New Year, New Series: Evidence-Based Models of Well-Being for Coaches and High Performers

Enough is enough.

2022 saw a record number of coaches walk away from their posts in an effort to protect their health and well-being. This is part of a larger trend we’re witnessing in people leaving poor working conditions to protect their own well-being.

We can do better with our platform in sport than cause casualties for coaches and just move on. We can promote coach well-being.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll unpack some evidence-based models of well-being to support coaches in their quest to both feel and perform well.

Since there are a number of evidence-based models and factors that promote well-being, and there’s no universally agreed upon definition of well-being in the first place (though there are some great ones out there), the goal of this series is to highlight possibilities. You’re encouraged to take what works and leave the rest.

These models apply across the roles and domains. If you’re a high-performance professional, these models can help you build a foundation to facilitate flourishing over the long-term.

We need to start by rethinking what it means to be well.

Historically, we’ve thought of well-being as simply the absence of illness.

But the absence of illness isn’t health. It’s emptiness.

For us to sustain performance over the long-term, we need to add a bit of depth to that understanding.

Well-being falls on a continuum, from ill-health on one end to thriving or flourishing on the other. Ultimately, we’re after both the absence of illness and the presence of positive feelings. We’ll do our best to cover how to work toward both.

There’s never been a better time to invest in being the best version of yourself. If you want to make your career in elite sport or any high-performance domain, the key to your longevity is maintaining your energy and health over the long-term.

We’re tired of seeing people have to walk away from a career they love to find a way to restore themselves. This series is our attempt to do our part in bringing about a much needed change to sport and the high-performance landscape broadly.

Reflective Questions:

• What are you currently doing to promote your own well-being?

• How much is your own health and performance a priority?