We Need to Rethink What We Mean by Wellbeing

Holistic wellbeing has been a passion of mine and at the heart of my work for many years — through my work in the corporate world, coaching, speaking, teaching and writing.

To me, holistic wellbeing means taking care of ourselves as a whole — body, mind, heart and spirit. Our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Of course, there are other important dimensions of wellbeing, such as our social and financial wellbeing. But when I talk about personal wellbeing, I look at these four dimensions as an interconnected ecosystem. They don't operate in isolation. They constantly influence and interact with one another.

And after years of coaching, personal development, and leading wellbeing in the corporate world, I have also come to realise how many misconceptions still exist around what wellbeing actually means.

We often associate wellbeing with eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, going to yoga, having a massage, or even trying the latest wellbeing trend. And all of these can absolutely be part of taking care of ourselves.

But holistic wellbeing goes much deeper.

It's about how we live. How we think. How we relate to and process our emotions. How we manage stress. The habits and choices we make every day. Our values, our sense of purpose and meaning, our relationships, and the awareness we have of what is happening within us.

Taking care of the body while ignoring the mind, heart or spirit — or taking care of our mental wellbeing without listening to what our body is telling us — misses how deeply interconnected we are as human beings.

And there is another misconception about wellbeing that I believe we need to challenge:

Being well doesn't mean feeling good all the time.

We shouldn’t be adding even more pressure on ourselves to be at our best all the time. To always be productive. Performing. Achieving. Positive. Full of energy.

That’s simply not realistic. It’s not human.

Look at nature. It moves through seasons. And so do we.

There are seasons of growth and expansion, and there are seasons when we need to slow down, reset, recover and restore.

And I believe we need to not only accept those seasons, but prioritise what they ask of us.

To me, holistic wellbeing means caring for the whole person — body, mind, heart and spirit — and building the inner capacity to navigate all seasons of life.

Especially in a world that is increasingly fast, overstimulating and uncertain.

The way we live and work has changed enormously. We are constantly connected, surrounded by information, expectations and stimulation. Busyness and overdoing have almost become the norm, often at the expense of asking a much simpler question:

What do I actually need?

What supports my health and wellbeing?

Our nervous systems are being challenged perhaps more than ever, which makes it even more important to rethink what health and wellbeing mean for the way we live today.

It means cultivating awareness and resilience. Meeting ourselves with compassion. Creating habits, rituals and practices that support us. Prioritising holistic self-care. Knowing when to ask for support. And having tools we can come back to when life inevitably changes.

Because wellbeing isn’t about eliminating the difficult moments, challenges, stress or difficult emotions.

It’s about developing the capacity to navigate them.

It means learning to acknowledge what we are feeling rather than always suppressing it, numbing it or distracting ourselves from it. Sometimes it also means creating enough space to ask ourselves:

What is this experience asking me to see?

What might it be teaching me?

My own understanding of wellbeing continues to evolve too. I believe deeply in practising what I teach, and some of the most important lessons don't come only from what we study or teach, but from what life asks us to experience ourselves.

Sometimes it is when our body or life forces us to slow down that we understand even more deeply what it means to take care of the whole of who we are.

Because wellbeing is about developing the capacity to navigate the highs and the lows, change and uncertainty, with greater awareness, resilience, compassion and flow.

And it goes beyond ourselves.

Our wellbeing is interconnected with the wellbeing of the people around us — our families, our relationships, our teams, our communities.

As September brings us back into the rhythm of daily life and offers us a sense of a fresh start, perhaps it is also an invitation to rethink what wellbeing means to us.

Not as another thing to achieve or perfect, but as a way of living and caring for ourselves more consciously and holistically.

This month, I invite you to take some time and ask yourself:

How am I taking care of my health and wellbeing in a holistic way?

Write down how you are currently taking care of your body, your mind, your heart and your spirit.

And perhaps notice: What is already supporting me? And what might need a little more of my attention?

With care,

Flora