Wellbeing and what exactly does it mean?

We often hear the phrase ‘’wellbeing’’, but what is it? How do you know when you are ‘’being well’’? Can you measure it? Or does it even matter since we’re all busy adulting?

According to Oxford Dictionary, Wellbeing is described as the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.

The business of wellbeing is multifactorial. It is not just what you eat or how you move that has you be well. It is a more complicated picture of also having good mental health, a high level of satisfaction with your life, a sense of meaning or purpose, and the ability to manage your stress levels. 

Our wellbeing can change over time, and it can be challenging to enjoy an overall sense of wellness without having some kind of balance in these key elements:

• Physical – this includes what you eat and how active you are.

• Emotional – your ability to cope with everyday life as well as how you think and feel about yourself. 

• Social – the extent to which you feel you belong and social inclusion. Rolled into this are your relationships with others, and your values, beliefs and traditions.   

• Spiritual. This is the ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life. Achieved through being connected to our inner self, to nature or even a higher power. 

• Intellectual. It is important to gain and maintain intellectual wellness as it helps us to expand our knowledge and skills in order to live an enjoyable and successful life. 

• Economic - your ability to meet your basic needs and feel a sense of security.

How can you measure how well you are doing? 

The experience of ‘wellness’ is very subjective. It is not for others to tell you how well you are doing at your own wellbeing. When I’m working with my clients, one of the tools I use most often is something called the Wheel of Life, which offers a 360-degree view of your current life situation. 

Each segment in the wheel represents a different area of your life that is important for overall health and wellbeing. Of course, my wheel is skewed towards nutrition and lifestyle, but the effect is pretty much the same. You would score yourself based on how you feel about different areas of your life.

Wheel of Life 

The great thing about the Wheel of Life is that it allows you to take an honest look at what’s working in your life right now and where else you would like to see improvements, then find ways to link your health goals, so there is a positive impact in other ways too, helping to increase your motivation and commitment.

It’s completely normal for people to discover they are satisfied with some areas of their lives and very unsatisfied with others. Remember that this is really a helicopter view, allowing you the luxury of evaluating the whole of your life and not piecemeal. 

It’s also common for some of my clients to get a bit frustrated if they see they score low in more areas than they’d like. If you try the Wheel of Life Exercise and don’t like what you see, don’t panic.

The job within your program (if you’re working alongside me on improving your health and nutrition) is to take consistent actions with improving specific areas of your life that you feel need a boost.

There are a handful of things I always try to be mindful of as I go about my day-to-day life for my wellbeing journey. 

• I look for ways to connect; to talk and listen to others, and to live in the moment.

• I consider how I can build more activity naturally into my day by walking when there is a realistic option, and moving my body in a way that feels good rather than a chore or a punishment.

• I observe and take notice of the simple things that bring joy. Focussing on things I am grateful for makes a big difference to how I experience my life.

• I am always on the look-out for ways to embrace new experiences, to grow and learn. 

• I try to be generous with my time, kind words and my presence.

Connect with me and learn more about what you want to achieve for yourself and improve on your general wellbeing.