Volume 1: October 2022

How are you?

The Wellbeing Edit is your monthly e-letter landing in your inbox on the first Tuesday of the month. It’s a monthly nudge to pause and check-in with how you are doing. Each month we’ll share insights, research, tips and prompts to support you to consider your wellbeing, be intentional and take action that makes a difference to you.

So, let’s start at the beginning.

How are you?

Pause for a moment and really think about the question: how are you?

You probably ask the question multiples times a day, but how often do you expect, desire or offer an honest answer. Now is a good moment to pause, and really ask yourself ‘how am I’?

We usually have a few common responses, maybe you recognise some of these?

• ‘fine’
• ‘busy’
• ‘not bad’
• ‘ok’ 

Many of us find it awkward and uncomfortable to label or talk about how we are feeling. Sometimes we don’t have the language. Sometimes we skip over or deny how we really feel. Sometimes we are embarrassed by how we feel. Sometimes we are trying to protect ourselves or others. Sometimes we give the answer we think is expected.

Professor Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel, argues that the question ‘how are you’ is the most important question we can ask of ourselves and each other. But it’s not just asking it, we must also take the time and create the space to seek, offer and receive an honest response.

It’s an important question because it helps us access our inner lives, our emotional state. We know our emotions are as important as our physical health, they influence everything. They feature in every part of our lives, often feeling messy and inconvenient! They are everywhere, although we may often try to ignore them, bury them, or push them aside. The trouble with this is they build up, becoming bigger and louder having more influence over us.

I hope you found this helpful. Please send this to a friend or colleague if you think they might find it helpful. Until next time...

Sarah (and the Stepping Stones team)