The WellBeing Project Podcast
Ep 4: "Who is the Wellbeing Project For?"
(upbeat music) - Welcome to the Wellbeing Project Podcast. I'm Rachel Bulkley, and this is episode four. Who is the project four? In this episode, I'm gonna cover six types of individuals who would specifically benefit from the Wellbeing Project. I'm so psyched you're listening right now. Thank you, let's dive in. Who is the project four? Well, if you've listened to my personal story, you know I intentionally wanted to dedicate my efforts to what all humans share. So I think the project is for everyone, but I know that not every human will find their way here. So here's a quick list of some individuals who this is perfect for. One, someone who's beginning to explore options like therapy or support groups, doing inner work or shadow work. Two, someone who's looking for purpose or direction or contemplating the bigger questions of life. Three, someone in transition, whether that's voluntarily because of choices that they have made or involuntarily because of an interruption or a crisis of some sort. Four, someone who is wanting to make a difference or have an impact, but they're not sure where to begin, or if it's even worth the effort. Five, someone who is pretty healthy and content with their life, but they don't know how to advise others on how to achieve what they have. And finally, six, someone who's looking for a side hustle or an additional stream of income in the gig economy. Now, let me unpack and describe each of those types a little more. Let's start with the first one. You're someone who wants to improve your mental health, but you don't know where to start. If you've ever thought, maybe I should talk to someone, but who? Or I know I should do inner work, but what does that even mean? Or here's another one. Someone suggests you need to do shadow work. If any of these sound familiar, but you have no freaking idea where to begin, this is where. The project could give you the context to understand your needs, both physical and psychological, so that you can identify where you need to direct your efforts to feel the most immediate, positive impact. The project also gives you a different way of experiencing your own narrative. Therapist and writer Lori Gottlieb has a great TED talk where she explains that we are all unreliable narrators of our own story. She says that most of what she doesn't therapy is help individuals re-examine and retell the story that they've been telling themselves. The majority of our well-being comes directly from the story we tell ourselves. The second course, Your Big Story, allows you to plug your experiences into a universal story arc of human development and possibly discover a whole new plot. Okay, second type. If you're looking for purpose and direction in life, or if you're asking big questions, but you still haven't found satisfying answers, so for example, big questions might be around purpose. If you've wondered if you have a purpose or what you should be doing with your life, questions could be around relationships. Maybe you've been unsure whether to commit to a certain relationship or move on. Questions could be about economics. Maybe you've wondered if your economic situation is as important as it seems, like should you keep saving at a job that pays more or pursue more fulfilling work that doesn't pay much. Another area of questioning could be around parenting. Maybe you're wondering how to teach your kids what's important. And finally, meaning in life. Maybe you're wondering if it matters whether you find answers to big questions. Whatever the questions, this project is perfect for you. So let me answer a spoiler alert here. Humans are famously poor forecasters of what will bring them lasting happiness. The project doesn't answer your specific questions, of course, but it does help contextualize your life, your needs, and demystify what will ultimately bring you satisfaction. When it comes to parenting, this is particularly close to my heart. As parents, we tend to pay a lot of attention to what we tell our kids and how we direct their behavior. But it turns out they're not likely to follow our spoken advice unless it matches what our own behavior exhibits. So it's not what's taught, but what's caught that kids live by. When we clarify our own big questions and we live a life that matches up with our intentions, this is the best thing that we can do for our kids. And that's what the project is here for. Okay, third type is someone in transition. So this could be a voluntary transition, like they're contemplating making some changes, or you're already in the middle of it. It could be a career change, it could be a relationship ending, it could be kids moving out. Sometimes though, it's an involuntary transition. Maybe it's a medical diagnosis or bankruptcy, all sorts of things that just completely transform the narrative we thought we were living. Whatever the transition, whether it's happy or devastating, transitions can be uncomfortable times. So transitions can make us feel confused, vulnerable, lost, afraid, or isolated. Without a stabilizing force, we can spiral in directions that we never would have imagined. The Wellbeing Project helps ground you with insight and practical support. It gives you context and language, like we've already discussed, but it also provides peer support. Being able to speak with a group of people who understand your experiences because they're working off the same framework or perspective is so important. Support from other project participants is different than typically how we just talk about life with our friends. These are allies in a profound way. They are keenly aware of the testing, the risks, the fears that are required to fully develop as a human. And they don't mistake people in your life for enemies or stoke your animosity. They don't inject or project their fears onto you as is really common with sympathetic loved ones. They help you stay focused just by listening and affirming your experiences. Okay, fourth type. If you have wanted to make a difference in the world, but you didn't know where to begin, or if it was even worth it. So there are lots of disturbing and depressing dynamics to observe in society these days. For those of us who want to make a difference, it can feel totally overwhelming and discouraging. But the project helps dispel the myth of impossibility by showing how our actions change our own lives and how our lives contribute directly to the world around us. Personally, many times people I've just met have opened up and shared with me far more than one would typically share with a new acquaintance. And there are a variety of reasons for this. Among them, I'm pretty open about my life. I have an unusual breath of life experience and I'm pretty unflappable when it comes to people's skeletons. And I really deeply love people and many times I think they can sense that right away. So over the years I've been acting as a hybrid like life coach and spiritual director, confidant mentor, general advisor, and all of this without an official title, agreement or fee. Previously, it felt frustrating that there didn't seem to be a context for me to do what I'm really good at without getting certified or accredited or licensed in some long bureaucratic process. One reason I created the project was so that I and others like me would have a framework to offer our personal gifts and energy to others without having to squeeze into an adjacent role that came with lots of obstacles. If you're the kind of person that people come to for advice or tell you how much you encourage them, this could be a framework you could use to be more intentional with those talents. Okay, fifth tape. You're pretty healthy and you're content with your life, but people ask your advice and you don't know how to give them what you have. You wanna help them, but you don't have a clear direction to point them in. What's likely is that you have intuitively learned how to care for your own needs well, and it's caused you to flourish in ways that attract others. The project gives you language that translates what you've done intuitively. It also provides a ready-made framework that you can recommend others use. When you understand the concepts and the practices of tending, you'll probably find that you're following them intuitively already. One way or another, you have managed to figure out what you needed and how to get those needs met. Awesome. The project will help you explain to others how they too can achieve what you have and not just give you the ability to explain, but a way to point them in a very practical direction for guidance and support. And the last tape. Economics are a profound determinant of so much in our lives. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure does buy time to figure out what does. If you or someone you know had wanted to add an income stream, hosting conversations or becoming a mentor might just be the thing to help them and the world at the same time. As I said, the project can help anyone, but these are a few types who would benefit from it specifically because of their circumstances. All right, that's it for this episode. If you thought of different people who fit these categories and could benefit from the project, would you share this with them? Also, you can help get the word out by liking or reading or subscribing wherever you're listening. And finally, course registration is open at the well-beingproject.info and there are links in the show notes. Thank you so much for listening and until next time, tend well. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)