Capstone title and abstract
Flourishing Pastoralists:
Managing for Well-Being while Restoring the Grasslands of the World
Healthy grasslands are critically important to humanity’s survival. The state of these environments is dependent upon the well-being of the pastoralists that steward these lands. This project introduces a Well-Being Self-Monitoring Tool for pastoralists practicing Holistic Management globally. After reviewing existing theory and research, seven domains were chosen to represent human flourishing: prevalent emotions, satisfying life, vitality, personal resources, self-actualization, supportive relationships, and trust and belonging. Drawing on existing validated surveys, questions tapping each element were selected and will be incorporated into a smart phone application. Similar to the many apps that have proven successful in making other lifestyle changes such as tracking calories and exercise, this Well-Being Self-Monitoring Tool will enable people to periodically track their well-being across the seven dimensions. This information can then be integrated into the Holistic Management decision-making framework. That is, the tool will help people manage for what they want to change in their lives. Considering positive psychology’s aim to enhance human flourishing worldwide, the tool potentially can impact some of the world’s most pressing problems by building the capacity of pastoralists to thrive so that they may better restore the health of the grasslands of the world in which we all depend.
