In a recent conversation with one of our brilliant guests, Jon Dunkley, the topic turned to the Aristotelian idea of wellbeing and how when we look at wellbeing through the lens of wellbeing, Aristotle defined wellbeing in three specific areas.

Firstly, there’s spending our time having fun, often called Hedonism. This is probably the one that’s the easiest to define as Hedonism refers to actions, habits and activities that involves primarily ‘anything that brings someone pleasure’.

It’s worth thinking about the things that tick your Hedonistic box. For me it’s travelling, eating great food usually accompanied by a great gin and tonic. I love great music, particularly live. I love a good movie. I love an art gallery. I enjoy playing video games. I’ve got a sweet tooth, so I love a good cheesecake.

In fact, now I’ve started to think about it, there’s loads which fill my ‘hedonistic’ pleasure box.

Your list of things you do which float your hedonistic boat is likely to be a bit different but could include a Netflix binge, stargazing, Wine collecting (and drinking) and enjoying a lovely cup of tea.

There’s plenty more of Hedonistic pleasures which will be unique to you, however there’s a problem with a pure focus on hedonistic pleasure, particularly if you’re at a crossroads in your life and you’re thinking about ‘what happens next’.

Over the years I’ve had plenty of conversations with clients who have told me that after work, with plenty of time and enough money to pursue the hedonistic pleasures they want, a sole focus on the pursuit of hedonism reduces overall wellbeing.

This is where the other elements of wellbeing kick in.

Next, it’s Eudaimonia.

Eudaimonia is defined as seeking wellbeing from complex goals which are meaningful to the individual and society in general. It’s about working towards something, self-fulfilment and maybe going through an element of pressure or pain to achieve a big goal.

So, whilst Hedonism is about maximising pleasure, Eudaimonic wellbeing is about Self Fulfilment.

Whilst Hedonism is about doing fun stuff, Eudaimonic might be described as living in line with our values and purpose.

Whilst Hedonic activities typically give us a short term dopamine hit, Eudemonic activities typically mean we flourish longer term.

Now, Hedonism and Eudaimonia are pretty well known ways to make us happy. However in my conversation with Jon we talked about another aspect we might want to consider when we’re thinking about spending our time to improve our wellbeing.

This is Chaironic happiness, and whilst superficially it sounds like it’s the happiness gained from a really comfy sit down, it’s actually more fundamental than that. Jon put it best in our conversation when he said the following…

Hedonism is Pleasure.

Edmonia is Satisfaction.

Chaironic Happiness is Bliss.

Now, when we talk about Chaironic happiness, there’s often a perceived link between a feeling of Spirituality and Religion.

For many, there is a link between Bliss and their beliefs. However the word spiritual can mean many things to many people, as long as it connects us to something larger than ourselves.

Jon described the feeling he had when he found himself dancing in a field with 4000 fellow fans of dance music. Alternatives might be to meditate or be in nature, with one of my particular favourites walking near the sea. However, when we’re thinking about our overall wellbeing we need to consider the fact that Pleasure alone won’t make you as happy as you can be, neither with both Pleasure and Satisfaction…but taking action to include activities in your life which include a balance of pleasure, satisfaction and Bliss might be a way to higher wellbeing.