Originally posted on http://wholelifewellbeing.com/ Desiring wellbeing is one thing – attaining it is quite another. I’ve spent my entire career helping people achieve what seems impossible, but is only difficult, and lately I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to help people achieve wellbeing. It seems to me that my own sense of wellbeing is created by two main factors: 1) My circumstances, and 2) my expectations. When circumstances exceed my expectations, wellbeing increases. When they fall short of my expectations, wellbeing suffers. So one obvious way to improve wellbeing could be to lower expectations. While that might not sound like an appealing solution to everyone, let’s give it a little thought.Continue reading
Tag Archives: circumstances
Wellbeing is Often an Interpretation
Reposted from http://wholelifewellbeing.com/ where Kimberly has been invited to be a founding blogger for this new site led by Dr. Jerry Wagner, Presidents Office, Director Institute for Wellbeing, Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska.
Over the years I’ve noticed that my sense of wellbeing has more to do with my attitude and interpretation of my circumstances than my circumstances. Certainly some circumstances have made it easier for me to feel a sense of wellbeing, and there have been other circumstances that made a sense of wellbeing more elusive. But lately I’ve come to realize that I could turn any “average” day into either a good day or a bad day just through the stories I tell myself about the day. For example, I’m showering in water clean enough to drink. Should I feel overwhelming gratitude for my good fortune, or should I despair because over 1 billion people don’t even have clean water to drink? I have to admit I often feel both, but what matters is what I do with these interpretations of my circumstances.Continue reading