What Is Well-Being? The Top 5 That Matter The Most

How can we define it?

Well-being is the sense of health and wellness, in other words, the state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy. It’s not the absence of disease or life’s problems, it is the combination of feeling good and functioning well. Your well-being is a combination of physical, emotional, mental, and social health, and it is attached to good mental health, a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and the ability to manage stress. 

Understanding Well-being

When we talk about well-being, what are talking about? We are talking about the quality of your relationships and friendships at home, with your family, colleagues, and your community. Well-being looks at your health – what you’re consuming in terms of food, content, and media, how you’re taking care of yourself physically and mentally, and what hobbies and activities excite you and you make time for. It’s associated with positive things that make you feel good – things that you enjoy and allow you to be positive. The backside is that most people overlook simpler things to focus on money and wealth, resulting in poor work-life balance.

Well-being or Wealth?

Usually, when we think of well-being we immediately attach it to wealth – amassing money to fix our everyday challenges. Although money does play a significant factor, it’s not the overall defining factor. Wealth makes life easier by allowing you to take care of your health, achieve your goals, and experience life freely. But, your well-being is not linked to wealth, it is linked to your mind, body, and soul.

Top 5 that matter the most

Well-being requires one to be mindful of their life and their environment, and this includes actively making positive changes. How do you start the journey? Let’s look at the list below;

1. Physical Well-being

Physical activity with movement and exercise complete with a sufficient diet affects the functioning of our bodies. We must understand what a healthy diet and exercise routine look like, allowing us to function at a high capacity. Our physical well-being requires us to eat well and keep our bodies moving, boosting our emotional well-being by releasing endorphins. Physical well-being prevents diseases, boosts your immune system, keeps you fit, and helps to detoxify your body from everyday pressures. 

2. Emotional Well-being

Emotional well-being requires us to build emotional skills to cope with various situations that we may encounter in our lives. It requires us to be mindful, and positive and regulate our emotions. As we build these skills, we’ll be able to cope with stress, handle our emotions, and recover from disappointment. Emotional well-being is crucial for our physical health, it requires us to find healthy ways to deal with our emotions.

3. Social Well-being

It’s about our interactions with others in our home, workplace, and community placing us in an environment that is filled with people, places, and conversations. Giving the opportunity to practice communication through socializing with others developing and maintaining relationships, being involved in activities that interest us, join local organizations or clubs. Social well-being allows us to have more positive interactions with others, helping us to feel less lonely and disconnected.  

4. Economic Well-being

Is the ability to meet our basic needs and achieve a sense of security. In other words, economic well-being focuses on a work-life balance that allows us to find work that is fulfilling and find rewarding rather than work just to receive a higher paycheck. This requires us to build professional skills that allow us to find purpose and meaning in our work, allowing us to achieve our goals and live our best lives possible. Economically work is our primary source of income, and most likely the place or space we spend the most time in. So it is crucial to find a balance that allows us to thrive whilst being in a healthy position to take care of ourselves and meet our human needs for survival.

5. Spiritual Well-being

Taking the time to reflect on our inner selves requires spiritual well-being. This can mean something different to each individual in terms of religion, Christianity, or faith. It requires you to understand your innermost being. For some, it can be a relaxing way to re-align with themselves for the new goal they wish to endeavor. For some, it is meditation in the form of yoga that brings them the most relaxation. Some individuals may refer to it as soul whilst others feel more comfortable with meditation; whichever may be your priority, individuals can draw values, beliefs, and traditions that can work with or connect to their emotional state of being.

Well-being can be different for everyone, and achieving a sense of well-being is a different journey for each individual. Understanding who you are and what is important to you helps you to build the different areas in your life. It is an everyday process and is not a one-time thing. But it is the continued application and engagement that allows you to achieve the state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy.