How do you know if you are well?
Next week is World Wellbeing Week: 21 – 30 June. But what does wellbeing mean? How do we know if we are well?
When we are on auto-pilot, caught up in our habit of doing, doing, doing, it’s hard to catch the moment when it’s time to press the reset button.
I know when I’m not well, I feel tight, narrow-minded, reactive and tired. How do you feel?
World Wellbeing Week is perhaps an indication of the state our wellbeing or lack of it. An indication that perhaps many of us feel off kilter. It is also an important opportunity to raise awareness of the wide-ranging aspects of wellbeing, including social, physical, emotional, financial, career, community and environmental wellbeing.
Wellbeing is widely talked about these days and yet it’s so subjective. Sometimes we say lightly ‘I’m well, thank you’, when someone asks us: ‘How are you?’, but how do you know you are truly well?
Photo: Silvarita
What allows us to genuinely say: I’m well?
In times of crisis, stress and difficulty we can easily lose our sense of wellness and what brings us wellbeing. We feel disconnected from the things that are good for us, that give us energy, joy, safety, connection, health, meaning and purpose. And if we are not careful it can lead to low mood, depression, feeling lost, depleted and exhausted.
But what is it in our life that allows us to genuinely say: I’m well. What are some things we do or don’t do (anymore) that give us a sense of wellness? And what could we do more of or change to increase our wellbeing?
Looking after ourselves to stay and be well can easily get lost in the busyness of our day-to-day life where doing, performing, achieving, succeeding is often prioritised over relaxing, resting, enjoying, non-doing and slowing down.
When I feel off kilter, I know I need some time at home with no agenda, just pottering around the house and garden, having a snooze in the afternoon. I also know that I need to go on a long solitary walk in nature to be in my own good company, to clear my head, to let life flow through me, to just be without having to do anything.
Photo: Goran Horvat
Recognising when we are not feeling well is the first step to feeling well and alive again.
Do you know what’s good for you, what sustains you, what gives you energy?
We all have things that ‘fill our tank’, what is it for you?
And remember, it’s important to make time for the things that we know are good for us and do them vs saying ‘I haven’t got time’ which simply isn’t true. We always have choice to do the things that make us feel well.
If you need some help and support in redressing the balance, get in touch to book your free initial coaching conversation.