Well-being Series: What is eudaimonic well-being and how can you cultivate more of it in your everyday life?
Many of us are aiming to be more happy in our lives. But we can find the pursuit itself falling short.
One way to reframe how we understand happiness is through the concept of eudaimonia. This combines eu (good) and daimon (spirit) and can be defined as a life well-lived, or human flourishing.
To access eudaimonia in your everyday life, four core elements have been found to be needed (Huta & Waterman, 2014):
● Authenticity
● Excellence
● Growth
● Meaning
So how can you shift to increasing your eudaimonic well-being rather than focusing wholly on happiness? These wellbeing tips will help you cultivate this experience of eudaimonia in your life and discover how it connects with your sense of happiness.
Ways to Increase Eudaimonic Well-Being
Here are a few actionable steps that you can take to promote eudaimonia for better mental health and emotional well-being.
1. Express your values and stay close to them
We all have different values. If something is truly important to you, try your best to stand by it, even when others don’t agree. This will also help you feel true to yourself (see #6).
2. Write down your biggest goals
This isn’t your usual career goal or where you want to see yourself in 20 years. These are goals that reflect your core values. Sure, they can be related to your career, but think about it at a broader level. For example, some of your big goals could be ‘to help people who are struggling’ and ‘to stand up for marginalized groups’.
3. Develop and refine your skills and capabilities
No matter who you are, you are good at something (or many things). You have traits that can help you achieve your goals (re: #2). Maybe you’re good at giving advice, or you're detail-oriented, or you have an ear for music. Whatever it is, focus your efforts on developing the skills that bring you joy.
4. Focus on the quality, not quantity, of your relationships
This might seem obvious, but social connections play a major role in well-being. Of course, you’ll form new relationships as you start different chapters of your life, but remember not to neglect the people you cherish and truly care about. This can be as simple as expressing gratitude or calling your favorite people now and then to check-in. Also, sometimes we may realize that relationships are no longer serving us, which may mean it’s time to reassess how those show up in our lives.
5. Do the things you genuinely want to do
We engage with things for different reasons: sometimes it’s because it’s personally rewarding (i.e., intrinsic motivation) or externally rewarding (i.e., extrinsic motivation). Find things you love to do, and not only have to do. Yes, life is full of responsibilities and activities that are extrinsically motivated, but even a few side hobbies that bring you joy can be helpful in the long run.
6. Be authentic and true to yourself
Have you ever felt not quite like ‘yourself’ after saying or doing something? We all have those moments. It’s not a comfortable feeling because it feels like you’re lying to yourself. It’s no wonder that authenticity is such a big part of eudaimonia.
7. Do Positive Activities
What are some things you can do in daily life to promote eudaimonia? A study by Steger and colleagues (2008) outlined the following eudaimonic activities:
● Volunteering one’s time
● Giving money to someone in need
● Writing out one’s future goals
● Expressing gratitude for another’s actions
● Carefully listening to another’s point of view
● Confiding in someone about something that is of personal importance
● Persevering at valued goals despite obstacles
As you consider how to be happier, try to shift more towards how to cultivate eudaimonic well-being.
Which of these well-being tips will you try?
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References
● Hursthouse, R. (1999). On virtue ethics. Oxford University Press.
● Huta, V., & Waterman, A. S. (2014). Eudaimonia and its distinction from hedonia: Developing a classification and terminology for understanding conceptual and operational definitions. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(6), 1425–1456.
● Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., & Oishi, S. (2008). Being good by doing good: Daily eudaimonic activity and well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(1), 22–42.
