Since ancient times people have quested for the good life to experience well-being. Thus far, the good life and well-being have evaded them. This state of affairs is evident from the current status of employee engagement¹ coupled with occupational stress and depression². The latter spills over to our outside lives³, adversely impacting society at large and thwarting well-being. This situation can partly be attributed to misunderstandings about the good life and well-being. These misunderstandings arise from the many different views of the good life^4,5. Therefore, this blog provides clarifying information on the good life. This account is by no means an exhaustive treatment of the topic. This is my view which may only resonate with some. However, this view is intended as a brief overview containing sufficient signposts to practically guide you in finding your pathway to living the good life and, thus, experiencing well-being.

To direct us, we need to know what the good life and, thus, well-being means. A helpful way to start is to look at the historical roots of the good life or well-being. After that follows an elaboration on the central concepts of the good life, i.e., competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These concepts are also the crux of many contemporary views on well-being. This blog closes with parting thoughts to chart your route to finding the good life.

Historical Roots of Well-Being

Historically, the study of well-being was the subject of moral philosophy⁵. And can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The questions they studied focused on how people (a) ought to live well, (b) to be successful (eudaimonia), (c) ought to do, (b) to doing well, and (e) what morality requires from people given how it is best for them to live in making their lives better while conforming with virtuous acting⁵. These questions suggest that living the good life is an enduring pursuit rather than an episodic incident.

Virtuous Acting and Well-Being

Virtuous acting is synonymous with wisdom. Virtuous acting implies exercising choices to make the world a better place for oneself in terms of what is “appropriately desired”⁶. Appropriately desired implies good, useful, meaningful, or worthwhile⁷.  Consequently, what is good for oneself also merits promoting for others⁶. Therefore, questing for well-being for oneself does not disturb the well-being of others. Thus, seeking well-being for oneself comes with significant personal and moral consequences⁶.  

It stands to reason that the choice to live the good life is distinctively individual⁸. The individual is the only one who can best answer these well-being questions for themself, given their disposition as it pertains to the situation facing him/her, and in accordance with reason. Reason implies wisdom to act in line with one’s abilities to realize one’s full potential or endowed competence to advance in life⁹. Thus, virtuous acting is to make choices to do what one does well¹⁰ without violating the freedoms of others.

Virtuous Acting and Agency

Deciding on what is the best life for oneself requires a sense of agency. Agency denotes one has control over (a) their decisions, (b) acting on the decisions, and (c) the consequences of such decisions. To have control over one’s decisions, actions, and consequences of the decisions represents autonomy. A sense of agency permits a person to act in his/her best interest⁹ because one has sovereignty over oneself and one’s life. In other words, to have the autonomy to make the most of one’s competence and opportunities⁷ to live a meaningful life worth living.

Moreover, autonomy cultivates a feeling of belongingness, facilitating getting along with others¹¹. Belongingness implies people care about each other’s well-being⁴. And this care for each other’s well-being provides the relational basis for human interaction. In turn, relatedness generates human behavior, emotion, and thought^11,15.

Agency is an intentional act of deciding on living the good life. This is an active act arising from the skill of individuals to have the ability and resources to fulfill their potential¹² or competence, as opposed to inert acting. Active acting entails conscious reflection and effort⁷. Conscious reflection means thinking about one’s purpose and competence to attain one’s purpose. Reaching one’s purpose requires effort to fulfill one’s endowed competence.

The Central Concepts of Well-Being

Competence, autonomy, and belongingness are the central concepts of living the good life or well-being, as set out in the previous section. These concepts also represent the inborn motivational needs of people^11,13,14,15 that move them to act purposely. The satisfaction of these inborn motivational needs is practiced as getting ahead/mastery, finding meaning/autonomy, and getting along/belonging^15,16, allowing people to flourish.

Competence: Getting Ahead or Mastery

Mastery is synonymous with human competence. Competence represents people’s inborn motivational need to master their environment^4,13. Mastery is gained by learning and growth¹³ through learning (educational/training) opportunities. Thus, people fulfill their endowed competence or full potential through learning (educational/training) opportunities^13,15. However, fulfilling their competence requires that people believe these training opportunities are essential for, and significant in, attaining their purpose and/or task execution¹³. In addition, individuals should have the chance to optimally apply their competence¹³ in pursuing the good life. Thus, mastery is an active act rather than passively ‘going with the flow^7’. The satisfaction of the need to master one’s environment is experienced as getting ahead in life, which generates autonomy.

Autonomy: Finding Meaning

Confidence in one’s competence intensifies the desire for autonomy. Autonomy indicates a person can be his/her authentic self by exercising free-willed and self-endorsing behavior congruent with their values^4,8,14,15 in pursuit of the good life. As such, autonomy equals agency – to have control over one’s decisions, actions, and consequences.Thus, autonomy means to be free¹⁷. Freedom is the source of dignity, self-respect/esteem, and self-realization. Self-realization means the fulfillment by oneself of one’s potential. Self-realization is an active act¹⁷ to take charge of one’s life.

To practice autonomy implies time to reflect, experiment, and learn¹⁶. Further, freedom involves risk-taking and innovative behaviors, facilitating proactive adaptation to change¹⁶. Violating of a person’s autonomy results in alienation^18,19, adversely impacting connections to others. Practicing autonomy means the individual finds meaning in life, which in turn, cultivates belongingness.

Belongingness: Getting along

Belongingness means people desire, form, and maintain a few stable, ongoing, harmonious, and heartfelt relationships¹¹. At the core of such relationships is good faith and respect – genuine care for each other and a desire for others what one wishes for oneself^6,7,11,17 in living the good life or well-being. Belongingness centers on regular interaction or social contact with people one feels connected to. Interaction facilitates social bonds and getting along with people^4,11.

Belongingness is influenced by an individual’s ability to give effect to his/her authentic self physically, cognitively, and emotionally¹⁸. Expressing one’s authentic self is influenced by his/her psychological presence to channel their energy to physical, cognitive, and emotional labor. Psychological presence is impacted by the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability^18,19. In other words, how significant it is for an individual to use his/her true self in relationships (a) based on the return they receive for being authentic, (b) without fear of negative consequences to their self-image, and (c) the readiness to be true to oneself given the available resources to participate at a particular moment¹⁸. It stands to reason that belongingness produces behavior, thought, and emotion^11,15, which impact living the good life. On the other hand, alienation, results in withdrawal, where individuals protect their true physical, cognitive, and emotional self¹⁹.

To sum up: Satisfying the fundamental psychological motivational needs for competence, autonomy, and belongingness is the essential psychosocial condition for well-being⁴. And this entails the development of our endowed cognitive, affective, and social powers or abilities, which requires time and learning and culminates in wisdom²⁰. To live the good life, or to live to one’s best advantage, means that we experience well-being and, thus, flourish. Flourishing implies the individual is a fully functioning person^{4, 15,} signifying personal fulfillment, actualizing one’s full potential, satisfaction of basic psychological/motivational needs, and satisfaction with and enjoyment of life⁴.

Modern Views on Well-Being

Modern views on well-being, specifically self-determination theory (SDT)^4,21 and work engagement^18,19,22 pertain to the well-being of individuals. The well-being concepts of competence, autonomy, and relatedness are at play. The SDT links with these concepts are more evident than the work engagement links. SDT addresses competence, autonomy, and relatedness directly whereas work engagement addresses these concepts indirectly.

SDT proposes that the simultaneous satisfaction of the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness is critical to give rise to self-determined goal-directed behaviors that enable people to be fully functioning^23,24. However, people vary in the degree to which they desire to fulfill these needs as these needs are not equally important in driving behavior^24,25. In addition, people are not equally skilled in satisfying these needs²⁴. Nevertheless, SDT applies to both one’s personal and professional life^23,24. Thus, the description of well-being offered in this blog is compatible with SDT.

Work engagement, on the contrary, is an indicator of well-being and deals with a state of mind²². As such, work engagement deals directly with the concepts of vigor, dedication, and absorption and indirectly with competence, autonomy, and relatedness. A next blog will elaborate on work engagement and the links to competence, autonomy, and relatedness. However, the information offered here is sufficient to map your road to well-being.

Parting Thoughts

This brief account of well-being suggests that the ancient Greek philosophers did not provide a succinct definition of well-being. They offered explanations of well-being^5,10. The Sages’ exegeses differed somewhat^5,10. However, their views are compatible. Given that the good life or well-being is personal, it may vary among individuals²⁴. The Sages’ exegeses allow individuals to pursue the good life for themselves by enabling them to make proper choices according to their ability or competence – to live to one’s best advantage. Stated differently, to live a meaningful life worth living and, thus, to flourish. Flourishing means living the good life and experiencing well-being.

How to Live the Good Life

The foregoing contains signposts to pave the way to the good life to experience well-being. The first signpost to experiencing well-being is to consider one’s competence – what are my talents? And is it good, useful, meaningful, and worthwhile to pursue? The second signpost is to take care to fulfill the endowed competence potential to live a meaningful life worth living. This means devoting time and effort to developing and applying one’s competence. The third signpost is that every individual is best placed to developing and using their competence. No one else can develop and use our competence. Thus, everyone has the authority¹⁷ to act autonomously and in accordance with his/her true self. Caveat: Without disturbing the autonomy of other people. The fourth and final signpost is respecting the freedoms of others to nurture belongingness and getting along with other people. Belongingness includes advancing what is best for people with whom we share sincere relationships.

The signposts to the good life can also, and particularly, be applied by managers and leaders in organizations. Not only to their own lives, but also to that of their employees – the most valuable resource of an organization. In doing so, they will make the most of their human resources, allowing them to flourish and the organization to prosper. Thus, living a moral life conforming with virtuous action that is meaningful and worth living, personally and professionally.

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