Introduction

If you run a health care business, you already know that success is not only about money, growth, or a strong launch. It is also about whether you can keep going with energy, clarity, and purpose. That is where the idea of PERMA vs hedonic happiness becomes useful. Hedonic happiness is about feeling good in the moment, while PERMA is about building a fuller kind of wellbeing through positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment  (Ryan & Deci, 2001).

For health care entrepreneurs, this difference matters a lot. A clinic owner, telehealth founder, or health tech leader may enjoy a good lunch, a weekend break, or a nice message from a client. That is hedonic happiness. It is real and valuable. But it can fade quickly. PERMA asks a deeper question: are you building a business that also gives you focus, trust, purpose, and a sense of progress over time? Seligman describes PERMA as five measurable elements of wellbeing, not as a new and separate kind of happiness, but as the building blocks of it. 

Hedonic happiness is often linked with pleasure, comfort, and life satisfaction. A major review by Ryan and Deci explains that this view focuses on happiness, positive feelings, and the experience of pleasure versus displeasure. In simple terms, hedonic happiness asks, “Do I feel good now?”

PERMA asks a wider question: “Am I flourishing?” Positive emotion matters, but so do deep work, supportive relationships, meaning, and real achievement. That wider lens is useful in health care because the work is emotionally demanding and often high stakes. Research on healthcare professionals shows that PERMA-based approaches can support wellbeing, and studies in healthcare settings have linked PERMA with better coping, positive psychological capital, and subjective wellbeing.

This matters for entrepreneurs because health care businesses can look successful from the outside while the founder feels empty inside. Research on the healthcare sector entrepreneurship also notes that burnout is a serious challenge, which makes wellbeing more than a personal bonus. It is part of business survival (Kearney et al., 2020).

A Simple Way to Tell the Difference

Hedonic happiness is like a bright candle. It gives warmth and light, but it burns down quickly.

PERMA is more like building a room with windows, steady light, and strong walls. It lasts longer because it is built into the structure of life and work.

For a health care entrepreneur, hedonic happiness may come from a good sales month, praise from clients, or a rare free afternoon. PERMA comes from creating a business that feels meaningful, is supported by strong teams, and gives you a sense of growth.

This is not about choosing one and rejecting the other. Both matter. The mistake is to live only for short bursts of good feeling and forget the deeper parts of wellbeing. Research on subjective wellbeing also suggests that happiness can affect health, which is especially important in a sector that is meant to improve human lives (Diener et al., 2017). 

Fictional Case Study One: Dr Maya and the Busy Clinic

Dr Maya founded a small women’s health clinic. In the first year, she felt happy every time a patient left a glowing review. She loved buying flowers for the waiting room and celebrating each new hire. That was hedonic happiness. It made her feel good.

But by year two, Maya was exhausted. She was answering messages late at night, solving staff problems, and worrying about cash flow. The good feelings were still there, but they did not protect her from stress.

Then she changed her focus. She began holding weekly team check-ins. She asked staff what gave them energy and where they needed support. She also set one clear mission for the clinic: to make care feel humane, calm, and personal. Over time, her work felt less frantic. She still enjoyed good moments, but now those moments sat inside a larger sense of meaning and accomplishment.

That is PERMA in action. The pleasure did not disappear. It simply stopped being the only goal.

Fictional Case Study Two: Arjun and the Telehealth Start-up

Arjun built a telehealth platform for chronic care patients. He loved the thrill of investor meetings and product launches. Every new feature release gave him a rush. That was hedonic happiness again. It was exciting, fast, and rewarding.

However, the business kept changing direction. His team felt tired. Customers liked the app, but many stopped using it after a few weeks. Arjun realised he was chasing excitement, not building trust.

He then changed the model. He spent more time speaking with nurses, patients, and care coordinators. He redesigned the platform around easier follow-up, better communication, and smaller but more useful improvements. He also stopped celebrating only growth numbers and started celebrating patient retention, staff learning, and service quality.

His own wellbeing improved, too. He felt more engaged, more connected, and more proud of the work. His happiness became steadier because it was tied to purpose and progress, not only to short-term wins.

Why PERMA Fits Healthcare Founders 

Health care entrepreneurs live with pressure, uncertainty, and responsibility. They need emotional energy, but they also need a life structure that can hold that pressure. PERMA helps because it is practical.

1. Positive emotion helps you recover.
2. Engagement helps you stay focused.
3. Relationships help you avoid isolation.
4. Meaning helps you keep going in difficult times.
5. Accomplishment helps you see proof that your effort matters.

The model also fits health care because the industry is built on trust. Patients, staff, and partners all notice whether the leader is calm, sincere, and consistent. A founder who only chases short-term pleasure may make quick decisions that do not age well. A founder who builds PERMA is more likely to create a business that feels human and stable.

What does this mean in Practice?

A good question for any health care entrepreneur is this: Am I only trying to feel better today, or am I building a life and business that can support me next year, too?

You can use hedonic happiness for rest, reward, and small joy. You can use PERMA for design, direction, and growth.

When you are tired, a small pleasure helps.
When you are building a company, PERMA helps more.

That is why the best approach is not PERMA versus hedonic happiness as a fight. It is PERMA with hedonic happiness as one part of the picture.

References

1. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
2. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
3. Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018). Advances in subjective well being research. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(4), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6
4. Kearney, C., Weininger, R. B., Vachon, M. L. S., Harrison, R. L., & Mount, B. M. (2009). Self-care of physicians caring for patients at the end of life: Being connected… a key to my survival. JAMA, 301(11), 1155–1164. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.352
5. Maben, J., Taylor, C., Dawson, J., Leamy, M., McCarthy, I., Reynolds, E., Ross, S., & Shuldham, C. (2018). A realist informed mixed methods evaluation of Schwartz Center Rounds® in England. Health Services and Delivery Research, 6(37). https://doi.org/10.3310/hsdr06370