Individual life satisfaction
- MICE news
One thing in advance: we live in stormy times. Months (yes, years) of effort, exhaustion, worry but also compassion, commitment and solidarity - and ever new challenges and world political changes - determine our daily lives. It is not so easy not to lose sight of one's own well-being in such states of emergency. How good it would be to put on a protective cloak that makes this easier. And precisely this protective cloak exists. Psychology has called it resilience - an ability to defy, withstand or quickly recover from difficult situations or events. One science that studies precisely this protective coat is positive psychology. It explores what makes life successful and improves it.
But far from all the research and theory. How about a very simple image that illustrates in a special way what really matters in our own lives:
Imagine your life is an old tape recorder. Sometimes one key or another gets stuck. Sometimes the tape gets tangled in the little gears. But most of the time it plays. The soundtrack of your life.
It accompanies us always, sometimes containing quiet, sometimes loud, sometimes calm, sometimes moving songs. And it will grow - with every new experience that comes along. But this tape that we are given at birth is not empty. Our parents have already filled the entire A-side with music. 50% - genetic influences and heredity already contained on the tape. With any luck, our parents had good taste in music. But even if we don't like the A-side. Throwing it away would be a great pity - we only have this one mixtape. And it still has a B-side. In the past, the better songs were often on it anyway. So we prefer to turn the tape around and look at the other 50%. One or two songs are determined by life, by fate or events that we have no influence on. Most of the time it's quite mixed. A few beautiful sounds, but also some pretty violent and sad events that happen to us.
But the rest is free. And there should definitely be the most beautiful songs on there. Our all-time favourites! And we decide when to press which button on the recorder. Each one is representative of an important part of the good life.
REWIND. RECORD. PAUSE. PLAY. PREWIND.
With the REWIND button we come back to what has positively shaped us, what we have always been on fire for, who has helpfully accompanied us in life and had a great influence on us. The rewind button takes us back - far into childhood, but also into the very near past. It shows us where we have come from. And what we have already learned along the way.
The AWARNING button stands for all those things and people to whom we give our attention. It stands for the exchange with others. For love, friendship, attention and helpfulness. We humans are social beings. But although people surround us all the time, it is up to us to find out who suits us, who motivates, inspires and supports us. And which people rather not.
The PAUSE button stands for exactly what its name says. Pause. For relaxation, serenity, switching off and conscious enjoyment. For shifting down a gear in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, taking a deep breath and refuelling. To learn to see the little things, to consciously enjoy them and recognise them as essential instead of carelessly racing through life.
The PLAY button symbolises the motivation to start something. Play - that is the happiness of doing, experiencing moments in which we forget everything around us and are completely in our element. These so-called "flow" states promote our well-being and are essential for our life satisfaction. We experience them particularly often when we live out our talents.
With the FORWARD key, we dare to look into the future. The key stands for our plans, wishes and values. For the inner compass that tells us where we want to go. For finding out what is really important to us and then implementing it. And for how we can motivate ourselves to take a small step in this direction every day.
Each key has its very own task and raison d'être, but it is only in combination that the all-important mixture is created with which we explore and create our mixtape of life.
In this sense: explore and listen to the soundtrack of your life! How all the insights can be implementable in your own life and many ideas, strategies, exercises and tips you will gladly receive from us!
More on the soundtrack of life is available in our audiobook production "Mixtape of your life" with lots of insights into the good life, mental health and life satisfaction. Just the right mix of knowledge, stories and exercises to help you track down your personal soundtrack of life.
