PERMA?

 In The Art of the Impossible, Steven Kotler documents his inroad towards his defining work - flow science.  Lyme decease was the unlikely trigger.  The ailment had him on verge of suicide, forcing him to entertain overdosing on barbiturates prescribed to him to manage his pain.

One day, a friend asks him to go surfing.  The idea sounded insane to him for he was at a point that doctors have told him they have.done all they could.  But there she was, this friend, inviting the immobilized Kotler to surf.

I keep wondering how she managed to be Positive despite the bleak circumstances.  She convinced him to go out with her and he did manage to surf on what he called the wimpiest of waves.

The experience was exhilarating.  It drained all his energy and he found himself unable to get out of bed for the next two weeks.  However, he found himself bumming a ride to surf again.  He was locked in; he was Engaged.  He would find himself in this cycle of surfing, being drained by the exercise, recuperating, and back surfing again.

 To be sure, it was his Relationship with his friend that initiated him to this cycle.  However, he discovered  an experience that defied explanation.  It forced him to research, find the Meaning of this experience.  It forced him to explore what is happening.

This quest eventually led him to Achieve big milestones in flow.  

Although a best selling author, Kotler also tells that he undergoes through a lot of agony while writing.   

I think his life is an interesting portrait of what it means to flourish.

He had to depend on Positivity of a friend to experience surfing and be Engaged by it.  His Relationship with that friend sparked a quest along a Meaningful research that resulted in shining Acheivement.

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