If you asked 100 people “What’s well-being?” you’d likely get 100 different answers.
“It’s wellness”
“Clean eating”
“Being kind to yourself”
“Exercising with friends”
“Losing weight”
These are great, but they aren’t what well-being is. They’re activities. Activities that boost well-being.
So what is it?
I believe well-being is how much energy you have, which exists on a sliding scale that ranges from feeling great to suicidal.
I’ve been at every point on that spectrum, and it frustrates me how overcomplicated the concept of well-being (and mental health) has become.
That’s why I started writing about it about it, in hope I can make things clearer for anyone who wants to feel better. Because I believe if people start looking at well-being through the lens of energy, they’ll focus on what truly matters: simple, sustainable steps to feel better and recharge.
Not weight loss gimmicks or unrealistic self-care trends that end up making them feel worse.
But what about you? What’s your definition of well-being? And what’s the one thing you do the most to boost it?
An interesting observation as we return from the holidays has been that almost every one of our leaders hopes we are “recharged”. Consciously or not, they are using the same language and metaphor of the battery that you use. To my mind, they are being simplistic in thinking that the very act of taking a break from work should recharge us. Where they should be focused now is on how they can support their teams to maintain “full charge” across the next 12 months. Their hope that we are recharged by a holiday is a tacit admission that work and life is inevitably draining. As you know, it need not be so.
Having come from a job that was sucking all my energy, I think having a job that aligns with your values is important.
I know that sometimes I will work over time, but if the work is what you truly love, you don't mind the odd late finish. But when it turns into consistently working overtime, then it'll take energy away from your home/leisure space.
I agree that wellbeing is being viewed too black and white. You're either well or you're not. As opposed to a continuum which you move up and down depending on what's happening in your life.
What annoys me about the wellness/mental health info out there, is that it focuses on the lower ends of the continuum has something that needs to be fixed. Sometimes it does, but sometimes being in the lower end means other parts of your life need to be addressed. It calls for reflection, why am I in this space. Is the change I need to make a simple one or is it more in-depth such as leaving a job or a relationship.
Like when I went to the GP to review my mental health plan and I scored low on the DASS and she asked me why I need more visits if I'm scoring okay. I told her that, there is lots of unfinished work to be done with my psych and that the sessions are helping me to maintain my current state and not requite medication.
The medical model sucks.