If you search the word “well-being” on the internet, the results will be some explanation of the word as well as offers to mainly take care of your physical well-being. You will find sports offers, massages, spas and beauty centers or nutritional tips.
If what you look for, however, is to improve your emotional and mental well-being in the long term, taking care of your body will not be enough. A more profound work of reviewing your habits and your way of facing life will be necessary.
What does well-being mean?
To me, well-being means feeling at ease with ourselves and our life. This includes physical, mental and emotional well-being. This means we will not only need to take care of our body’s health but also of how we feel and think. Because if we feel good with ourselves, we will feel more motivated and perform better.
In order to gain mental and emotional well-being, we need to know what is most important to us, what brings us happiness and satisfaction and what, on the contrary, undermines our well-being.
Stress is one of the common ills of the 21st century which harms our physical and psychological health. Knowing what stresses us and learning techniques to relieve stress is also essential to take care of our well-being.
Prioritising to take care of our well-being
Once we become aware of these points, we need to look for a way to:
- on one hand reduce negative things burdening or stressing us and
- on the other hand increase the things beneficial for our well-being.
A task that is not always easy. We are creatures of habit and resist changes even if they are for the better. The search for comfort and quick gratification make us look for well-being in known ways even if it is not the most healthy one.
Knowing what is most important in our lives and prioritising in our work and free time will allow us to better decide what to dedicate our energy and time to and set better goals. It will also help us decide which activities do not contribute to our priorities.
Mental well-being
Another point to take into account, if we want to take care of our well-being, is becoming aware of what our mind busies itself with. We have around ninety thousand thoughts per day but few are productive and less are new. Actually we have a lot of repetitive thoughts that keep our mind busy.
There is a lot of talk about prioritising our tasks and deciding what to dedicate our time to. But we can actually apply the same principle to our mind.
We can do a lot of things, without first assessing their importance, in order to feel busy. Or we can decide to dedicate our energy and time to what is important.
In case of our mind, we can leave it on autopilot, brooding over past and future, so it has thousand of thoughts and feels engaged. Or we can decide to become aware, bring our mind to the present and think more productively.
Whether we work and live without prioritising or leave our mind on autopilot, we will feel tired at the end of the day what with all we have done and thought. But will we really feel productive and satisfied?
Mindfulness to take care of our well-being
We live in a fast-paced world with multiple stimuli and more things to do than we have time for. Instead of living in the present moment, our mind is brooding over things that have happened or things that may happen or we ought to do.
We have lost the ancient habit of contemplation. That means being in the present moment and not “doing” for moment; or do what we do in a mindful way without thinking already about the next thing to do. We do not take time to pay attention to how we feel and to acknowledge all those repetitive thoughts we have.
However, we are not born with the habit of not being present and mindful. Small kids discover the world with mindfulness. They pay a lot of attention to everything and play with concentration and dedication.
Mindfulness is a habit we can regain and train in order to live here and now and become more aware of ourselves. This way we will reduce the mental overwhelm and stress our mind experiences when we let it stray between past and future instead of focussing it on the present.
This does not mean to say that we should stop remembering the past and learn from our experiences. Nor that we should not make plans or act proactively. It is about deciding when we want to think about those memories or plans and do so more effectively.
Prioritisation, productivity and mindfulness to take care of our well-being
When we focus our energy on what is important and prioritise how we spend our time we feel more productive and satisfied. When we additionally learn to use our mind effectively and pay more attention to the present we will reduce overwhelm about what has happened, may happen and what we ought to do.
Taking care of our well-being means not only tending to our body with physical activity and good nutrition. It also means looking after our emotional and mental well-being; learning to relieve stress and taking the reigns of our life.
Do you nurture your well-being?
After reading this article, what do you think? Do you take care of your well-being as much as you could? If not, what do you have the hardest time with or what prevents you from doing so?
46 responses
Reducing stress is a huge part of well being. Chronic stress has a very negative impact on both our bodies and minds. Unfortunately, for some people, that stress comes from an external source such as living with a disabled family member or not earning a fair wage. Under these conditions, it can be very difficult to reduce the stress.
Thank you for your comment, Kyla. There are situations where it can be more difficult but our attitude influences the way we feel. There are specific posts where I deal with how to relieve stress due to a feeling of insecurity, impotence or burden of responsibility.
I really enjoyed this post. Taking care of myself is something in which I am trying to focus on more this year. Some great information here.
I am glad you liked it, Amanda. If improving your well-being is one of your objectives this year I encourage you to participate in the Well-being Challenge.
What an excellent article! I agree with you that well being encompasses mind, body and spirit and it’s important that we take time out to center ourselves before we can take care of others!
Thank you, Ivonne. I am glad you have liked it.
As someone who is a big advocate for mental health, I really appreciate this post! I love how you defined what mental wellness looks like because I think it allows us to self-reflect on how well we’re doing with our own needs when it’s so easy to lose track through the demands of this life. Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for your kind words, Brittney.
I love posts about mindfulness. This is amazing. So helpful for everyone and especially for those who feel lost sometimes! We can definitely all relate to that.
Beautiful post, and so true. If one cannot take care of themselves, how are they expected to take care of others? Making sure one is grounded and in a good place will they suceed
Thanks for your comment, Tina. I really believe that being our best version does not only benefit ourselves but also those around us.
I’m really into mindfulness right now. I think it really is helpful to living the best life possible. I can get really stressed out. So good practices like this are so important for me.
I am glad you found this helpful, Erica.
This gave me pause for thought, my well being is something I am trying to focus on this year after burning myself out last year, you gave me so much to think about
Hi Elizabeth, glad this post was of help. I encourage you to sign up to the Well-being Challenge, a great way to get started little by little.
I always thought that well-being means when you feel ok, you are not ill etc. I didn’t know you need to feel well in more aspects physical, mental and emotional.
Not being ill just means being healthy, which is what health systems and doctors have been concentrating on. However, nurturing our well-being means taking care of ourselves to not only cure but prevent malaises.
Mindfulness to take care of our well-being(this is so important) We need to make a conscious decision to take care of ourselves. I am still a work in progress there:) Great post
Hi Andrea: I agree, we need to decide consciously to take of ourselves and make it one of our priorities. Otherwise there will always be something “more important” to do.
I was just figuring out how to be happy and content last year. This year I have more focus and goals to be in a better place both physically and mentally especially.
Being mindful benefits ourselves and also others. When we learn to be mindful, we also share that values to others, and its like a domino effect. And a holistic one.
Thank you for your comment, Blair. I like your idea of the domino effect. We transmit our emotions to others and, of course, people will react differently if we are tense or if we are calm.
Taking care of ourselves is definitely key. I really enjoyed this post – it was some sort of a reminder of what I need to be doing: physically, mentally, spiritually. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter.
Nadia (Miel and Mint blog)
Thank you for your comment Nadia. I am glad it was a reminder for how to nurture your well-being.
This post is quite interesting. Taking care of myself is very important. Life has no duplicate.
I am glad you liked it. You are right, we only have one life so we rather take care of ourselves.
I love the idea of prioritising thoughts. I do practice mindfulness but often find my mind whirring in between meditation practices. I will try from today to prioritise the thoughts that are going round in my head! Thanks for this, some great tips 🙂
Hi Alison,
Thank you for your comment. The trick with meditation is to learn not to analyse and judge the thoughts that come up. Just accept that they may appear, let them pass and return your focus to the meditation practice.
I am working a lot on my well-being and as a reflection on that of the people around me, in fact I have included in my coaching path one just called Soul Spa!
Thank your for your comment Cristina. Glad you nurture your well-being. Soul Spa? That sounds intriguing and appealing.
Taking care of self should be the first on our list. I need to have positivity in myself to be able to impart it to others.
Totally agree, Surabhi. Thank you for your comment.
Mindfulness is important and should be treated as such by not only us but also the companies we work at since happiness increases productivity and creativity !
You are right. Fortunately more and more companies acknowledge the importance of their staff’s well-being and some of them even have Chief Happiness Officers.
Our well-being should always be prioritized even though it might verge on being labeled as selfish.
I concur! Taking care of ourselves should be a priority and not an option ! Emotional and physical well is essential for a health living
Hi Nidhi! Unfortunately that is a common concern. Nurturing our well-being should not be considered selfish. If you do not take care of yourself first and feel well in your own skin you cannot be the best version of yourself. Taking care of yourself ultimately also benefits those around you.
“Mindfulness is a habit we can regain and train in order to live here and now and become more aware of ourselves.” This is so true I love this statement you should make a quote out of it.
Thank you Jen! Will keep that in mind.
I am guilty of never thinking of my own well-being. And reading this I realize I need to take the time for me.
Sf care is a vital part of a happy life. During this lockdown, I have a lot of time for self-care.
I have to work more on taking care of myself. As a mom of a toddler seeking constant attention, I feel guilty taking time for myself, but reading your article makes me realize how important my well being is for the whole family.
Hi Monica! I am glad that the post made you reflect and recognise the importance of your well-being not only for your own sake.
Such a great post! Thanks for sharing
I love how you speak of wellbeing in all forms: physical, mental and emotional. ALL are so important!
I LOVE this post! Taking care of ourselves is so important. And our well-being is so much more than just the physical aspect!