Run a PERMA audit of your current well-being
Rate each of the five PERMA pillars to find which is currently limiting your overall flourishing.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Rate each of the five PERMA pillars to find which is currently limiting your overall flourishing.
- Why it works: PERMA’s multidimensional structure means deficits in different pillars require different interventions. A person low in Engagement needs flow-generating conditions, not more positive emotions; someone depleted in Meaning needs purpose work, not better accomplishment tracking. Without diagnosis, interventions miss the limiting factor and produce disappointing results. A structured audit converts vague dissatisfaction into a specific, addressable gap.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Treating a low PERMA score as a judgment rather than a diagnostic — the point is to find the most improvable gap, not to rate yourself.
Why it works
PERMA’s multidimensional structure means deficits in different pillars require different interventions. A person low in Engagement needs flow-generating conditions, not more positive emotions; someone depleted in Meaning needs purpose work, not better accomplishment tracking. Without diagnosis, interventions miss the limiting factor and produce disappointing results. A structured audit converts vague dissatisfaction into a specific, addressable gap.
How to do it
- 1Rate each pillar 1–10: P (positive emotions), E (engagement/flow), R (quality relationships), M (sense of meaning/purpose), A (progress toward meaningful goals).
- 2For your lowest pillar, write three sentences: what is the deficit? What has sustained it? What would a 7 look like?
- 3Focus first on the single lowest pillar rather than spreading effort across all five.
- 4Re-audit monthly — the limiting pillar often shifts as one improves.
What the evidence says
ObservationalThe PERMA structure is based on Seligman’s theoretical framework. Measurement instruments (PERMA-Profiler) have been developed and validated in research settings.
Honest caveat: The five-element structure is theoretically motivated; factor analyses show moderate support for the structure but also overlap between elements. The audit format here is a practitioner application.
- — Butler & Kern (2016), "The PERMA-Profiler: a brief multidimensional measure of flourishing," International Journal of Wellbeing
Common mistake
Treating a low PERMA score as a judgment rather than a diagnostic — the point is to find the most improvable gap, not to rate yourself.
IX Coach opens each engagement cycle with a PERMA check-in to identify the current limiting pillar and orient the session toward the most leverage-rich area.
Practice this with IX Coach →