Choosing to be well despite the circumstances

Choosing to be well despite the circumstances

Trying to apply well-being in the way we manage our students, I have come to appreciate that well-being can be conceived as a state (as in, a certain level of a well-being dimension at a certain time). From an administrator and researcher perspective, this may make sense.

However, from a personal or first-person perspective, there seems to be a choice and belief involved should one aim to thrive or flourish.

The “-ing” in “well-being” implies that it can be perceived as a process instead of just as a state. And our challenge is to have a more proactive rather than a reactive view. In other words, how do we choose and pursue to be well regardless of circumstances, instead of blaming external forces for our well-being (or lack thereof)?

One and a half weeks into my fatherhood journey, I have come to intimately understand that growth and development is not convenient and painless. There are a lot of anxieties, watchouts, sleepless days and nights, and cries that must be soothed.

But to be well is not just a state; it is also a choice. And maybe that’s why the Christian love story sounds so compelling – if a person can choose to love while suffering, how much more graceful could love be when we love while flourishing?

John 5:1-16. “Do you want to be well?”… Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 2023-080: MARCH 21, 2023]