Making a Difference to Your Wellbeing

Wellbeing manifests in many ways. It can be expressed mentally, physically, creatively, spiritually, emotionally, even academically. We often think about our wellbeing as a by-product of aspects of our lives going well; in other words, if work, school, sport, socialising and our passions are on track, then our wellbeing will be good as a consequence, right?

That can absolutely be true. However, it may be useful to reframe our approach, instead prioritising wellbeing to the forefront of what we do and considering ways we can make a positive difference to it long-term. This in turn can help get all those aspects of life on track, rather than waiting for things to fall into place, to then experience positive wellbeing.

Wellbeing discourse can often seem a bit airy-fairy. But in practice, what does prioritising our wellbeing actually mean? It means highlighting which elements of our lives are good and not-so-good for us, and taking action to increase the good stuff, and minimise the bad.

Taking ownership over our mental and physical health means recognising that we have a responsibility to look after ourselves. There are others, like parents, mentors, friends etc… that might share some of that responsibility, but it starts with us recognising a desire to change something within. And while it might seem daunting at times to acknowledge certain things about ourselves, seek support from others, or make a life change, it builds self-reliance. Self-reliance is empowering because it gives us control over not just who we are, but how we are too.

Examples of actions we might take to prioritise our wellbeing are:

• Identifying areas in our lives we want to improve or maintain
• Seeking support from others, whether it’s family, friends, teachers, colleagues or support services – it takes strength to ask for help
• Trying something new: a brand-new activity or just tweaking existing habits
• Taking a moment to consider how each action we take might impact on our wellbeing

Let’s practice. Take a moment aside now to identify something you wish to improve/maintain in your life – something that would prioritise your long-term wellbeing. It might be being less busy, finding more meaning to what you do day-to-day, changes to exercise or eating habits, expressing yourself creatively more, something social, or a mixture of the above.

Next, consider if you’re in a position to make the improvement or maintenance happen, or if seeking support and advice elsewhere first might be the catalyst for you to make positive change. By now, you’ve already taken positive steps in making a difference to your wellbeing in highlighting what you need to do internally. Now it’s time to express this with outward action.

Making this initial practical leap is usually the hardest hurdle to overcome. But it’s worthwhile long-term, as just doing it once can turn leaps back into steps, and those steps lead to a point where we instinctively consider our wellbeing as a priority without as much conscious action required.

If you are still a bit unsure where to start, at school, you can get specific support from any member of staff you feel comfortable speaking with. At the Wellbeing Centre, we have a dedicated team that a parent or teacher can refer you to, or refer yourself to see us via our Wellbeing Centre Booking Form. More widely, outside of school there are a variety of local and online or telephone services that can be accessed in times of need. See a full list of groups and resources in and around Nottingham by clicking here, and a bespoke hub of support through this service.

Simply thinking about our own sense of wellbeing can be a massive difference maker to taking action, leading to positive changes and ultimately positive outcomes. It gives us ownership over ourselves to make an active difference to how we want our lives to be, rather than letting life just happen to us passively and living with the results. So next time things start to feel a little overwhelming, you experience a setback, or even if you just want to keep maintaining all the good things you have going on, think about how you might prioritise your wellbeing to remain in control of your inner and outer self.

For more information, please contact samra.bs@nottinghamhigh.co.uk