The Science behind Growth Journal

Since the beginning, psychology has been primarily focused on mental disorders and diseases. Only about half a century ago Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and others shifted that focus onto wellbeing, asking which interventions would scientifically help not just with removing suffering but also with human flourishing. This field become known as Positive Psychology.

Now, after decades of research we’re starting to have a glimpse of what are the most effective ways to facilitate wellbeing in people. One of the foundational theoretical frameworks in positive psychology is PERMA, defining the primary categories of sustainable wellbeing: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Purpose, and Achievement. Growth Journal is based on the evidence of the positive effects within two key areas: gratitude and intention setting. Together they contribute to multiple aspects of the PERMA model, but most significantly on balancing between Positive emotions and Achievement - two that rarely go hand-in-hand.

Gratitude

One of the two default questions asked by Growth Journal app is “What are you grateful for today?”. The research in support for becoming more grateful is fairly solid, with evidence backed benefits ranging becoming more optimistic and happy, improving quality of relationships and sleep, and even increasing longevity.

The interventions used in research have primarily been based on listing good things during the day or finding the silver lining even during dark times.

The approach taken we took at Growth Journal aims to capture the best of both worlds. On one hand, you’re able to list your blessings and what went well during the day, which has proven benefits. On the other hand, you can also state gratitude for bad experiences, and the learning or growth opportunities they provide.

Intention setting

The second default question in Growth Journal app is “What is your intention tomorrow?”. This, along with the ability to track weekly and monthly intention, is based on a body of research on the psychological and material benefits of setting goals. The reason for phrasing the question as ‘Intention’ instead of ‘Goal', is an empirical finding that app users were treating the section to live more intentionally, with things like “being more present with my children”. Ultimately, goals (or intentions) help in three key ways:

1. They improve performance through the motivation to invest the required level of effort

2. They assist with persisting over time, through setbacks

3. They drive awareness to behaviour (and ideas) that help with achieving the intended goal.