Stress Happens. Have You Checked on Your Well-Being?

Regular fare for compliance professionals includes threats of regulatory enforcement, loss of resources, businesspeople who are intent on undermining the program, investigations into challenging areas, audits, ongoing remediations and many other situations. Ensuring that we are emotionally well and aligned with our purpose is important in an era of dwindling resources. Just as we conduct risk assessments of our compliance program and have annual physicals with our doctors, so, too, can we monitor our own well-being.

A well-being assessment is an excellent tool because it can help you understand current well-being state and create a solid foundation for making changes in alignment with your goals. With the right information at your fingertips, you can be prepared to make better decisions, which will help drive the quality of life that you want. Conducting a proper well-being assessment creates actionable moments and insights into your life.

To make your well-being assessment actionable, it needs to be easy and straightforward.

There are many versions of the dimensions of well-being, but for this article we will focus on six: body, mind, financial, social, environmental, and meaning and purpose. Here are some sample questions you can ask yourself in each area:

Body

Do I take time to relax?
Am I able to move in the ways that I want to?
Am I getting sufficient rest?
Do I have a plan for physical activity?
How do I feel about my nutrition levels?
Have I received all checkups?
Do I sleep well enough to regularly wake up feeling rested?

Mind

Do I take time out to be present?
Am I able to actively listen?
Do I have ways to address stress in my life?
On the whole, am I happy?
Do I continue to learn new things?
Do I have the opportunity to be creative?

Financial

Do I feel like I have sufficient funds to meet my current goals?
Am I living from paycheck to paycheck?
Do I have a long-range plan?
Have I diversified income in my life?
Am I able to save?

Social

Do I have a best friend at work?
Do I feel support from the people who are most important to me?
Do I have communities I belong to where I am actively engaged?
Do I make time for connections and outreach in my life?
How is my network, both personal and professional?
Do I feel supported and encouraged?

Environmental

Is my work environment positive?
How do I feel about my profession and my career?
Do I feel safe and secure in my housing situation?
Do I do things that benefit the environment?
Do I connect with nature regularly?
Do I regularly feel comfort in my surroundings?

Meaning & Purpose

Have I found my “why?”
Do I give back?
Do I do things that I feel benefit the greater good?
Do I feel clear on a sense of purpose that is larger than just me?
Do I incorporate philanthropy/volunteering into my life by giving of time, talent and/or treasure?

While there are many other questions that can be included that are unique to your situation, the risk assessment of your well-being can be tailored at any time. To make this as simple as possible, draw a pie that is split into six “slices” labeled for the six areas of well-being. (Or print out this worksheet.)

When you look at each dimension, rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 based on the questions under each section given how you feel you are doing. After you identify how you feel you are doing, ask yourself what your goals are and what you would need to change or keep the same to get you to your goals. Identify if there are barriers to your goals or if there are additional supports or controls that can be added to help you along the way. This process will help drive your priorities and focus your energy and efforts effectively.

Taking the time to regularly consider your well-being checkup can put you in a position to make conscious life decisions to live a life by design rather than by default.

Click to Download and Print the Well-Being Worksheet (This document is best printed in landscape.)