Video: Wellbeing in retirement

In this video Tracey Spicer talks to world-renowned positive psychology and wellbeing expert Sue Langley of the Langley Group about ways to think about wellbeing in retirement.

Transcript

Tracey Spicer

Hi, I’m Tracey Spicer. We’re talking today to world-renowned positive psychology and wellbeing expert Sue Langley. But one of the best descriptions I’ve heard of her is that she’s just a really nice person. Hello, Sue.

Sue Langley

Hello Tracey. It’s lovely to be here.

Tracey Spicer

What a beautiful way to be described. Do you know, one thing I’ve been thinking about lately is the misuse of the word wellbeing. What does wellbeing mean to you?

Sue Langley

Yeah, look, it’s an interesting one. Because when you look at the research, everybody wants to operationalise everything so that we can define it, and then research it, etc.

I always think of wellbeing as linked to flourishing. As in, it isn’t about always being happy. It’s about being able to handle adversity and having overall wellbeing. If you look at the definition, it’s about how people feel and that they function well. So it’s, do I feel well, in general? I might have my ups and downs. But do I function well both personally and socially?

And the other interesting thing about wellbeing is it’s my evaluation. So that’s a really important thing. Because it’s how I evaluate my life. So you might say to me, “How’s your wellbeing out of 10?” And I go, “I think it’s, I don’t know, eight and a half.” And you’re like, “Really?” Well, you don’t get to define whether I evaluate I have high levels of wellbeing. So that’s a really tricky thing. It’s subjective.

Tracey Spicer

And is there some kind of overlap with resilience, as well?

Sue Langley

Yeah. So if you think about resilience, resilience is our ability to, if you like, bounce back from adversity and things like that. But for me, it’s part of wellbeing. So if you think about emotional intelligence, that’s how intelligently we use our emotions. That’s linked to wellbeing.

Resilience is how I manage my emotions. So of course that’s linked to wellbeing. Because if I manage them badly, and I get hit by adversity, and I don’t have the strategies to handle it, my wellbeing will take a hit. If I do have the strategies, those resilience strategies, to manage my emotions as they come up, then my wellbeing will continue to thrive.

Tracey Spicer

Based upon that, how does wellbeing change as we age? And should we approach it differently at different stages of our lives?

Sue Langley