The Wellness Scale
‘How are you?’… ‘Fine’.
‘Things good?’ … ‘Uh huh’.
‘Everything okay?’ … ‘Yes, a-okay’.
You likely ask these types of questions every day, maybe while passing by someone in the hallway or chatting over lunch. It’s how most people connect. We seem to want to assure others (and be assured) that we all are ‘not’ bad’, ‘fine’ and ‘okay.’
In a world where anxiety, fear, self-doubt and mental illness have become prevalent, what does it mean to be well? What does it mean to be unwell? And what happens when you’re somewhere in the middle and just okay? In order to support ourselves and others who need help, we can use a Wellness Scale. We can place ourselves—and others—on the line.
The far left is ‘Thriving’. All is well in the world. Life’s ups and downs, challenges and successes, are simply waves to surf. You may still have needs and wants, but you don’t need ‘help’.
The far right, is ‘Surviving’. All is not well in the world. Life is challenging and personal wellbeing is inconsistent. Doing it alone is arduous and, sometimes, impossible. External, professional and specialised help is required.
Think of a group of students, and place each of them on the scale below. Are the thriving or surviving? Are they well or are they unwell? Or, are they just okay?
What you may notice is that most people are somewhere in the middle—somewhere between thriving and surviving.
The middle is vast. We can use the image of a football field and its enormous length to illustrate how many different experiences, feelings, challenges and conversations can exist in the okay part of the scale, It goes on and on…
So, then, how do we help everyone in the middle? Answer: We coach.
Coaching helps the okay people connect with what’s important and reach their goals. It supports them to uncover their own answers, even when faced with feeling anxious, stuck or unclear, encouraging them to ride the waves of life.
And what about those at either end of the scale? We coach them, too.
Coaching helps those who are thriving or well understand what’s working and where in their life they can have more joy and fulfilment. And, it even helps those who are surviving or unwell articulate what's really going on so that they can get the specialised help they need.
We’ve trained thousands of educators learn how to help students and staff, through effective conversations, nudge closer and closer to ‘okay’ along the Wellness Scale.
