Wellbeing and Wellness

  Wellbeing definition: the state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy

It is generally agreed that well-being is something we ought to strive towards, so much so that many countries measure their people’s wellbeing alongside measuring Health statistics and the state of the Economy. Yet, wellbeing is partly the outcome of personal choices as well as the outcome of political decisions.

Wellbeing, Self Management and Self Discipline

Self Management Definition: taking responsibility for one’s own behaviour and well-being.
Self Discipline Definition: the ability to control our feelings and overcome our weaknesses by actively cultivating our strengths.

A common definition of Self Management is “taking responsibility for one’s own behaviour and well-being” and a common definition of Self Control is, “the ability to control our feelings and overcome our weaknesses by actively cultivating our strengths”. Both of these are aspects of cultivating wellbeing and wellness. Wellbeing is a long-term issue because what we get away with in our earlier years, such as unhealthy eating habits, may cause us serious problems later in life. Likewise unhealthy attitudes, habits and behaviours which may be somewhat forgiven, and may even seem cute, in a younger person may be intolerable in an older person. This is especially true of our roles in life have changed, and we now have an important job, or have become a parent, and are expected to act in more responsible ways.

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Boost your Wellbeing by Moving on from the past.

Our level of Wellbeing is closely linked to our capacity for Self Management and even to our capacity for Self Discipline. This is because our wellbeing depends on us being actively involved in our own physical health and our mental health. It depends on us taking care of ourselves and changing our behaviour and habits, when necessary, to ensure that we are living in a way which promotes long-term wellbeing. Wellbeing is not about ignoring the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle – till a medical intervention is required to patch us up, just so that we can carry on with another round of bad habits and bad eating. Wellbeing involves our ongoing commitment to the care and betterment of all aspects of ourselves; including body, emotions, mind, and includes our spiritual needs too – if that is something that we are willing to recognise.

Wellbeing and Self Control

Wellbeing is a much broader concept than moment-to-moment happiness. After all, we might be tempted to do something in the moment, which gives as short-term pleasure, but brings us many challenges in the long-term. There are many ways we can hurt our wellbeing; conceiving a child with an unsuitable partner, making choices which damage our long-term financial situation such as being scammed, or getting into a speculative investment that leaves us short; as well as the more obvious ones of unhealthy eating habits or living habits. Similarly, there are many things we can do to help our ongoing wellbeing. The practices of relaxation, mindfulness, getting out into nature, and so on, all help to boost and enhance our wellbeing and can even help boost our immune system.

Our sense of wellbeing is greatly influenced by the levels of social support and relationships that we have as well, as whether we feel that there is any sense of meaning to our life and existence. In fact, even practical issues like good dietary habits are more likely to be seen in those who have good social support and rewarding relationships as this reduces the likelihood of things like comfort eating. Someone with a sense of meaning is less likely to try and escape into food or being stuck on their sofa binge watching TV.

Wellbeing is also about being resilient and about being able to move on in life and let go of the past. Therefore, the ability to forgive, and the way this help us to move on, greatly boosts our sense of wellbeing.

Wellbeing in the sense of, “the state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy” is not just about a lack of illness, discomfort and pain.  It is about how well we cope with life and the changes and challenges we face. Wellbeing is also about being resilient and about being able to move on in life and let go of the past. Therefore, the ability to forgive, and the way this help us to move on, greatly boosts our sense of wellbeing. Forgiveness is, in essence, the ability to let go of the past, to move on and to find happiness in the present – without the events of the past casting a dark cloud over the current events in our life.

“Helping Myself to More Wellbeing?”

If you are asking yourself, “How can I do that would be helping myself to more wellbeing?”, here is something which could be of incredible help….

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Drop the past and be fully alive in the present.

It is essential to our wellbeing that we can move on from the past. Yet, too many of us can get too easily stuck in the past. Old anger and resentments, or feelings of remorse, guilt and shame, can weigh heavily on our sense of wellbeing. When something bad happens, we need to be able to actively let it go; otherwise it can become like a burden we carry around.

Forgiveness lets us drop the heavy backpack of past hurts or regrets that we may be carrying around. Learn how to forgive.

It is like we have an invisible backpack that we carry around with us and we put everything in there that hurt us, or that we regret doing. Although we can’t see this invisible backpack, we can feel the weight of it and the older we get the heavier it gets till it can become a serious burden to our wellbeing. We need to deliberately and actively release ourselves of this burden, so that we can let go and move on so that we are free of the past. We only truly learn from the past when we are no longer embittered by it, for true learning brings wisdom; not wounds. In order to let go of the past we need to forgive, forgive ourselves and any others involved, in the things which pain us. Forgiveness lets us drop the heavy backpack of past hurts or regrets that we may be carrying around.

         Forgiving does not mean that we need to condone, or put up with, someone’s bad behaviour. Forgive and be free. 

Forgiving does not mean that we need to condone, or put up with, someone’s bad behaviour, as that would not be good for our wellbeing. Forgiveness means that we can stop holding on to what happened before and live more in the present, which is very good for our wellbeing. We can learn lessons from the experiences in our life a let go of painful feelings associated with them.

Use one of the links on this page to discover how a wonderful, unique, psychological approach which helps you to move on and let go. Click a link to The Four Steps to Forgiveness on this page (no need to enter an email address) and experience for yourself how it can greatly enhance your life. You can download it here, 

 

Written by: William Fergus Martin
Author: Forgiveness is Power

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Four Steps to Forgiveness

A powerful way to freedom, happiness and success.

William Fergus Martin

ISBN: 978-1-63443-344-0