Wellbeing is defined as ‘the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy’. These can mean very different things to different people. Too much focus on comfort can be bad for both health and happiness! Anyone who has spent too many cosy nights in front on the TV with too much comfort food knows that. Too much comfort makes us sluggish and even fearful. Too much focus on health can make us miss the real joys of life. Too much focus on happiness means we avoid discomfort which is necessary for growth. 

Lasting health, wellbeing and happiness is a fine balance and looks and feels different for each of us.    

There are different ways to look at it.  We can ensure there is a balance between work, rest and play. Too much work makes us dull. Too much rest makes us lazy and prepares us for fear and anxiety when we try to shift gears and get back into the fast lane.  A life with too much play loses meaning.  

We can also seek to achieve a balance of fulfilment and achievement in our work, home and social lives as well as our inner world.  

Alternatively we can seek to bring balance to our various wellbeing pillars: physical, mental, emotional, creative, financial, social and spiritual. 

Wellbeing is about having a balance in the various areas of our life wherein we feel good about ourselves and how we are doing.  

If you want to boost your wellbeing here are five key ways in which you can: 

1.    A lot of what builds and maintains wellbeing over time involves having positive rituals in your day that energize you, body, mind, heart and soul.   Taking time to plan daily rituals that make you feel good and set you up for a good day is a really good start.   

2.   Observe your thoughts and solve your problems. If something is causing you undue unhealthy stress, address it. This might mean changing how you think about it.  It might mean being willing to let go of being right. It might mean having a conversation with someone or taking an action to sort things out. Taking even one small step per day in the direction of a resolution will make the world of a difference after a few days. 

3.   If you are feeling sluggish in any area (i.e. tired, bored), shine a light on that area and put some energy into it. If you are tired, look at whether you can exercise, sleep or relax more, or eat better.  

4.   Spend time doing things that are important to you and with people you value. When we invest our time in doing things related to what we love, we feel good and alive. When we don’t, life loses meaning and joy easily and quickly. 

5.   Do one thing to boost your wellbeing and one thing to reduce unhealthy stress every day.  A one percent improvement in any area of your life will lead to a 3800 percent improvement over a year because of compounding.  

The key to lasting happiness is a sense of power over your life.  A lot of people feel they don’t have that. While we cannot always control what happens, we can control what we focus on and we can control how we respond to things. While we are programmed to react in ways based on our past experiences and the patterns we have always followed, we have the power to change these.  It takes effort but is so worth it.  

Find a balance in all areas that feels right and works for you. Seek ‘inner balance’. When we achieve this, we naturally create a balanced and happy life and world for ourselves with achievement and fulfillment in their right measure.