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PurposeThe objectives of the study were to explore the lived experiences of adolescents for understanding the process of their flourishing and develop a functional model to explain the dynamics of flourishing during adolescence.Design/methodology/approachGuided by the qualitative approach, the authors used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore how various factors affect the process of flourishing during adolescence. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 10 adolescents to collect qualitative data.FindingsA total of eight boosters (four internal and four external) and seven barriers (five internal and two external) emerged. The results highlighted the importance of a functional model that explained the dynamics of adolescents' flourishing. Though the authors conceded that the presence of boosters and absence of barriers were instrumental in enhancing flourishing during adolescence, based on the extant literature, the authors assumed the existence and operation of other intra-individual and inter-individual factors or correlates.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the study participants are school-going adolescents living in a supported urban family environment where expectations to study and achieve are an important cultural component. Second, the study has focussed on the participants belonging to late adolescence—a transitional phase to emerging adulthood.Practical implicationsThere are three implications of the study—theoretical (conceptualisation of a functional model), practical (construction of a new measure of flourishing) and clinical (designing intervention programmes to enhance positive living in adolescents).Originality/valueThe study has provided a deeper insight into adolescents' flourishing from insiders' perspectives using the framework of IPA and discovered and elaborated a functional model of adolescents' flourishing.