|
Is there anything that we devote more time, effort, and money to than attempting to capture that elusive goal of well-being? And is there anything that we pursue with such vigor and yet with so little success than well-being? Yet we never lose hope for to do so would mean surrendering to the specter of failed dreams. The problem is many of us are looking in all the wrong places.
Obstacles to Well-being
Though well-being may seem like an ethereal objective, most of the obstacles that are blocking its path are surprisingly tangible and controllable. Examining your life closely will reveal several likely barriers to your pursuit of well-being:
- Demands: Long hours and stress can lead to poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and insufficient sleep. Chronic fatigue, obesity, illness, and injury are all common results.
- Imbalance: The single-minded pursuit of success can lead to a life that is out of balance. With such time and energy devoted to achievement, you may neglect other parts of your life that are important to your well-being.
- Loss of perspective:
You may lose sight of the 'why' behind your quest for success and pursue success for other, less healthy reasons.
Foundation of Well-being
Well-being is grounded in three essential elements of life:
- Physical health: Being healthy, fit, rested, and well nourished will contribute to maximizing both your performance and your well-being.
- Balance: A life that is filled with not only the pursuit of success, but also nurturing relationships, spiritual, cultural, and physical activities, and other avenues of value, will nurture and fulfill you.
- Happiness: A life that provides you with meaning (deep connection to your most fundamental values), contentment (enduring sense of "I feel good about myself and I'm in a good place in my life"), and joy (periodic bursts of excitement, passion, inspiration, and pride in your daily life) will be rich and rewarding.
Process of Well-being
One reason that well-being seems so elusive is that many of us mistakenly believe that it is an outcome that we will, at some point, achieve. However, well-being is established and experienced in the process of our lives. It is from the act of living in which well-being manifests itself in our lives:
- Striving for physical health (i.e., engaging in healthy activities).
- Living a balanced life (i.e., experiencing many sources of satisfaction).
- Practicing happiness (i.e., creating meaning, contentment, and joy).
The beauty of this perspective of well-being is that it is largely within our power; all we must do is act!
Payoff
Yes, success is a worthy goal toward which to strive, but success without well-being is an empty accomplishment. You should view success and well-being as mutually inclusive qualities; you can't have meaningful success unless you also have health, balance, and happiness in your life.
Power of Prime
Prime Performance
Change
[top]
|
