What is Real Wellbeing?

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when you think about your wellbeing? If you automatically think of sipping a green smoothie while sitting on a yoga mat, you’re not alone. From bloggers to fitness experts, a lot of people use the term “wellbeing” in relation to health and fitness, trends and regimes. And while these things can certainly help to support your everyday wellbeing, we’re here to talk about how Real Wellbeing relies on more than just physical health and wellness trends.  

For more than 25 years, Australian Unity, in partnership with Deakin University, has been measuring the Real Wellbeing of Australians through the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index.  

One component of this is the Personal Wellbeing Index, a tool that tracks how satisfied we are with our lives, using seven key life areas of wellbeing—factors that combine and work together over time to build an individual picture of personal life satisfaction. More than a fleeting moment of happiness, Real Wellbeing is a long-lasting, holistic view of our lives.

“Wellbeing is what makes a good life,” says Australian Unity Wellbeing Index lead researcher, Dr Kate Lycett. “When we look back at philosophers over the centuries, wellbeing differs between cultures and points in history—but it really means being content with where you are in life and having a sense of control. It’s not just about health or mental health, it’s holistic. If I had to sum it up in a few words, wellbeing is what makes life worth living.” 

So what are the seven life areas and why are they important to our overall personal wellbeing? 

The seven domains of wellbeing   

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index’s seven domains of wellbeing relate to areas of our personal lives that are important to overall satisfaction with life, from our relationships and finances to our feelings about the future. 

The big, memorable moments of life—like a wedding, the birth of a child or retirement—and the countless little moments and small life changes—like helping your loved one prepare for a job interview or getting up half an hour earlier to go for a walk—all contribute to our life satisfaction and personal wellbeing.

According to the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, we typically feel satisfied with our lives when we score highly on more than one of the following factors of wellbeing. 

Relationships 

The strength and quality of our relationships with friends, family and colleagues influences how we rate our personal wellbeing. Relationships protect us from feeling isolated and create confidence that we do not have to face all of life’s ups and downs alone. On the flipside, when we don’t have close relationships, we can feel unloved and unable to tackle life’s obstacles. 

New dad, Kevin, says: “I’ve always been lucky enough to have a core group of friends that I could reach out to, who kind of took me aside and just said, ’How's it going?’ There’s always going to be times when things come up off the rails, and I feel secure that I’ve got people I could turn to. That’s the key sign for me that I know I’m in a rich relationship.”

These relationships can deliver a sense of love, respect, security and comfort to our lives. 

Standard of living

Our standard of living is tied to our sense of financial control and the access we have to opportunities, which have a significant impact on the overall satisfaction we feel with our life. Being able to cover the basics matters and those who cannot often have low levels of personal wellbeing.

“Money matters to our wellbeing,” explains Kate. “If you don’t have enough, you can’t cover the basics: food, shelter, medicine. And you can’t absorb the unexpected shocks that life throws at you. When all you’re doing is worrying about how to make ends meet, it’s very challenging to work on the things that actually boost your wellbeing.”

Being “on top” of our money situation enables us to feel financially secure, which gives us the confidence to make better choices and invest in the experiences that improve wellbeing. 

Health 

The most obvious factor affecting our personal wellbeing is our physical and mental health. However, just because our physical health may decline as we age, it doesn’t mean our wellbeing does. In fact, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index reported in 2025 that, on average, people aged 65-plus report the highest overall personal wellbeing. 

Today, increased mental health literacy means we now view psychological health as being just as important as physical health. Keeping on top of both is important for our wellbeing, but the impact of health challenges can also be offset by other life domains.

Future security

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index tracks how we feel about our “future security”—that is, how we plan and prepare for the future, and how we feel about our future more generally. 

The future is one of the most unpredictable elements of life, so it’s no wonder we can experience anxiety about it. While a secure, stable and rewarding future looks different to each of us—different people might look forward to more financial stability, solid relationships or new employment opportunities—taking concrete steps to build our resilience and confidence in our future will have a significant effect on our wellbeing. 

Community connectedness 

The degree to which we feel involved, connected and supported in our community—be it an online group, a local hobby club, a work network or otherwise—is an important aspect of our wellbeing. 

Marcia, who took up dancing after a series of illnesses in her family, says: “I found a hobby that I fell in love with, where I was able to connect with other people of different walks of life. I’ve developed really close, good friendships with some people, both younger and older. And it’s just given me a whole new lease on life.”

Without these roots in a social setting, it can be isolating, lonely and we can feel disconnected from society, which is why these strong connections play an important role in supporting our overall wellbeing.

Personal safety 

Keeping ourselves safe is the most important element of human survival, but it’s also key to helping us thrive. From physical safety to psychological and financial safety, feeling safe and secure in our lives allows us to focus on the other factors that support our wellbeing. 

Finding an environment where we feel secure, and developing tools and the resilience to be strong in the face of change are two key ways that we can improve our sense of safety—and, in turn, our wellbeing. 

Achieving in life 

Along with our standard of living and relationships, achieving in life—that is, having a sense of purpose—forms the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index’s “golden triangle of wellbeing”. People who feel they live meaningful lives have stronger personal relationships, fewer physical health problems, improved mental health and overall healthier lifestyles. 

People who find meaning in their lives, and hold strong beliefs often have a strong sense of purpose—and Anna, 73, who returned to university as a mature-age student, is a wonderful example of this.

“I am actually at a stage in my life where I can say that I like my life. And it’s got nothing to do with where I live. It’s nothing to do with money. Someone said to me, ‘Are you retired?’ I said ‘no, I'm just not working’. I said, ‘I'm going back to uni full-time’. I’m doing what I want to do, how I want to do it, when I want to do it. I’ve got a purpose in life—I’m just going to go for it.”  

The role of homeostasis in our wellbeing

The seven areas of wellbeing define the factors that influence or enhance our wellbeing, but the ongoing status of our wellbeing relies on what is referred to as “homeostasis”. 

Homeostasis is best explained as the state of stability, or equilibrium, within an organism—in this case, humans. Just as we manage to hold our body temperature steady when it is hot or cold outside, homeostasis means we also have a “base level” of wellbeing to which we will return. 

While our wellbeing may dip at times—for example, our physical health may encounter a setback—we often bring it into balance. 

Kevin sums it up well. “Overall, I think my wellbeing is better because I’ve managed a better balance across all the different areas of wellbeing,” he says. 

Regardless of where we are in life, Real Wellbeing requires us to pay attention to our lives as a whole. When we understand what we want to achieve in life, learn from past experiences, and have the security, opportunity and connections to do what makes us happy, we are well on the path to a good life and high levels of personal wellbeing.