Six Areas of Whole Well-Being

We are living through some of the most challenging times in recent history. If you feel stressed, lethargic, or struggling to stay motivated and inspired, you're not alone. Stress is an inevitable part of the human experience. While we can't always control the external factors that present stress, we can learn to be responsive rather than reactive and directly reduce the level of stress we experience.

Stress begins when one of our six areas of well-being is out of balance. These six areas include spiritual, mental, emotional, social, physical, and environmental factors. The six areas of well-being are interconnected, multidimensional, and work in unison to create healthy whole-living. For example, suppose a challenging work project creates immense stress. Sleep is lost over the issue, disrupting physical well-being, causing distractedness and lack of engagement, compromising mental well-being and social connections.  When chronic, prolonged, and unmanaged, situations like these result in burnout.

The World Health Organization declared burnout an official syndrome resulting from unmanaged stress in the workplace; it has become one of our times' most pressing issues. Some believe that it's solely an employer's job to ensure employees avoid burnout. As a coach, I believe we all have the power and skills to navigate significant change and manage stress effectively. I have supported high-performing individuals through that process and always see measurable results.

Breaking unhelpful cycles with awareness is the first step to mitigating stress, and it begins with intentionality and understanding the six areas of whole well-being. 

1. Spiritual Well-Being:

The spiritual aspect of well-being refers to our belief systems, core values, and ultimately, our sense of purpose. When we are clear on why we do what we do , we lead empowered, authentic lives with integrity and purpose. 

Clarity of purpose moves us authentically through the world with a firm understanding of our intrinsic selves. It keeps us grounded, centered, and resilient in times of uncertainty. Stress, burnout, panic, and anxiety are physical indicators that our choices are out of alignment with our core values. These emotions serve as our body's red engine light and indicate where we might compromise too much to meet others' needs and expectations. 

Strengthening spiritual well-being starts with identifying and living our core values. Here's a helpful tool I use as a coach with my clients to clarify their core values. This process involves evaluating if the values identified are conscious-based and support positive action or fear-based and formed to avoid something or meet obligations prioritized as part of socialized cultural norms.

2. Emotional Well-Being:

Emotions are the body's physical response to our perception of circumstances. They are electrochemical signals and a fundamental part of human biology. Emotions provide critical data about what's going on within ourselves and serve as a barometer when stress levels rise and fall. With expanded awareness, these prompts invite us to check in with our mindset and belief systems.

Our thoughts about situations create and fuel emotions, resulting in action or inaction. The thought-feeling-action model happens like a reflex until we break the cycle with elevated awareness and consciously engage in the present moment.

Identifying and shifting our emotions is one of the most powerful skills we can cultivate. The more we can normalize and embrace emotions as part of our biology, the better we can manage stress. A standard tool used to strengthen our emotional well-being is labeling, the simple practice of naming emotions as they arise. Labeling builds emotional resilience and self-regulation, improving our ability to bounce back quickly from challenging circumstances. We can't change what we don't notice. But, with practice, we can choose to recognize emotions, normalize them, and create distance to engage with our feelings instead of being led by them. 

3. Mental Well-Being:

The brain develops and strengthens just like a muscle. With all its complexities, mental well-being is tied directly to how we use our entire brain power for any given task.

Establishing a mindful meditation practice is one way to strengthen attention, intention, and awareness, the three pillars of mind training and mental exercise. Consistent mindfulness-based practices cultivate more resilient neurobiology . Mindfulness-based practices increase resilience to external stressors and strengthen the neural connections that support response rather than reaction under pressure.

Muscles grow and strengthen with practice and atrophy without exercise. Just as weight lifting develops biceps, a regular mindful meditation practice build mental muscles and supports cognitive and physical health in ways that improve all aspects of our well-being.

Three long deep breaths take only 10 seconds, and, done in simple two-minute increments regularly throughout the day, create healthy resets and increase our ability to remain present. Training the brain to release, refocus and relax on command.

4. Physical Well-Being:

Physical well-being includes everything related to our physical body; it is the practice of caring for our bodies and tuning into our needs. Physical stress manifests from pushing our bodies too hard without proper rest, recovery, and therapeutic relaxation. 

Working excessive hours, skipping meals, and not getting the right balance of exercise and physical movement depletes our physical well-being. This type of behavior is more common than not in our fast-paced yet immobile world. It's also not sustainable, and if done over an extended time, it takes a significant toll on the body. Physical stress weakens our immune system and makes us more susceptible to disease, and triggers other areas of well-being into misalignment.

To prevent imbalances in physical well-being, schedule and commit to healthy meals, exercise, and sleep with the same urgency as prioritizing other commitments. Exercise changes our biochemistry by increasing endorphins and other brain chemicals associated with positive emotions like happiness, creativity, and confidence. It also reduces stress levels and increases energy. Generate as much energy as you can in your body to sweat several times a week; your mind and body will thank you.

Practice active relaxation with gentle yoga, meditation, acupuncture, or massage. Active relaxation intentionally recharges and reenergizes our bodies, giving us control over the part of our nervous system responsible for relaxing the mind and body. A consistent practice promotes a more profound sense of well-being and leads to stress relief in ways lounging and watching movies never can.

 5. Environmental Well-Being:

Environmental well-being relates to the physical factors that exist in the world-at-large and our personal space. Balancing our environmental well-being includes cultivating the space, surroundings, and settings that support us to perform optimally both in work and personal affairs. 

In the last year, most of us have experienced dramatic disruption in our physical surroundings with remote work and schooling. There have been noticeable cultural shifts, and we can't underestimate the impact they have when working, sleeping, and exercising in the same space for an extended period. This break from being in an office five days a week provides essential data about the causes of environmental stressors that impact our well-being most. Like with other well-being areas, focus on addressing the elements of our environment that we can control is essential. For example, you can't stop the rain from falling, but you can control how you respond to it. 

Invest in your environmental well-being by clearing physical clutter. While it might sound insignificant, numerous studies show that doing so also clears mental clutter, reduces stress, and energizes us. Creating ideal conditions within the spaces we occupy supports, inspires, and elevates our experience, whether at work or in your home life.

6. Social Well-Being:

Our relationships, interactions, and connections with others create social well-being. Healthy levels of social interaction can buffer the adverse effects of stress significantly. The key is understanding the right level of engagement for you and establishing healthy boundaries to maintain those positive connections.

Healthy boundaries create quality connections with clear communication and reasonable expectations. This allows all involved to enjoy and benefit from social support, interaction, and inspiring, fulfilling engagement. When we become drained and de-energized, we often realize our boundaries may be out of alignment with our core values and social needs. 

Strengthening our social well-being includes intentionally connecting and disconnecting strategically to ensure we are always offering 100% focus.  Even at work, giving 100% might look like simply disconnecting for the night to allow yourself time to recharge, refuel and return with a fresh perspective.

Practice setting 30-minute meetings for engagements where time would allow. This timeframe encourages entire presence and attention, which is more rewarding than an hour filled with distractions, interruptions, and multi-tasking. 

Be sure to make time daily to check in with yourself and notice how you’re feeling in each of these six areas. If you notice yourself feeling out of balance in one area, revisit the practices above to help yourself realign. Remember, balancing our collective well-being is a lifelong practice that we all deserve and owe ourselves. It requires building awareness around our individual needs, dedication to our personal growth, and a willingness to honor the commitments we make to ourselves.