How to Build an Empowered and Self-Activating Wellbeing Mindset:

When I first started to be more present around my levels of psychological wellbeing, I understood what the 6 wellbeing markers were: Self-acceptance, Personal Growth, Purpose in Life, Living life mastery, Autonomy and Secure Relations. And that when these 6 wellbeing markers are combined in the right balance for everyone, they will positively contribute to that person’s overall levels of wellbeing. What I also became more deeply aware of was this. To begin to improve my state of wellbeing I needed to hold a particular mindset that would enable me to create the shifts and changes I needed. These were states and perspectives that were going to help me do the work on myself so that I could get to that beautiful state of wellbeing I wanted for myself.

Be Self-Led:

The first state I needed to embody was the capacity to be self-led. I recognised that I needed to be able to make clear choices for myself based on my wants and needs. I realised I had to change my people-pleasing ways. I understood I could no longer put other people first. I also had to accept that sometimes the choices I make for myself may not always make the people around me happy. However, I was still willing to make those choices because I began to understand more deeply that I could no longer sacrifice myself for the benefit of the people around me. By being more self-led, it enabled me to be more self-supporting and self-loving. Each of these aspects of self-care supports and complements each other. So, I began to understand that being committed to making choices that were self-motivated, with my best interests in mind and which were done out of love for myself, absolutely improved my state of wellbeing. I saw how they weaved into each other and enabled me to be more present and active in doing those activities and behaving in ways that honestly supported the person I am. This in turn supports my wellbeing marker: Self-Acceptance. So, to nurture improved self-acceptance we must be able to be there for ourselves (be self-led) and to acknowledge and value ourselves (self-love) for who we are and what we need daily.

Be Open & Willing:

This process of choosing to be self-led then led me to that point of feeling more able to be more curious about myself, what were my dreams and wishes for myself and my life. What was it I wanted to do, what was important for me? I allowed myself the time to explore those in a self-accepting and self-supporting way. It was about being curious and willing to accept and explore those wishes and dreams I had for myself. It was about not negating any ideas that I held or dismissing wishes for myself as nonsense. It was about being fully open to go play with all those ideas and wishes I had put to one side. It was about letting those finally rise to the surface to consider which of those wishes and dreams I could be intentional about. Which of those dreams was I curious enough about and willing enough to go test out? Holding these states and levels of curiosity and willingness fed and supported the wellbeing marker of Personal Growth. Being curious, open and willing to grow is what feeds and informs our capacity for personal growth and in turn our levels of psychological wellbeing.

Be Present and Proactive:

There is the knowing of things and then there is the doing of things. In manifesting a more beneficial state of psychological wellbeing there is a need to put in place daily actions and behaviours that will promote this new improved state of psychological wellbeing. Nothing comes from awareness alone. I’ve learned through my process that it is about making the conscious decision to activate those new behaviours and perspectives daily. It’s actively choosing to behave in a new way, to think in a new way and to embody those new patterns of thinking and behaving every day. It’s about being present in the here and now and proactively integrating those new patterns into our daily actions and behaviours. That is the challenging aspect of this process. Changing old habits and letting go of old perspectives takes time, patience, and persistence. That realisation that I had to fully commit to doing this work for myself was a big growth process for me. And that strongly contributes to improved levels of psychological wellbeing. Also, the process of making those choices for myself and taking action to support those choices was a very empowering process. Which in the end left me feeling much better about myself and fed into an overall improved state of psychological wellbeing. Being present and proactive about my behaviours and thinking fed into the wellbeing marker of Life Mastery. I was actively implementing behaviours and perspectives that fully supported my personal growth and my capacity to manage my life on my terms. These positively impacted my overall psychological wellbeing.

Believe

This is the final element of the wellbeing mindset that gives everything an extra boost. And it this: believe that change can happen, that you will get to that state and place you are striving for. That sense of belief is a great momentum builder. So, nurture that inner belief in yourself and your unfolding wellbeing journey. Do what I did. Every morning I would say today is a new day, I am growing into the person I am striving to be. I am present and willing to take this journey, challenges, and all. The belief is about making that commitment to yourself and what you see for yourself in the future. Yeah, there will be struggles along the way, how can there not be? When we choose to change aspects of ourselves it does take time, patience, and persistence. And yet that is part of the process. It’s not meant to be easy or quick. So, hold that belief for yourself and in your capacity to create positive personal change. Give yourself a self-affirming pep talk every morning. Acknowledge the challenges and acknowledge the benefits of why you are doing this in the first place. Believe that you can build your desired state of wellbeing and then watch yourself become the best version of yourself.