Physical disability can bring various changes in one’s life, and it can affect how one views the world, but using positive psychology can help. What constitutes a good life for individuals with disabilities?
One of the primary themes in positive psychology is promoting qualities that leads to a fulfilling, satisfying and well-lived life. It focuses on what people do well and how it influences the lives of their family, friends, community, or their own. It explores what makes life worth living but what factors can lead to a good life?
How to live a good life…
1: Build positive connections.
Positive connections can promote camaraderie and social support.
Establishing and maintaining close relationships
- Spend time with loved ones.
- Make a connection with others.
- Join and participate in different groups or networks.
- Initiate conversations with others.
Helping others
- Offer assistance and comfort to others.
- Share inspiring news with others to promote good feelings.
2: Develop and nurture positive personal qualities.
Positive personal qualities represent skills or characteristics that display discipline, creativity, or gratitude and promote strength.
Finding meaning
- Reappraise the nature of a disability by finding meaning and seeing the benefits associated with it.
- Reframe a situation to understand and adapt to the changes brought by an event.
- Cultivate a sense of happiness by focusing on what is meaningful, enjoyable, and fulfilling.
- Emphasise that living with a disability is not a defining quality but rather one among many.
Building resilience
- Transform and learn from positive and negative experiences.
- Adapt and bounce back from risks and adversities.
- Highlight personal resources such as individual qualities connected to everyday life (self-concept, work, hobbies and interests, social networks and interactions, autonomy, willingness to learn).
- Focus on what is already available instead of highlighting what is lost, missing, or lacking.
- Change an old set of values regarding what matters in life and create a new and healthy set of beliefs.
- Learn to cope with limitations and finding new ways to fulfil limitless capacity.
Expressing gratitude
- Count the blessings.
- Recognise the positive aspects of life and be grateful for them.
- Focus on areas that are going well.
3: Explore life regulation qualities.
Life regulation qualities include abilities that allow people to maintain autonomy and practice self-control to achieve their goals or improve the lives of those around them.
Engaging in physical movements and activities that give comfort
- Re-establish regular exercise as part of the rehabilitation process.
- Explore activities that give comfort, such as eating healthy, sleeping, meditating, or other relaxing activities.
Finding flow
- Be involved and fully engaged in the present moment.
- Explore interesting, challenging, stimulating, and intrinsically rewarding activities.
- Engage in creative activities or aesthetic experiences such as looking at paintings, listening to music, reading books or poems, or being with nature.
Giving self-rewards
- Find and engage in self-rewards.
- Enjoy simple activities sitting outside on a warm day, or appreciating nature.
Giving back to others
- Share skills, knowledge, or experience with others.
- Become more empathetic regarding others’ life stories.
- Act as a mentor or resource for others.
- Support social institutions.
- Organise community events.
- Build a wider social circle of friends.
- Provide informal counselling to peers with disabilities.
- Explore leadership roles in different social organisations.
The definition of a good life depends on individuals’ circumstances and personal qualities, with or without disabilities. A disability is not a hindrance to having a good life because it is only one aspect of a person’s life, and it does not define the person’s worth. Regardless of the situation, building personal connections, developing personal qualities, and investing in life regulating qualities can enhance the quality of life. A good life can be attainable if individuals are open and willing to make choices and take the necessary actions to improve their daily experiences and those around them.
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