The 6 Pillars Of Wellbeing: Meaningful Activity

To celebrate our recent partnership with Betterspace, we are going to be sharing ways in which you can improve your mental health and wellbeing using some of the tools and resources available through their platform. Betterspace give you personalised recommendations based on 6 pillars – Sleep, Stress Management, Social Connections, Exercise, Helping Others or Meaningful Activity, and Nutrition. Each week we’ll dive into one of the pillars, exploring why it’s important alongside some ideas for what you can do to ensure you are managing it as well as you can. This week we’ll be investigating ways that you can find more fulfilment in life through access to meaning and purpose in your activity.

{{divider}}

Full Of Fulfilment

{{divider}}

At some point in our lives, we come to recognise that almost all of the milestones we thought we needed - the car, the house, the high-flying job title, still aren’t quite filling the void. In the developed world, we are fortunate enough to find that the majority of us get our basic needs met. This brings us into an introspective space of re-evaluating the balance between our enticing external incentives and authentic internal motivators.

{{divider}}

Having a purpose and feeling fulfilled in life has a large impact on overall happiness and mindset. When you have a clear purpose, you have direction, know yourself better and can better make decisions that align with your values - what really matters to you, at an innate core level.

{{divider}}

This is slightly different for everyone, and is often best viewed as a process - one that involves coming to know yourself better. Motivation and joy are not sentiments that can be faked. We may tell ourselves that we enjoy doing good, but some activities innately resonate with us, whereas others may not.

{{divider}}

Passion is about authentic internal drivers, that may arise from personal experiences in life. Purpose is the reason behind why these things authentically motivate us. Although it is not possible to feel 100% passionate and motivated all of the time, purpose is our reminder to keep going, by remembering why we started.

{{divider}}

At it’s core, fulfilling activity usually involves directly or indirectly helping others, or finding other meaning and presence in a certain pursuit. This is because ‘man-kind’ is hardwired to feel empathy, and so work that makes others happy, helps us to feel needed and appreciated in return.

{{divider}}

Helping Others

{{divider}}

Helping others makes us happier and healthier by fostering connection, purpose, stronger communities, and an exchange of ideas, time and energy beyond money. There are many ways to explore helping others locally or internationally. A great place to start is the Do It platform, as recommended by leading workplace wellness provider, Betterspace.

{{divider}}

Do-it is the UK’s national volunteering database. They list volunteering opportunities from thousands of charities and social action groups throughout the UK, from the largest household names through to small informal groups who’ve come together because they want to change something in their local area. Volunteer Centres are the local agencies that promote and develop volunteering. Many of the opportunities on Do-it come from Volunteer Centres.If you can’t find a suitable opportunity on Do-it, your local Volunteer Centre might be able to help.

{{divider}}

“I see volunteering as not working for free but working for experience. You can't put a price on that. Something everyone should try.” - Do-It

{{divider}}

Do-it has one of the largest varieties of volunteering opportunities available, so there’s something to suit everyone. Exploring some of the opportunities in your area is great way to learn more about what really matters to you. Activities could be in person - such as volunteering in a local park, and finding grounding in practices such as gardening; Or virtual - such as becoming a helper for those facing loneliness in ageing. Volunteering doesn’t have to mean taking on huge commitments to make a difference, it could be as small as a 10 minute conversation every week.

{{divider}}

In Holocaust survivor, Werner Reich’s talk on The Magic Of Kindness, he explains how a compassionate man taught him a life-changing magic trick, while staying in an Auschwitz camp. This small act of kindness demonstrated that it isn’t the size or value of a gift that truly matters, but ‘how you hold it in your heart’.

{{divider}}

On escaping back to England, Werner could not speak the language and possessed no skills. However, he did hold the small card trick that had once calmed a scared boy in his heart. A hobby soon turned into an obsession, and provided much joy to many of his new found friends and connections.

{{divider}}

Magic is not seen to have any intrinsic value or economic practicality. But through this small method of fun and creativity, Werner was able to connect with his audience on an emotional level - something he was unable to do through speech or trade when he first arrived in the UK. His passion was infectious, and that short moment of kindness in the bunker in Auschwitz had changed his life forever.

{{divider}}

Another great way to have fun and connect is to enjoy a good meal with friends - the Betterspace platform have the perfect recommendation for the job. The Karma app boasts that ‘sustainability doesn’t have to be hard work, slackers will save the world because saving the planet can be as effortless as enjoying a good meal’. Karma deliver access to great discounts on surplus food from restaurants in your local area.

{{divider}}

According to statistics, we throw away almost ⅓ of the food we produce globally. Food waste is such a big problem, that tackling this one area would change the world for good. To date, Karma have rescued 1,200 tonnes of food, saved over 4 million meals and 1,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The food industry accounts for 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions, compared to the 2% produced from airplanes. This means the impact of food waste is greater than the impact of all of the world’s flights combined.

{{divider}}

Meaningful Activity

{{divider}}

Meaningful activity may include the things that we do to help others, but can also encompass the things we do for ourselves. These can be physical, social or leisure activities that serve our needs and preferences - giving us a sense of purpose in life, structure or routine, skills, a sense of identity, challenge, or self-expression and self-confidence.

{{divider}}

In the book a ‘Tree Climbers Guide’, author Jack Cooke accounts his attempt to '“channel [his] inner gibbon” after a bored day in a London office sparked a quest to climb trees citywide. If he is to be believed, man made a mistake when he chose to come down from the canopies - although not all mankind did.

{{divider}}

Tree climbing is an activity that reminds us of the importance of play, and doing things simply for the joy of them, as opposed to always having to achieve something, or to ‘get somewhere’. Through this wild and primal activity, Jack was able to come to a new appreciation of nature. He takes the reader on a journey through the parks, over the canals and rivers and into secret gardens - sometimes only ten foot above the street. It’s a welcome reminder that the best things in life are free - they just sometimes require a step in the right direction.

{{divider}}

Another great lockdown activity has been the uptake in bread baking. Home to a selection of high quality wellness resources, the Betterspace platform facilitates access to the online course - an introduction to bread-making, in partnership with The Bertinet Kitchen. Focusing on Pastry, Viennoiserie or Patisserie, it provides a fun means of taking time out for yourself, while losing yourself in an ancient art that might spark a new passion or hobby.

{{divider}}

Similarly, if crafting DIY is more your thing, you might feel more inclined to access Betterspace’s partnership with YAK knitting sets. A hub for the knitting and crocheting community in the united kingdom, YAK provide beautiful hand dyed yarns, the latest patterns and the most innovative tools, sourced from independent companies. Their mission is to inspire seasoned and new knitters alike with workshops and events.

{{divider}}

Each of us is unique, and exploring what brings us joy through some of the smaller, more playful activities in life, can counter-intuitively be incredibly meaningful. In our fast paced environments where the focus is predominantly about work, goals, and financial demands, making more space for what really matters in life, can be a great way to create more value. The Betterspace platform serves as the perfect home for inspiration, whatever your needs may be.

{{divider}}

Betterspace is a science-based wellbeing platform, which curates a personalised set of wellbeing recommendations including apps, services, and activities. It helps employers understand the state of wellbeing within their company, and employees stay in control of their mental health. x+why give every member free access to Betterspace. Find out how you can join today.

{{divider}}

‍