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Flower

WellBalance Model
and Assessment

Valid, Comprehensive,
Personalized and Actionable

The proprietary WellBalance Model for evaluating and improving wellbeing integrates a comprehensive range of positive human experience with the latest wellbeing research into a single accessible framework to guide personalized, actionable positive change. The model builds upon and integrates the accumulated knowledge of positive psychology, wellbeing and flourishing to enable more comprehensive and granular evaluation of discrete, modifiable aspects of individuals’ positive well-being.

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By identifying specific categories of experiences more likely to improve feelings of well-being, the aim of the WellBalance Assessment is to enable more efficient and effective development of personalized plans to improve positive wellbeing for individuals.

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Specifically, the WellBalance Model extends the utility of previous well-being assessments along three dimensions:

  1. Evaluates lived experiences that have been demonstrated to correspond with feelings of wellbeing;

  2. Assesses feelings and experiences with an even balance of low, moderate and high excitement and activity levels;

  3. Includes a full range of positive experiences and feelings previously demonstrated to contribute to positive wellbeing.

WellBalance Model of Wellbeing

A Valid Comprehensive Model and Measure of Positive Wellbeing

WellBalance Model of Positive Wellbeing

Wellbeing Balance and Lived Experiences

The WellBalance Model posits that our subjective sense of well-being arises from positive life experiences including caring for ourselves mentally and physically by attending to our minds and bodies, and engaging with others emotionally and tangibly by nurturing positive social relationships and engaging in purposeful activities that contribute to others’ well-being. Additionally, the WellBalance Model aims to encompass the full range of pleasurable hedonic and meaningful eudaimonic positive experiences and feelings, which balances mental and physical activity and stimulation with savoring and mindful engagement, and rest and reflection.

Each item of positive experiences corresponds with a body of evidence supporting the positive impact of these activities and experiences on subjective well-being and human flourishing. More frequent positive experiences correspond with more frequent positive feelings, which together correspond closely with an individual’s self-reported subjective wellbeing or flourishing. Specific categories of positive experiences are more likely to correspond with the adjacent categories of positive feelings, and the more categories of positive experiences and feelings an individual frequently has, the greater their overall wellbeing and resilience to life stressors.

Meets Strict APA Assessment Guidelines

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Developed by Harvard-trained Scientist 

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WellBalance Validation Study

Our first research study, "Well-Being Balance and Lived Experiences Assessment: A Valid Comprehensive Measure of Positive Well-Being," validates the WellBalance Model and Assessment against gold-standard positive psychology models and measures of wellbeing and flourishing from Harvard and Pennsylvania Universities.

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The study found that the WellBalance Assessment is a reliable and valid instrument to comprehensively measure positive aspects of well-being and to guide design of personalized assessment and intervention programs to enhance individuals' positive well-being.

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Specifically, the study demonstrated that:

  • the WellBalance Model factors showed good fit, meeting stringent statistical standards established by the American Psychology Association;

  • the WellBalance Assessment demonstrated high internal consistency and validity;

  • the WellBalance Assessment measures a similar overall concept of well-being and flourishing as PERMA+ (University of Pennsylvania) and WBA-24 (Harvard Flourishing Center);

  • the WellBalance Model differs from these comparators, especially by including positive experiences and focusing on positive feelings.

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Wellbeing Indicators Study

Our second research study, "Well-Being Balance and Lived Experiences: Understanding the Impact of Life Situations on Human Flourishing," sheds new light on what truly drives well-being, going beyond demographics to reveal the powerful impact of social connection, purposeful contribution, and life circumstances on human flourishing and feeling that our lives truly matter. Our findings demonstrate that relationship status, parenting, and employment situations have a far greater influence on well-being than age, gender, or income. People who have strong social bonds and opportunities to contribute meaningfully to others' lives, such as coupled companions and parents, experience greater feelings of significance and efficacy, critical ingredients for flourishing. The study also points to a unified model of multiple complementary theories of motivation, meaning and mattering which suggests that our primary motivator as humans is to feel that our lives matter.

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Key study findings include:

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Life Situations and Drivers of Well-Being: Relationship status, parenting, and employment situations have a significantly greater impact on overall well-being than age, gender, or income. Companionate relationships and parenting were especially strong predictors of positive well-being.

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Social Connection and Purposeful Contribution: Social connection and the opportunity to contribute to others' well-being were identified as key drivers of feelings of efficacy and significance, which together play a critical role in overall flourishing.

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Mindset Positivity and Well-Being Breadth: Well-being and resilience are enhanced by cultivating a positive mindset with a variety of positive experiences and feelings across activity and excitement  levels, from active to mindful to calm.​

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Time Affluence and Agency: Having both time affluence and agency over work and life decisions significantly enhances well-being by fostering a wider range of positive experiences and feelings, and a more positive mindset.

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Motivation, Meaning and Mattering: Feelings of significance, arising from social connections and purposeful contributions, plus autonomy and an ability to effect change are key drivers of intrinsic motivation and overall well-being, suggesting a unified model of motivation, meaning and mattering.

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WellBalance Personalized Program Design Methodology

Our chapter in Advances in the Psychology of Wellbeing titled "Applying the Wellbeing Balance and Lived Experiences Model to Design Personalized Wellbeing Interventions" provides a peer-reviewed, structured methodology for designing personalized wellbeing programs based on the WellBalance Model. This WellBalance Method offers a transformative approach to improve individuals' wellbeing through tailored wellbeing improvement programs to accelerate personal growth, whether self-guided or in consultation with coaches or therapists.

The manuscript summarizes the WellBalance Principles for building positive wellbeing, including:

  • Catalyze upward spirals of positivity.

  • Maximize wellbeing productivity

  • Nurture a positive mindset

  • Build wellbeing resilience

 

The WellBalance Method to design personalized wellbeing programs entails a few key steps, including:

  • A comprehensive assessment of an individual's current wellbeing profile and potential

  • Opportunities to improve wellbeing, mindset and resilience

  • Benchmarking against others in similar life circumstances

  • Prioritizing actions based on motivation, feasibility, and impact potential, including steps to:

    • Prioritize positive experiences to engage in more frequently, based on four main factors: desire, empowerment, impact, and ease.

    • Identify mindful positivity practices to target specific gaps in individuals’ mindset positivity, based on levels of motivation and feasibility

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This publication underscores WellBalance’s commitment to develop practical, science-based strategies to translate the latest science of positive psychology and wellbeing into actionable insights that can create more flourishing lives, relationships and workplaces. By integrating validated wellbeing measures with a structured intervention framework, the WBAL Model and Method offer individuals, coaches, therapists and employers a practical approach to improve positive wellbeing.

Scientific Conferences and Future Research  

The WellBalance Institute is dedicated to advancing the science of wellbeing and bringing it into people lives, relationships and workplaces through actionable insights. We actively participate in the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and training workshops. We currently plan to attend and/or present our work at the following conferences:​​​​

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  • World Happiness Summit (WOHASU), March 15-16 in Miami, FL - VIP events and workshops

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  • World Summit on Positive Psychology, Happiness, Mindfulness and Wellness, April 23-24 in Paris, France - Scientific and personal oral presentations, Workshop on WellBalance Method

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  • International Positive Psychiatry Association: World Congress on Positive Psychology, July 2-5 in Brisbane, Australia - Oral presentation, Poster session, Workshop on WellBalance Method

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We are also currently planning the following research studies to build upon our prior work:

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  • Coaching effectiveness studies to evaluate the WellBalance Method's personalized intervention program design methodology for use by life coaches and executive coaches.

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  • Workplace metrics validation study to evaluate the convergent and divergent validity of the WellBalance measures of Motivation and Meaning, and of Mind Body Wellness, relative to gold standard employer instruments to evaluate Employee Engagement and Wellness.

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  • Longitudinal observational studies to evaluate changes in wellbeing of WellBalance members.

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