What Does It Mean To Be ‘Well’?
You often hear the phrase wellbeing, but what actually is it? How do you know when you are ‘being well’ enough? How can you measure it? And does it much matter anyway (because we’re all busy these days)?
The business of wellbeing is multifactorial. It is not just what you eat or how you move that makes you 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.
While it is not necessary to feel that every single one of the elements below is A-OK, you cannot 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, social inclusion, your relationships with others, and your values, beliefs and traditions
Spiritual - your ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life
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 (or otherwise) you are doing at your own wellbeing. When I’m working with my clients, one of the tools I use 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 score yourself based on how you feel about different areas of your life: health, work/career, relationships, finance, personal growth, family life, spirituality, and social life and friendships.
It’s completely normal for people to discover they are satisfied with some areas of their lives and very unsatisfied with others. But remember that this is really a helicopter view, allowing you the luxury of evaluating the whole of your life and not individual areas.
If you try the Wheel of Life Exercise and don’t like what you see, don’t panic. The job within your programme (if you’re working alongside me on improving your health and nutrition) is to take actions consistent with improving specific areas of your life that you feel need a boost. It is often possible to link a couple of these wheel segments together. For example, if you would like to improve your social life and your fitness level, think about how you could link the two – perhaps by joining a dance class or taking a course that will help you get back into a sport you used to love when you were younger. Team sports like hockey or netball are a perfect example and, if you fancy having a go just type ‘get back into hockey’ into your internet browser to discover local possibilities.
Try the exercise and see how you fare. There are a handful of things I always try to be mindful of as I go about my day-to-day life.
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
