As eudaimonia is the ultimate purpose of life, and not a means to an end, it requires daily practice, to keep on the Eudaimonic path, to keep pushing yourself forwards and to keep pushing the boundaries in all that you do. You realise your Eudaimonia, or human flourishing, through your habits and actions, not through your feelings and emotions. Doing the activities of The Framework to Practice Eudaimonic Well-being, coupled with our guiding rules and values set out on the About page, provides you with the structure to help you form and keep the habits and actions needed. Eudaimonic activities bring meaning and purpose to your life, giving you a greater sense of fulfilment over time.

Flourish

Happily, feelings and emotions are by-products as you Practice Eudaimonic Well-being; as they are also your guide to knowing when you are on the right track, or when you might need to choose a different path. By taking part in Eudaimonic activities each day, you will flourish and over time will experience deep feelings of happiness, elevation, satisfaction, contentment, confidence, calmness, and connectedness, all of which enrich your daily life. You can find more detail about how each of the fifteen areas of The Framework contribute to your overall sense of well-being and fulfilment on the other menu pages of this site.

From time to time, you may go through a period that feels dark, difficult, or uncertain, due to external factors outside of your control. The Framework to Practice Eudaimonic Well-being provides you with focus and purpose during those times and keeps you pushing forwards. You will get through those times and with continued daily practice, in line with your values, you will get to the other side with strength, confidence, and fulfilment.

There is only one you

You are unique – there is no one else like you, and you have a unique set of potentials. As you progress through life, and Practice Eudaimonic Well-being, you will discover your own unique set of potentials. By finding ways of applying your unique set of potentials for the benefit of others you will experience feelings of purpose and meaning. By furthering yourself every day you will push the boundaries in your field providing you with a sense of fulfilment and, with a little luck, success. And as you progress, new potentials and opportunities will present themselves, offering you the scope for continuous development and further self-discovery.

Seize every opportunity offered to you, follow every interest, and try everything at least once, so long as they align with our guiding rules and values, and your own additional values. As you try new things, you discover more about what you like and dislike, what is profoundly important to you, meet like-minded people, and find new ways to share what you have to offer.

Be able to meet your basic needs

To do well in life, it is important to make sure that you can meet your basic needs, as well as those of your children. It is difficult to flourish if you are cold or hungry, or full of worry about how to keep a roof over your heads. Doing the areas of The Framework each day, with an initial focus on self-sustainability, will help you to meet your basic needs over time. For example, living well by looking after yourself, getting enough Sleep, eating good Food, getting Exercise, and taking time out to Socialise will keep you strong. Listening to Talks and taking time to Learn more in relation to your field and Prepare for each day makes you desirable to employers, thereby improving your salary prospects. Keeping on top of your Life Admin helps you to minimise your expenses.

Save

In addition to meeting your basic needs, to achieve self-sustainability, you should also aim to save enough to be able to meet your essential outgoings for a year if you had no income. The key word here is “essential”. The outgoings that you could not cancel if you had to.

Make purposeful choices

Make good, and where necessary humble, choices each day to help you achieve self-sustainability and remember: the best things in life are free. Could you live with your family or friends so that you could save more? Could you make Food to take to Work rather than buying out? Do you need a gym membership to get Exercise, or could you go for a run in the Fresh Air at the park? Could you invest in training that would increase your earning potential at Work once completed? Are there benefits that you could claim?

The options available and answers will not be the same for everybody. You may live with your parents and not have any essential expenses. You may have inherited family wealth that has you covered for life. Expenses that other people may deem as non-essential; you may consider to be essential. Whatever your personal situation, your aim is to generate enough income to cover your basic needs throughout the year and to save a years’ worth of essential outgoings.

Keep moving forwards

For certain people gaining self-sustainability will be a life-long journey, due to their own unique circumstances and time available. If this is you, that’s OK. The important thing is to make choices in line with your values, and to keep pushing forwards, undertaking the activities of The Framework each day to maximise your feelings of well-being as you go.

It is, however, important not to get caught-up in greed, or with superficial or materialistic things.

Once you have enough, you should switch your focus, as you Practice Eudaimonic Well-being each day, from self-sustainability to self-realisation. These two things are not mutually exclusive, however.  On your road to self-sustainability you may already have discovered much about yourself, but you should now have a solid foundation beneath you affording you the luxury of contemplation and exploration. You can always go back to your self-sustainability focus as and when required, and with confidence. Things tend to feel that much easier the second time around.

Your focus now as you follow The Framework each day should be on:

• • • personal growth,
    • building your network of like-minded people and those who inspire you, and
    • how you can share your unique set of potentials with the world for the benefit of others, in a self-sustaining way.

What is your next step?

As you Practice Eudaimonic Wellbeing each day, listen to your inner voice and let it guide you. What is your next step? Is there a sector that appeals to you, but that you have been unable to find Work in due to a lack of experience? Would a lower-level role or even an internship help you to gain valuable experience? Are there skills that you want to develop? Being a Volunteer, in the right role, is a rewarding way to develop skills. Do you have a business idea but have not had the time or the means to progress it? Now might be the time to take the leap and Create it. Is there a part of the world that you want to explore to Learn more about the culture? You could request to take a sabbatical.

Go for it!

If you have an inkling that you would be good at something – try it. If it doesn’t work out, take all the positive learnings from the experience, and then move on. Remember, you have not failed until you give up and stop trying. Finding your niche can take time, as well as trial and error. Practice Eudaimonic Well-being each day and keep going. Trust that each step is one step closer to changing the world for the better, in a way that only you can.

Whatever direction your unique set of potentials takes you in, the daily focus of the activities in The Framework will promote your well-being, in so many ways, as you go. Enjoy the journey as you Practice Eudaimonic Well-being.