“Entrepreneurship, Self Organization, and Eudaimonic Well-Being: A Dynamic Approach”

Originally posted in our June 2021 Top of Mind Newsletter.

We move onto a recent paper published by Nadav Shir and Carol D. Ryff emphasizing how entrepreneurial activity can increase our well-being.

With a focus on the self-directed nature of entrepreneurship, Shir and Ryff expand on our learning from the PERMA+ Model.

“[They] define self-organization in entrepreneurship as the autonomous act of organizing goals, activities, and behaviors in pursuit of a personal vision, and further as the process of translating that vision (i.e., one’s vision of an ideal life and self, the way one wishes to live and exist in the world) into specific entrepreneurial goals and actions.”

Therefore, the value-driven agency that we find among entrepreneurs is encouraging when considering fostering these skills in ourselves and others. Moreover, it would seem that the self-directed nature of pursuing our goals opens a sort of “spiritual freedom.” This freedom elicits positive emotion, a sense of accomplishment, and meaning that are cornerstones of the PERMA+ Model.

So, Shir and Ryff’s work shows us a brighter and more engaging way to view entrepreneurship.

Get the Paper