--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R…" description: "\"P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/martin-seligman-5268_accomplishment_p-is-positive-emotion-e-is-engagement-r_920746.jpg" --- # P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is… ![“P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose to do. Pretty much everything else is in service of one of or more of these goals. That's the human dashboard.” quote by Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/martin-seligman-5268_accomplishment_p-is-positive-emotion-e-is-engagement-r_920746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/martin-seligman-5268_accomplishment_p-is-positive-emotion-e-is-engagement-r_920746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c18/martin-seligman-5268_accomplishment_p-is-positive-emotion-e-is-engagement-r_920746.jpg) > “P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose to do. Pretty much everything else is in service of one of or more of these goals. That's the human dashboard.” [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The acronym PERMA outlines five core components—positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment—that together form a framework for human well‑being. **In simple terms:** Five pillars of well‑being. Key Takeaway Focus on these five areas for fulfillment. Themes well‑being psychology motivation Mood reflective instructive Type educational motivational When to use this quote - personal development - coaching - education - organizational health Key Concepts PERMA model positive psychology Questions to Reflect On - Which PERMA element is weakest for you? - How can you strengthen it? A Different Perspective Neglecting any pillar can limit overall happiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Five elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-elements/) [Free people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-people/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [Positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, to inauthenticity, to depression, and, as we age, to the gnawing realization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/positive-emotion-alienated-from-the-exercise-of-character-leads-to/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Positive emotion can be about the past, the present, or the future. The positive emotions about the future include optimism, hope, faith, and trust.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/positive-emotion-can-be-about-the-past-the-present-or-the-future-the/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Freedom is one of the principal goals of human endeavor, but the best use man can make of his freedom is to place limitations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-conklin/freedom-is-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-human-endeavor-but-the-best/) Edwin Conklin > [One of my big goals as a human being is to continue to write what's really happening to me, even if it's a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/one-of-my-big-goals-as-a-human-being-is-to-continue-to-write-what-s/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [It's an up and down thing, the human goals, because the human is always an explorer, an adventurist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/it-s-an-up-and-down-thing-the-human-goals-because-the-human-is-always/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [And what I love about music and art in general is that you can take something so negative or positive - any emotion, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-liu/and-what-i-love-about-music-and-art-in-general-is-that-you-can-take/) [Amber Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-liu/) > [One thing a goal must do is fill us with positive emotion when we think about it. The more intensely we feel about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/one-thing-a-goal-must-do-is-fill-us-with-positive-emotion-when-we/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [If I'm around a bunch of people that's sad, I gotta try to make them laugh or come up with something positive out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/too-short/if-i-m-around-a-bunch-of-people-that-s-sad-i-gotta-try-to-make-them/) [Too Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/too-short/) > [There are only two emotions from our perspective … The one that feels good, that feeling of hope or happiness or love. That good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-only-two-emotions-from-our-perspective-the-one-that-feels/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“Gratitude, then, is a capability built up through exercise and focus. It’s an ability to perceive, receive, and produce the positive emotion of gratefulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/gratitude-then-is-a-capability-built-up-through-exercise-and-focus-it/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [If you intend to be of assistance, your eye is not upon the trouble but upon the assistance, and that is quite different. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/if-you-intend-to-be-of-assistance-your-eye-is-not-upon-the-trouble/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [People are in one of two states in a relationship,” Gottman went on. “The first is what I call positive sentiment override, where positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-are-in-one-of-two-states-in-a-relationship-gottman-went-on-the/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Positive emotion is beautiful creation of mind.Its the loveliest thing brain has invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/positive-emotion-is-beautiful-creation-of-mind-its-the-loveliest/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [Negative emotion is your indicator of resistance, while positive emotion is your indicator of allowance. And they are on the same meter: allowance; resistance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/negative-emotion-is-your-indicator-of-resistance-while-positive/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-would-absolutely-recommend-against-excessive-positivity-and/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) ## More by Martin Seligman > [It used to be that whenever I introduced myself to people and told them I was a psychologist, they would shrink away from me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-used-to-be-that-whenever-i-introduced-myself-to-people-and-told/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I have never worked on interrogation; I have never seen an interrogation, and I have only a passing knowledge of the literature on interrogation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-have-never-worked-on-interrogation-i-have-never-seen-an/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-m-trying-to-broaden-the-scope-of-positive-psychology-well-beyond/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [It's a matter of ABC: When we encounter ADVERSITY, we react by thinking about it. Our thoughts rapidly congeal into BELIEFS. These beliefs may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-s-a-matter-of-abc-when-we-encounter-adversity-we-react-by-thinking/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [One of the things psychologists used to say was that if you are depressed, anxious or angry, you couldn't be happy. Those were at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/one-of-the-things-psychologists-used-to-say-was-that-if-you-are/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [It is the combination of reasonable talent and the ability to keep going in the face of defeat that leads to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/it-is-the-combination-of-reasonable-talent-and-the-ability-to-keep/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Psychology is much bigger than just medicine, or fixing unhealthy things. It's about education, work, marriage - it's even about sports. What I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/psychology-is-much-bigger-than-just-medicine-or-fixing-unhealthy/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [What humans want is not just happiness. They want justice; they want meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/what-humans-want-is-not-just-happiness-they-want-justice-they-want/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I have spent most of my life working with mental illness. I have been president of the world's largest association of mental-illness workers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-working-with-mental-illness-i-have-been/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Finding permanent and universal causes for misfortune is the practice of despair...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/finding-permanent-and-universal-causes-for-misfortune-is-the-practice/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [We deprive our children, our charges, of persistence. What I am trying to say is that we need to fail, children need to fail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/we-deprive-our-children-our-charges-of-persistence-what-i-am-trying/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [One of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/one-of-my-worries-about-america-is-the-epidemic-of-depression-we-ve/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [The Fundamentalist Religions simply seem to offer more hope for a brighter future than do the more liberal, humanistic ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/the-fundamentalist-religions-simply-seem-to-offer-more-hope-for-a/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [If the point of the inner-child movement is to cure adult problems, it doesn't work. Reliving childhood traumas gives you a nice afterglow, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/if-the-point-of-the-inner-child-movement-is-to-cure-adult-problems-it/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I don't mind being wrong, and I don't mind changing my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/i-don-t-mind-being-wrong-and-i-don-t-mind-changing-my-mind/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) [Explore all 102 Martin Seligman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) ## More Accomplishment quotes > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-most-important-rules-for-success-is-this-every-great/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [I'm not always right, but I learn from my mistakes and make it a productive experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-kolhoff/i-m-not-always-right-but-i-learn-from-my-mistakes-and-make-it-a/) [Carson Kolhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-kolhoff/) > [Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/suffering-in-life-can-uncover-untold-depths-of-character-and-unknown/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“One man accomplishment Is another mans failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-sargent/one-man-accomplishment-is-another-mans-failure/) Anthony Sargent > [I expected college to feel like a major accomplishment. I walked across the stage, eight months pregnant with my almost seven-year-old daughter watching in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-expected-college-to-feel-like-a-major-accomplishment-i-walked/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [Our purpose on this earth is not one single event, an accomplishment we can check off a list. There is no test. No passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/our-purpose-on-this-earth-is-not-one-single-event-an-accomplishment/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/an-untrained-or-uneducated-marine-deployed-to-the-combat-zone-is-a/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) [Browse all 1,598 Accomplishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose to do. Pretty much everything else is in service of one of or more of these goals. 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