#351 Psychological Billionaires

Continuing our abundance theme, let’s talk about WHY we may be trying to make money and create wealth.

There’s only one reason. It’s the ultimate currency.

We want to be (and think money will help us be) happy.

Therefore, 10 out of 10 ancient philosophers and modern scientists agree: It’s wise to step back and make sure we’re approaching the whole money thing with that ultimate currency in mind and not making trade-offs we later regret.

Which leads us to positive psychology luminary Ed Diener and his son Robert Biswas-Diener.

In their book Happiness, they tell us how to create “psychological wealth” and tell us what that balance sheet would look like. I like to think big, so how about we shoot for the stars and aim to be psychological billionaires? 🤓

Here’s the quick look at your Psychological Balance Sheet:

Positive Affect
– Negative Affect

+ Life Satisfaction
+ Flourishing

Here’s the quick breakdown:

It all starts with “Positive Affect.” Fancy science speak for positive emotions. Add up all those micro-moments of feeling good. Then subtract “Negative Affect.” Note: We’re not going to try to (or ever succeed at) removing all negative emotion (that’s impossible in general and even more impossible when you’re committed to living large and actualizing your potential) but we do want to make sure there’s a positive balance.

With that, we move on to the simple question: How satisfied with your life are you? “Life Satisfaction” is a big deal. Again, what’s the point of all the hustle if we’re not able to step back, feel the gratitude and see just how blessed we are to be alive, surrounded by wonderful people and experiences?

Then we arrive at “Flourishing.” In my opinion, this is the ultimate variable and the one most heavily weighted. Recall that the modern scientists got their word “flourishing” from the ancient Greek philosophers who called it “eudaimonia.” Which, as we know by now, literally means “good soul.”

In his book Flourish, Martin Seligman tells us we can apply his PERMA model to get our flourishing on. The super-quick recap there: Positive emotions + Engagement + Relationships + Meaning + Achievement. Optimize each of those variables to Optimize your Flourishing.

Today’s +1. Bust out a piece of paper (or use our +1 Worksheet!) and do a quick accounting of your Psychological Wealth. Where are you strong? What could use some work?

How can you invest in You, Inc. a little more today?