Wholistic Wellbeing: A New Path To Achieving Happiness, Health And Growth

A 2021 McKinsey survey found that 79 per cent of the respondents believed that wellness is important, and 42 per cent considered it a top priority.

The events of the past two years have upended our lives but also made us wiser beyond our years. The global pandemic has made us acutely aware of our impermanence, our mortality and ushered a paradigm shift in the way we approach our life. Today, we need wellbeing more than ever. And it has become just as, if not more, important to us as our professional and social goals.

A consumer survey done by McKinsey in 2021 found that 79 per cent of the respondents believed that wellness is important, and 42 per cent considered it a top priority. Millions of people worldwide are ditching unrealistic and unhealthy work schedules to make time for and be more responsible toward their bodies, minds, and relationships. People are choosing to slow down, to find joy in living in the moment, in being mindful instead of bring 'mind-full'.

EMBRACE WHOLISTIC WELLBEING

Personal wellbeing is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It is as much about physical health as it is about emotional stability, financial safety, and a stronger connection to our community and the planet. The deep ties between health and overall wellbeing are now clearer than ever. An 80-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development found that close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives.

The fact is that every aspect of our life influences our state of wellbeing. Therefore, we need to go beyond the conventional interpretation of wellbeing and adopt a more wholistic approach toward it.

THE 8 PILLARS OF WHOLISTIC WELLBEING

For a better understanding of wellbeing, it needs to be approached across eight pillars that reflect domains of life that contribute to individual and collective health and harmony. Each pillar provides an important aspect of optimal living. Collectively, the pillars provide a roadmap for personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations with others, and resilience.

Mental Wellbeing

Mental wellbeing refers to healthy habits of thinking and emotion. How we feel, think, and act in the world contributes to our capacity for a healthy mental life, including sound decision-making, self-regulation, and self-control. Emotional wellbeing is a part of it and is about accepting our feelings and thoughts without pushing them away or letting them overwhelm us.

Physical Wellbeing

Physical wellbeing refers to a healthy, balanced, and optimally functioning body characterized by healthy habits such as regular exercise, good diet, sleeping, and eating well. It helps lower the risk for lifestyle-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic pain.

Social Wellbeing

Social wellbeing refers to the social, communal, and individual connectedness, including a widening social circle and the feeling of safety, trust, and kinship.

Community Wellbeing

Community wellbeing refers to active participation in one's community, such as volunteering time, talent, and expertise to better humanity.

Financial Wellbeing

Financial wellbeing refers to a state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, feel secure in their financial future, and be able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life. It means being able to live, plan, and adapt in changing times while having the financial freedom to make choices that make us happy and fulfilled.

Professional Wellbeing

Professional wellbeing refers to a state of being secure and satisfied with one's career path and work environment. It involves a feeling of work-life balance and feeling valued for your contributions.

Planetary Wellbeing

Planetary wellbeing refers to the wellbeing of society embedded in its natural environmental surroundings and planet at large. For the greater good of our planet, we need to create awareness, respect, and sustainable practices towards our local environments and natural resources.

Spiritual Wellbeing

It refers to the profound experience of connection to a sense of purpose or energy greater than ourselves, and loosening or dissolving of boundaries between the self and others, or the self and the world. This experience provides solace in times of challenge or uncertainty.

Eight pillars may sound like one too many, but they are all linked and add up to our complete wellbeing. They can guide us on our personal wellbeing journeys and help us understand what we truly want from our lives and how to achieve it.

(This article is authored by Sunny (Gurpreet) Singh, Founder, RoundGlass)