What is Wellbeing
What is Wellbeing?
To manage a wellbeing economy, measuring wellbeing is essential. However, since wellbeing is intangible, we must rely on proxy measures that are based on its various components to assess it.
This section aims to synthesise current ideas on wellbeing and present a fresh perspective to improve our understanding and evaluation of it. By exploring its various dimensions and interrelationships, we can develop a set of indicators that reflect the true state of individuals' and communities' wellbeing.
The Reality of Wellbeing
Wellbeing is a reflection of the safety and security of our lives, the quality of our connections with ourselves and others, and the satisfaction of our fundamental needs. The primary drivers of wellbeing are composed of three distinct elements.
Security encompasses our physical and mental health as well as our overall physical safety.
Connectedness refers to the quality of relationships we have with ourselves and those around us. It profoundly influences our self-esteem and sense of belonging, shaping how we feel about ourselves and how well we are supported by society.
Stimulation relates to the balance between excitement and stimulation in our lives and the peace and calmness we seek. Achieving a harmonious balance between these two elements is key to maintaining our wellbeing.
The Perceptions of Wellbeing
The challenge of wellbeing is that it comprises both a reality and a perception.
On the one hand, wellbeing reflects the concrete aspects of our lives, such as safety, enjoyment, and fulfilment. On the other hand, it is also shaped by our individual perceptions of how safe, enjoyable, and fulfilling our lives are.
The way we evaluate our capacity to handle the various opportunities and challenges that come our way on a daily basis has a significant impact on our perception of wellbeing. This assessment is a crucial factor in determining our overall sense of satisfaction and contentment with life.
The Perceptions of Needs
The needs of individuals vary depending both on their individual circumstances and their stage of life.
For instance, young parents and their children have distinct requirements. Children are in the process of learning how to provide for their most fundamental survival needs, such as walking and eating, while parents are focused on creating a secure environment for themselves and their children.
On the other hand, young adults are focused on discovering themselves, finding their place in the world, and establishing new relationships.
Once our basic needs are met, we can then concentrate on establishing deeper spiritual connections with ourselves and others.
The Wellbeing Cycle
The perception of wellbeing is a biological feature of evolution achieved through the Wellbeing Cycle.
Our bodies work with us to identify a need, perhaps through rational thought, perhaps through bodily impulses such as hunger pains. We decide on the right way for us to satisfy the need and take action. If we succeed, we get a positive sense of pleasure which is fed back for future decisions. A pulse of wellbeing is added to our internal stock of general wellbeing. Whereas anxiety develops if we continually fail to satisfy what we judge we need.
If we somehow stimulate the pleasure feedback without satisfying a need, such as through drugs, we receive pleasure without an associated pulse of bodily wellbeing. It confuses the mind into misjudging how to address needs in the future. This is what we mean by the term “empty pleasure”.