-term security. You cannot buy happiness, but you can build a stronger sense of economic security that supports your overall quality of life. You'll discover that there is much you can do, starting today, to feel more confident, prepared, and financially secure.