What 23,000 Hours of Studying Wellbeing Actually Taught Me

I’ve spent 23,403 hours over the past 10 years understanding human wellbeing. 

Here’s what’s important, according to every discipline that matters (forget everything else):

You’re not the average person. 

Average doesn’t fit you when it comes to your wellbeing. So lean into what does when it comes to your mornings, your evenings, your sleep, your diet, your movement… Learn you, forget the rest.

You can’t supplement your way out of a fundamental wellbeing issue.

Taking magnesium for sleep won’t help when you’re double-screening for hours before bed or working 90-hour weeks. Fix your lifestyle first.

Move every day.

Not as punishment, not to beat your caloric intake, not to meet some arbitrary step-quota, but for fun, for mental space, for a way back into your body.

Feel your feelings.

Ignoring them or squashing them down is causing you way more problems than you realise. Let it be hard / wonderful / scary / sad. This is the way through. 

Learn to be present with all things.

And recognise this isn’t as easy as they make out. Practice presence daily — when you brush your teeth, when you cook dinner, when you drive to work. Meditation isn’t always what you think.

Prioritise creativity without monetising it.

Read books, watch fringe theatre, visit galleries. Create and craft and make. Tell the story of what it’s like to be alive through terrible crocheted animals or squeaky violin noises. This is more important than you know.

Be kind.

Not nice; kind. Sometimes this is hard, sometimes this is easy. But the world needs your kindness.

Love more.

Don’t wait to tell them — find good friends and take care of them. They are the life-raft that takes us through our days. 

Here’s to your wellbeing, my friend.

Chloe

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