What is subjective well-being and why is it so important? In this article you will discover some factors that influence your happiness and tips for you to improve. You are ready?
Subjective well-being is a very important concept that we must know, as it is synonymous with happiness. When all areas of life are in balance (we are well with our partner, we have a job that fulfills us, we have time to dedicate to leisure) we can affirm that the level of satisfaction is high.
But what do you have to do to get to this point? It is clear that we all want to feel good, but sometimes this is not easy. Therefore, in this article we are going to learn a little more about subjective well-being, what factors influence it and what we can do to improve it.
What is subjective well-being?
In short, subjective well-being is a perception that we have of satisfaction in all areas of life. For this to be possible, we must accumulate positive experiences and have achieved certain goals that we have wanted.
This well-being does not mean that everything is fairy tale. It is clear that there are mistakes, bad moments, unexpected situations. But since our life is so balanced, nothing that happens will distract us from that happiness that floods us.
Of course there will be moments of anger, anger and frustration. But the good times are more frequent. So, we have well-being.
The feelings of well-being depend to a great extent on the parameters that each person uses to evaluate their happiness.
Factors influencing well-being
There are different factors that influence subjective well-being. The first of these is health. When we are sick, we wait for the results of tests or we have been diagnosed with a disease, we expose ourselves to stress. We are worried, the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen saddens us. It is a very important factor in subjective well-being.
In addition, there are other influencing circumstances, such as relationships. Although we love being alone and spending time with ourselves, we cannot ignore that we are social beings. We have to interact with other people and build relationships with them. These relationships must be healthy so that they generate well-being.
And what can we say about work, that activity that allows us to cover basic needs, such as having a roof, food, clothing, the possibility of cleaning ourselves. However, if work does not fill us, our boss is a tyrannical or the company that has hired us does not allow us to progress, because our well-being may be affected.
There is even one more very important factor that seems to always be forgotten: personality. Being optimistic, having a sense of humor, being extraverted… not only will it allow us to face adverse circumstances in a better way, but it will also make us feel better.
5 tips to improve subjective well-being
Now that we know more about subjective well-being and the factors that influence it, it is time to learn what tips will allow us to improve it. These are very practical and we should get them done as soon as possible.
1. Create a life plan
It is normal that at times we do not know where we are going. Due to responsibilities, workload and lack of time, we hardly have time to think about what we want.
When creating our life plan we establish the goals and objectives that we wish to achieve, the expectations and the purposes. But we must update it from time to time.
2. Get out of our comfort zone
Another tip to improve our subjective well-being is to learn to get out of our comfort zone. Practice a new activity, immerse yourself in a course to learn something that we had never considered.
As the psychologist Silvia Congost says, leaving the comfort zone is terrifying. But there is the interesting thing. When we take the first step, emotion and well-being flood us.
3. Take time to nurture relationships
Spending quality time with our children, our partner, our friends, our family. How many times have we told ourselves that we did not have that moment, but instead we spent it on watching television or during idle hours with our mobile? It is important to take care of our relationships.
4. Learn to rest well
Although it may seem, we do not know how to rest well. Do we always go to bed at the same time? What do we do before?
This is important, as getting plenty of rest will fundamentally influence subjective well-being. So there is no time to waste. Let’s start sleeping as we deserve it.
A good rest orders the mind, perfects the ideas that we ruminate in the brain and prepares us for a new day.
5. Change our habits
Finally, to improve our subjective well-being it is very important that we change habits. Starting to do physical exercise instead of being so sedentary is a good option. The same goes for eating healthy. What to say about reading more and watching television less.
Subjective well-being is a path
Sure we have been left with many important concepts of subjective well-being, but this should not get bogged down in a mere reading. It is important to take a pen and paper and start taking small steps to improve our lives.
Enjoying greater well-being influences the quality of existence. Who wouldn’t want to feel better, with a sense of fullness? This road is long, so start walking it.
