3 steps to survive this winter (positive psychology)

December the cold winter is finding its way into our homes, into our lives.
Thanks to positive psychology and practicle ways to achieve succes can help us through this frosty season, and the ones to come.

Here's how to defeat the winter depression that sneaks up on us:

1. Design yourself a beautiful day

Positive psychology divides life satisfaction into three cathegories of which the first is the so called "pleasant life". The pleasant life is the constant experience of positive emotion. Simply 'feeling' happy. Your first assignment is to experience the joyfull emotions in life. So pick a date, somewhere next week, take that day off (or take a saturday) and design your perfect day. Not only when excecuting but also when planning your beautiful day your pleasant life will be enhanced.

2. Strength date

For the second assignment you're going to need a partner (a good friend works too). In this assignment you're in persuit of the "good life". The good life is the second part of the formula for life satisfaction. You'll start with identifying each other's strentghs and weaknesses. This is also a crucial step in finding success. In this assignment we are focussing on your highest strengths. Now once you have found each other's exceptional excel you are going to plan an evening in which both your strengths are used. The application of your greatest strength gives you a certain flow. A feeling that your one with the music, time stops and you just go.Psychologist have found that doing what you're both good at and knowing that of your counterpart is a great strengthener of relationships. If you're having trouble discovering your strengths and weaknesses visit www.authentichappiness.org. This website is a free test to discover your strengths and weaknesses.

3. Gratitude visit

Close your eyes (after you've read number two obviously!). Try and remember someone that is enormously important to you or has changed your life in a good direction. And whom you've never properly thanked. Plus: the person has to be alive. I hope you have such a person. So for the gratitude visit you'll write a 300 word testimonial to that person you've gotten your mind on and you're going to pick up the phone and call this person. Ask if you can visit and don't tell why. Then when you get to wherever you're going to visit you'll read this testimonial to your person of choice. This is a simple but unfortunately rather unconventional activity but has a major and long term impact on this person's third aspect of life satisfaction. This third variable is the meaningful life. The "meaningful life" is also the most important contributor to life satisfaction.

Life Satisfaction = Pleasant Life + Good Life + Meaningful life

These steps were inspired by Professor Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology. For more information about positive psychology see Martin Seligman's speech at TedEd.