Wellbeing is a wide ranging concept and there are debates on how many aspects of wellbeing there are. Generally, there are at least five major fields of wellbeing:
- Emotional wellbeing – the ability to be resilient, manage one’s emotions and generate emotions that lead to good feelings
- Physical wellbeing – the ability to improve the functioning of one’s body through healthy eating and good exercise habits
- Social wellbeing – the ability to communicate, develop meaningful relationships with others and create one’s own emotional support network
- Occupational wellbeing – the ability to pursue one’s own interests, beliefs and values in order to gain meaning and happiness in life and professional enrichment
- Societal wellbeing – the ability to participate in an active community or culture.
Overall, wellbeing depends some functioning in all of these areas, but importantly as Hargreaves and Shirley (2018) say, “Having meaning and purpose is integral to people’s sense of wellbeing. Wellbeing involves far more than happiness, and accomplishments go far beyond test success.”