Emotional And Physical Wellbeing, What Is It?

Emotional and physical wellbeing? What is it?

Ok, so what is this golden question, which has so many answers? A quick search online will undoubtedly, give you many results, teetering on a million, but not all those answers are easy to find, amongst the conflicting advice, there is a lack of compassion and everything can seem so sterile, impersonal, and redundant when it doesn't fit "YOU"!

That's right, I said "YOU"! Everyone has their own issues, and for whatever reason, we don't always fit one particular mold, and for one, I think that's fantastic as it shows us that we are all individuals, and we all walk our own path, amongst the billions of others doing the same. It's in these small details, we can find ourselves and our own individuality, which makes us, for better or worse, who we are. In the same fashion, it should also alert us to the fact that there will be others feeling, the same way. So that "YOU", now becomes "US", we are all part of the same family, "WE", are not alone, and in knowing this small fact, silver linings can be found. I'll admit, sometimes it's not easy to find them, but they are there, and they can make all the difference in having an enjoyable day or a terrible one.

The Oxford English definition of the word "Wellbeing is, 

The State of feeling healthy and happy.

I believe this can be expanded upon to create three subheadings, which allow us to break the complexity of the word wellbeing down to more manageable sections. These are the following.

Emotional Wellbeing
Physical Wellbeing
Financial Wellbeing

They are without a doubt all linked, and if we are to feel the true meaning of the word, we will need to succeed in all three of these particular issues, however, it will not be a sprint, this a marathon and short-term realistic goals, need to be set individually for long term gains. It doesn't matter how small a change you make; the most important notion is that you realise you need some change.

Wellbeing is the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity. It includes having good mental health, high life satisfaction, a sense of meaning or belonging, and the ability to manage our stress levels, something we all know about in kitchens.

Most of the time the state of wellbeing is achieved through, thoughts, actions, and experiences, most of which we have full control over, remember this advert, Positive Mental Attitude. It sets an example of how mental positivity impresses on our daily lives. Although corny, the simplicity of the statement is profound, and the idea, beneficial. 
 
Emotional Wellbeing

To develop emotional well-being, we need to build emotional such as positive thinking, emotion regulation, and mindfulness. Often, we need to build a variety of these skills to cope with the wide variety of situations we encounter in our lives. As chefs this is nothing new, and something we are particularly good at. When we have built these emotional wellbeing skills, we can deal better with stress, handle our emotions in the face of challenges, and quickly recover from disappointments. As a result, we can enjoy our lives a little bit more and pursue our goals a bit more effectively.

Physical Wellbeing

To improve our physical wellbeing, we need to know what a healthy diet and exercise routine looks like. If you are like me that ship sailed a long time ago, but recently, starting yoga has made an enormous difference to me.  When we improve our physical wellbeing, not only do we feel better, but our newfound health can also help prevent many diseases, boost our emotional wellbeing, and limit the number of health challenges we must deal with in our lives. My personal physical wellbeing was to blame for my spiral in Emotional wellbeing, they are all linked.

Financial Wellbeing

To improve financial wellbeing is tough, it often means more sacrifices than the others, however, it is about a sense of security and feeling as though you have enough money to meet your needs. It's about being in control of your day-to-day finances and having the financial freedom to make choices that allow you to enjoy life. You work exceedingly hard, so why shouldn't you reap the benefits? Changes in the industry will allow for better wages going forward, however, financial wellbeing is still on us, and how we look after our finances to sustain the life we want.

The one aspect we must all remember is that everyone has their own share of problems, it doesn't matter which category you fall into, you may even fall into all three, what you need to take away from that, is that others are going through the same. "YOU" are not alone. Reach out from time to time, as the chef standing next to you, may just need an ear, and you never know when you might need theirs. Looking out for others is one of the first steps in looking out for yourself.