However everyone in this world hankers after money and other materialistic pleasures in the hope of increasing their happiness. However many a times we have heard people say that they are “not happy” and if you ask them what happiness means, they suddenly wake up and don’t know what it really is.
It is said that man is a social animal. He cannot survive in loneliness and needs to be in the company of fellow human beings for his survival. He is in constant company of his family members, lives most of his waking hours in the company of his office colleagues and socializes with his close circle of friends in the society occasionally. For him to be happy he needs to be happy on this entire front so that he has a well rounded happiness. This is what I call as “wellness quotient”
Well than what really is the wellness quotient.
It reflects the state of happiness on these fronts:
- Personal
- Social
- Professional
A person may be very happy/successful one or many of these fronts. It’s rare to find a person who is happy / successful on all these fronts or equally happy / successful on all these fronts.
Personal
- Health
- Self esteem / self confidence
- Value / Character
- Relationship with
- Parents
- Spouse
- Children
- Education
Social
- Number of friends
- Circle of influence (type of friends)
- Relationship with friends
- Reputation
- Status in society
Professional
- Advancement in career
- Position
- Wealth creation
- Influence
- Job itself (doing what you like)
There are many instances in history where we have found people who are highly successful in Professional life but have fared very poorly in their personal life and have ended their life in tragic circumstances. There are very many people who are extremely happy and contented in their personal life but not so successful in their professional life. There are very many instances where in we have heard that “he is a tiger at home but a mouse in public” – it means he has a very strained relationship at home but a very successful relationship in the society / professional life.
One needs to learn to balance on all these fronts and it’s not going to be easy. However what could help is that we are aware of our wellbeing on all these fronts and consciously working towards building a well rounded happiness and building a good “wellness quotient”.
“Maybe the truth is, there’s a little bit of loser in all of us. Being happy isn’t having everything in your life be perfect. Maybe it’s about stringing together all the little things.”
― Ann Brashares, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Therefore wellness to a person means achieving the overall balance in life in all the fronts (personal, social and professional). It includes eating well, sleeping well, moving, well breathing well setting personal health and wellness goals, keeping stress at a level that works, having positive relationships, and doing all this in a purposeful way.
Purposeful way doesn’t just happen a person have to decide and then pursue it. Often the terms wellness and health are understood in a same way which is incorrect. Health is a medical term based on your temperature, blood pressure. There are no laboratory tests for wellness. You know when you’re well. You feel good, you’re at peace.
Detailed description of these fronts:-
· PERSONAL
Personal; more of one’s self, one s health, family, knowledge, self respect, values & beliefs that one holds.
WHO has defined Health “a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living? Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.”
Self confidence and self esteem cannot be described as the different name of the similar concept but they are closely related to one another. Self esteem is evaluating or appraising oneself according to the belief and the values that one holds whereas self confidence is the measurement of beliefs about own judgment, skills and abilities. This includes the level of future performance one expects from oneself.
Value and character are two distinct part of one’s personality which defines one self. Values, principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life (Oxford University).
Character is the consistency between what you say and what you actually do; it’s more of putting the ethics, moral and values into action. It defines one and what people do when no one is around it can create or break ones reputation.
Relationships are most important assets of the personal self. It emphasizes an emotional bond, a connection, association or involvement with people. Relationship with parents (blood relation), spouse and child is among the most tentative and close personal relations which one bores in his lifetime.
When we take personal as one of parameter for overall wellness without ones individual wealth of knowledge and experienced learning on particular and specific subjects or events i.e. his education, it would be inadequate to lead a purposeful life.
All these parameter greatly influence ones level of happiness / wellness in different course of his life time. A person can be happy or unhappy in his personal life if he is in conflict with one of this above mentioned areas.
SOCIAL
According to Roly Russell, an interdisciplinary scientist at the Sand hill Institute for Sustainability and Complexity in Grand Forks, British Columbia, social structures (human capital) and nature are more influential in determining happiness than financial capital (income).When we talk about ones social life it indicates the number of friends one has, different types of friends they are with, the quality time they spend with the friends, the influence of the friends in their lives and the influence one exert in their friends life. Dr. Edward Diener the psychologist from University of Illinois says social skills and close interpersonal ties make us the happiest – in other words making time for family and friends.
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”
–Socrates. Reputation is in the hands of others. One can’t control that. The only thing that can control is the character. “Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are.” -Henry H. Saunderson.
Therefore it can be said that the reputation one achieve in his life time through his deeds exerts influence in his social life as well as in his professional life. It defines him among his friends and colleagues, it can speak about the power and status he carries with himself.
When we speak of social life the status one has in the society plays a very important role in achieving successes in the social life. According to sociologists, status describes the position a person occupies in a particular setting or within a group. It is also affected by a number of factors such as occupation, wealth, education, and family background. One can earn their social status by their own achievements, which is known as achieved status. Alternatively, one can be placed in the stratification system by their inherited position, which is called ascribed status. Social status has had varying degrees of importance. Those with more power, or those with the ability to influence others, have a higher social status.
· PROFESSIONAL
When we speak of profession, it reflects what a person dose for his livelihood. It includes his entire work life including his job profile, his experience, his career growth and advancement, position and status and autonomy including the reporting relationship. A person gets immense pleasure when he achieves all these criteria in his professional life.