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)?
It seems that the true definition, while a little vague, is not simply “not having a diagnosed disease”. According to the Collins Dictionary, your wellbeing is your “health and happiness”, and the Macmillian Dictionary goes one further with the suggestion that it is the “satisfactory state that someone or something should be in, that involves such things as being happy, healthy, and safe, and having enough money.”
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.
For the alphas (the high achievers), I’m sorry to tell you that you cannot get this overall sense of wellness by acing a couple of these elements and hoping your achievements in one area can pick up the slack in other areas where you might be lacking. 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:
1. Physical
This includes what you eat and how active you are. If you are not sure if your diet suits your body, book a nutritional therapy consultation here. If you would like to move more and don’t know how to start, the best is to consult with a personal trainer. You can book a call here.
To monitor your progress in physical health book a 3D Body Scanning here to learn what’s your body composition. Did you know that your waste circumference is a great indicator for your overall health risk?
2. Emotional
Your ability to cope with everyday life as well as how you think and feel about yourself. Sometimes you have big goals and you are getting emotional about them, but you don’t know how to get started. Don’t hesitate to book a coaching consultation here.
3. 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.
4. 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. If you don’t know how to get started, maybe you first need to experience a reiki session, where you can get into a meditative state with the help of a practitioner.
5. 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.
6. 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. One of the tools we use in coaching is 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. You would score yourself based on how you feel about different areas of your life: health, weight, fitness, energy levels, personal achievements, work/career, sense of purpose, happiness, fun, family life, social life and friendships, and (last but not least) ‘me time’.
Try the Wheel of Life for yourself
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.
Consider each area of your life now and rate on a scale of 1-10 how satisfied you feel in the correct area in your wheel. 10 is high, and 1 is low. So, if the level is 4, put a cross on the 4th circle from the centre.
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.
Try the exercise and see how you fare. Did you know that the 7th April is the World Health Day? Complete the Wheel of Life to get your wellbeing score. For your physical health, waste circumference is a better indicator than weight loss. If you are planning to lose weight (or inches from your waste), download the “10 Secrets of Lasting Weight Loss” eBook below.
