What If You Took Your Wellbeing As Seriously As Your Finances?

We all want it, we all want it now and if possible without any major effort: wellbeing.

It is a term used in many contexts (e.g. mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, social wellbeing), but what does it actually mean? According to the Oxford Dictionary, wellbeing means "general health and happiness." This might still be very vague, but it definitely sounds like something you want to have in your life.

To break this broad and general term down, the so-called "Wheel of wellbeing" is helpful. You find it in different forms and shapes, and it usually contains the following areas: physical, social, spiritual, environmental, financial, occupational, emotional, intellectual.

Once you look into each of these areas in your life, you will quickly see where you have some "wellbeing gaps" and where you are maybe already very satisfied.

This year, a World Wellbeing Movement was launched to make wellbeing the center of attention for decisionmakers in both the public and private sector. Most probably, the pandemic also showed us on an individual and collective level that our wellbeing is not something that comes natural and shouldn't be taken for granted. Yet, when was the last time that you asked yourself how you really feel and how the different parts of your life contribute to your wellbeing?

Let me ask you a different question: When was the last time you checked your account balance or your credit card statement? Do you know how much money you have in your savings account or the worth of your investments?

Money makes the world go round, so it's understandable that you know more about your financial situation than your state of wellbeing. Your wellbeing most probably only gains your attention as soon as something is wrong and you are forced to pause.

Invest in your wellbeing

Without going too deep into investment strategies, it is most probably very common for the majority of people to invest when they are in a healthy financial situation. So what does that tell us about wellbeing? It's important to invest in your wellbeing when you are (still) well and when you have the capacity to invest in it. Your investment also doesn't have to be in the form of money. It can also be time to go for a walk or talk to a friend. Have a look at the wheel, pick an area where you would like to invest in and then think of one action you can do tomorrow to place your first investment in your wellbeing!

Protect your assets

It's not only about investing in your wellbeing, but also about protecting what you already have. In the end, your health is one of your biggest assets. If you have another look at the wheel of wellbeing, which ones are your fullest areas? And what are you doing in those so that they are full? How do you manage to "protect" these areas from not getting empty? It's a half full, half empty situation. When it's about protecting your assets, look at the full ones and see what you are doing well already and you could implement in the others that are not full yet.

Respect your limits

We all know too well our credit card limits. How far can you go? How much are you ready to pay if you surpass your limits? You see where this is going. Realistically speaking, you need to reach or maybe even surpass your limits to truly know them. However, be very mindful about the limits of your wellbeing. The price to pay for ignoring them will simply be too high.

By Lidija Globokar, Contributor