The amazing team of positive psychology scientists, Dr. Martin Seligman and Dr. James Pawelski, have set an ambitious moonshot goal: 51 percent of the world flourishing by 2051. As someone who spent a full career in law enforcement before transitioning to positive psychology, where I now bridge the two, I believe this 51 percent goal must include our community protectors—our law enforcement officers. For they are the lifeblood of our communities and our constitutional republic. For those who may not have a positive view of law enforcement as a profession in light of some current challenges, I encourage you to consider how those interactions may be different if we improve individual and agency well-being.
There is a well-documented mental health crisis in policing, and the job stress, combined with neurological changes from prolonged and repeated trauma exposure, is a significant factor. As a result, officers struggle with failed relationships, substance use disorder (primarily alcohol), sex addiction, anxiety, depression, anger, and suicide. The statistics are sobering: Police officers are 3.8 times more likely to die by suicide than be killed in the line of duty and 54 percent more likely than the civilians they serve. While this reality is staggering and tragic, suicide represents only one symptom of a much larger problem.
Beyond Crisis Intervention
Here’s what most people miss: Suicide is not the only predictor of failing to thrive. It is a devastating and final act, and certainly not the first sign of thriving failure. The vast majority of officers who don’t feel they are flourishing—by even one metric—are not necessarily suicidal or experiencing suicidal ideation. They are simply not thriving. They’re going through the motions, disconnected from meaning, struggling to find joy in work that once called to them. They are operating with an uncalibrated compass, set off course by factors out of their control. Many also suffer from stress-induced elevated cortisol, inflammation, insomnia, and a variety of other seemingly uncontrollable factors.
This is where positive psychology becomes essential.
Most mental health interventions in law enforcement focus on crisis response—catching officers just before they reach the breaking point. While necessary, this reactive approach alone is insufficient. We need to deploy proactive, evidence-based strategies that help officers and their families not just survive, but genuinely flourish. These interventions must be a matter of practice in calmer weather, prior to the storm. It’s akin to wealth management, where we build equity so when crisis hits, we have a soft landing.
What Eudaimonic Well-Being Looks Like for Officers
Eudaimonic well-being, Aristotle’s view of a meaningful life, goes beyond temporary happiness. It encompasses living with purpose, developing one’s potential, experiencing meaningful relationships, and contributing to something greater than oneself. It requires the individual to build from the foundations of their strengths, rather than just ameliorating their problems and the resulting symptoms. For law enforcement officers, this might mean:
- Reconnecting with the sense of purpose that drew them to the profession—protecting and serving their communities. Research shows that officers who maintain a connection to their calling report higher well-being and lower burnout rates.
- Building genuine resilience and anti-fragility through practices like gratitude, storytelling, random acts of kindness, consistent exercise, and mindfulness, which rewires the brain’s negativity bias intensified by constant exposure to trauma and crisis. Officers trained in these practices show decreased symptoms of PTSI and improved family relationships. They also show increased positive emotion, greater productivity at work, and a higher purpose that leads to feelings of accomplishment.
- Cultivating what I call “Courageous Optimism”—the ability to maintain a moral will, combined with moral skill, courage, and agency, even when facing difficult realities. This isn’t naive positivity; it’s the research-informed recognition that officers can influence their experience and outcomes through intentional practices, on and off the job.
The Family Factor
We cannot discuss officer well-being without addressing the impact of that well-being on their families. The stress of law enforcement doesn’t end when an officer removes their uniform, after a single shot, or at the end of their career. Spouses and children experience the stress of secondary trauma, unpredictable schedules, and the constant undercurrent of worry. Will my partner, child, parent, or sibling make it home today? Positive psychology interventions that include family members—teaching shared practices for building positive emotions, strengthening relationships, and finding meaning together—create support systems that help everyone thrive, individually and together.
A Different Approach to Well-Being
Current officer wellness programs often feel like band-aids applied to bullet wounds, if effective at all—reactive, insufficient, and sometimes missing the mark entirely. They all too often focus on the facilitator and not the audience. Evidence-based well-being approaches, grounded in positive psychology, offer something different. They provide officers with tools to actively construct flourishing lives rather than simply trying to avoid mental health crises. Wellness activities check boxes, where well-being interventions foster flourishing.
This includes practices like identifying and using character strengths in daily work, building high-quality connections with colleagues and community members, and developing psychological flexibility to navigate the inherent challenges of the profession. It also includes the use of storytelling to build and enhance community.
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The Path Forward
If we’re serious about 51 percent of the world flourishing by 2051, we must include the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way, who risk the death of their body and soul, to protect our communities. This requires moving beyond crisis intervention to proactive cultivation of well-being. It means giving officers evidence-based tools not just to survive their careers, but to thrive during and long after them.
The question isn’t whether positive psychology has something to offer law enforcement. The research clearly shows it does. The real question is whether we, as a society, are willing to invest in the well-being of those who serve and protect us—not just when they’re in crisis, but as a foundational commitment to their flourishing. Because when we have healthy officers on the street, they have healthy interactions with the community and, most importantly, their families.
Our officers deserve more than programs that simply try to keep them alive. They deserve pathways to lives characterized by meaning, purpose, positive relationships, and genuine well-being—what Aristotle referred to as eudaimonia. That’s what positive psychology offers. That’s how we get our community protectors to 2051 as part of the flourishing 51 percent.
