What is Wellbeing?
Wellbeing is everywhere.
Wellbeing is a term that was definitely not a part of my vocabulary when I was growing up. Now, it seems it’s in almost all parts of my life: in the books or articles I read, the programs I watch, the social media I follow, the products I am encouraged to purchase, and the policies in the workplaces and schools I work within. Having good wellbeing is absolutely what I want for myself and the people around me.
But, what is wellbeing?
When academics aren’t in agreement, you know the question asked has a complex answer.
Although that is true for wellbeing, I think all the complexity leads to something simple.
One commonly used definition is how people feel and how they evaluate their lives. [1]
So, if someone feels good and thinks their life is going really well, they have a strong sense of wellbeing. If someone doesn’t feel good and thinks their life is not at all going the way they would like, their wellbeing is not good, or it could be described that they have illbeing.
Where it gets complicated.
Wellbeing isn’t binary. It isn’t only either strong or ill. Between the two extremes there is a whole spectrum.
There are endless realities of wellbeing.
And wellbeing is not fixed. We can be at different points of the spectrum at different points of our lives, or for some people, including myself, different points of the same day.
And anyway, it’s all subjective. Whether we feel good, or that our lives are going the way we want them to, is all determined by the individual.
With all that going on, its understandable why its complex to pinpoint what wellbeing is.
However, to simplify it all…
If we know a person’s wellbeing is subjectively determined by themselves, if we know that there is a spectrum of wellbeing, and if we know that wellbeing is not a fixed concept, we can also know that the concept of wellbeing is unique for every individual and that the experience of wellbeing is unique to them too.
Put simply, wellbeing can only be determined by the unique individual themselves based upon what it means to them and their experience of it.
So, instead of asking the question what is wellbeing? and wanting to be given a definite answer. I would absolutely recommend spending time exploring what wellbeing means to you.
Only you can determine what makes sense and is important to your unique self.
You are Unique & Loved.
[1] Michaelson J., Mahony S., Schifferes J. Measuring Wellbeing: A Guide for Practitioners. New Economics Foundation; London, UK: 2012
