Improving the Wellbeing of Others
Role and responsibility.
Not only is a strong sense of wellbeing something we are encouraged to be conscious of for ourselves, we can also be aware of our responsibility of improving the wellbeing of people around us.
We might know we can play an important role in building and maintaining other people’s wellbeing, but we may be unsure of the practical things that we can do to help achieve it.
Simple actions can make a difference.
One that can have a significantly positive impact is learning about them.
Asking questions and actively listening to the answers.
There are benefits to this for you: it can prevent you making assumptions, which can have negative results for both parties; knowing their strengths and skillsets, likes and dislikes, interests and expertise can help you ask for and value their opinion; and you may learn something that surprises, interests or connects you, which can lead to a wellbeing boost for yourself.
For the person being asked the questions, it can help them to feel understood.
The wellbeing impact is significant.
Feeling misunderstood can lead people to feel alone and unconnected to those around them, which can be incredibly hurtful and have an extremely negative impact on a person’s wellbeing.
In contrast, feeling understood is a key part of human connection with others and is what enables us to feel emotionally safe. If we feel understood, we have a greater capacity to trust and develop bonds with others.
Feeling understood can generate feelings of being accepted, relevant, appreciated and validated. These feelings all play an important role in our understanding of our unique selves and can encourage us to view ourselves and our wellbeing much more positively than without.
Learning about others has so much power.
Build other people’s wellbeing by learning about them.
You are Unique & Loved.
