Which way for well-being?

APR 19 2007

'You have done a great job of absorbing key elements of the literature and recounting these woven into a credible story – well told. Your derivation of a 'thriving life' has really set me thinking.'
Robert A. Cummins, Professor of Psychology, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Happiness Studies, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

The pursuit of happiness no guarantee to finding it

A new report published today finds that the individual pursuit of happiness is no guarantee to increasing our long-term well-being. Rather, it claims, that our personal well-being is inextricably bound-up with other people and their responses to us.

Launched today in Westminster, the report 'Thriving lives: which way for well-being?' looks at the current debate on well-being, and asks what the real goals for life should be and how people can achieve them.

Speaking at the report's launch to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Relationships, John Ashcroft, Research Director of Relationships Foundation, said:

'Once you realise that happiness is not possible without other people and that you are responsible to other people for it, this has major implications on the way we live. Suddenly, we move from a what's-in-it-for-me approach to what can I do for you? Our happiness is then a result of giving to others.

'How we handle ourselves becomes very significant as this affects how other people treat us.'

'Most of our sense of well-being comes from our connections with other people – like family, friends, local community, work colleagues, even the nation as a whole. But ironically to benefit from these relationships we need to invest in them without thinking of our own gain.

'We need to change the way we live if we are wish to experience long-term happiness.

'Just as we all realise the need to do our bit for the environment – the same is true for society – we need to start putting others first if all of us, and our children, in years from now, are to have well-being,' he said.

Making choices for well-being is a personal responsibility but government has a part to play in creating an environment that helps our relationships to flourish, the report argues.

One thing that Government can do is encourage our motivation to invest in relationships. Another is to ensure that we've all got the opportunity – to develop relationships, which takes the debate into areas such as marriage, working patterns and pay differentials, building social skills through education, creating relationships between criminals and society and even housing planning. The third is to provide the support for relationships, whether supporting existing relationships or helping to build relationships for those who are excluded or alone.

'We all know relationships can't be forced or regulated. The report doesn't dictate what people should do to achieve well-being, but people can't experience well-being without their social relationships flourishing. Instead, we need to focus on what all of us – individuals, businesses, media, government – can do to encourage relationships and build a healthy society that will result in greater well-being for everyone,' Mr Ashcroft said.

Notes to Editors

The full report is available to download here.

For further information, please contact Nicola Templeton, Communications Adviser, n.templeton@relationshipsfoundation.org, Tel 01223 341278, Mob 07986 120610

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