Welcome to At The Heart Of It, a new podcast from The Wellbeing Project. We’re the world’s leading organization advocating for the wellbeing of changemakers and for wellbeing in changemaking.  We’re on a mission to change how we do social change, and we’re really happy you’re here.

You may have some questions already, like why wellbeing?

Or what’s a changemaker?

Maybe even, wellbeing? 

Don’t we have more important things to talk about?

All good questions, but let’s just start with who we are.

The Wellbeing Project is a global network of thousands of individuals and organizations who all share one common belief that wellbeing inspires welldoing.

Our partners are social entrepreneurs,  doctors, humanitarian workers, researchers, therapists, Indigenous leaders, elected officials, caregivers, teachers, frontline workers, people from all walks of life who see the power of wellbeing to make our world a better place.

Since 2014, we have been emerging as a co-creation from some of the world’s biggest social impact organizations, like Ashoka, Synergos, Impact Hub, Skoll Foundation, Porticus, and Georgetown University. 

We’ve added many more institutions along the way to this collective effort. All of these institutions work with incredible changemakers from around the world, and they were starting to see something really troubling among them.

The people who had so much love for the world – for their communities, their countries, the planet – so much love that they were dedicating their lives to serving others: they were struggling. They’re facing chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, depression. They were facing traumas in their personal and professional lives. They were feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. Fighting for change in their outer worlds, as well as on the inside. They were doing all of this alone. In silence. Because this was the culture of social change: to give every part of yourself in the service of others. To work yourself to burnout. To put your work first and your health last. This was the norm. And to share your struggles was taboo. A sign of weakness. A sign of failure.

And wellbeing? Who has time to think about wellbeing when you’re trying to save the world? 

The Wellbeing Project was born out of the growing recognition that changemakers need wellbeing to be their best selves. Not just successful leaders, effective activists, and hard workers, but their best full selves: community members, parents, siblings, individuals, dreamers, creators, human beings.

In 2014, we accompanied dozens of seasoned changemakers on a journey of inner development to understand their struggles and help foster their wellbeing. What we and these changemakers saw was nothing short of transformation. A whole new way of being. A whole new way of leading. A whole new way of driving change. The ripple effects of inner wellbeing were felt in their organizations and in their impact, and it was clear: wellbeing inspires welldoing. 

So since 2014, we have been working to share this message of hope in the social change sector, to educate, inspire, and guide changemakers on a path to wellbeing, and strengthen their approach to welldoing.

If wellbeing inspires welldoing within an individual and an organization, what about our societies? We are now seeing a monumental drive worldwide for our economic systems, political structures, and legal frameworks to enable the wellbeing of people and the planet. We have seen wellbeing become the driver and the destination of social change itself.

But while we’ve seen such an inspiring transformation in this space, we still have work to do. We recognize the growing complexity and intensity of the world today. We’re facing social and environmental battles from left to right, north to south. We’re facing political division, economic instability, social inequality, environmental destruction, injustice, and trauma. 

Our world needs social change more than ever. And at the heart of it, we need wellbeing. So welcome to our podcast, where we’re telling stories of wellbeing changing the world. We’re meeting the changemakers whose own journeys of wellbeing inspire the welldoing, digging deep into what this has meant to them and understanding the influence of wellbeing in their lives.

You’ll hear stories of inner development work like self-reflection, personal growth, and healing. You’ll hear stories on key topics like human rights, climate change, and leadership. And you’ll hear stories of social change like advocacy, education, and community service.

But what you won’t hear is a definition of wellbeing because we believe in the emotional. We believe in the unique. And we believe in wellbeing that’s defined by individuals, that’s defined in different regions, based on the land, the culture, and the history.

Together, we’re bringing individual colors to a global mosaic, a collective painting of our shared commitment to wellbeing.  We asked thousands of people to help us capture the spirit of our movement through words, resulting in a declaration of wellbeing.

Here’s Jazmine Williams, reading it at our first-ever global summit in 2022.

Good morning. My name is Jazmine Williams and I’d like to share with you all this morning a declaration of wellbeing written by Anne Mortifee.

A spirit of promise is calling us inward to see ourselves clearly, to heal what needs healing and bring harmony back to the earth. We feel it in the depth of our nature and rise to the call of life’s urge to evolve. We are Pathfinders. Caregivers, weavers of dreams, pilgrims on a journey to discover the self from every walk of life. 

Every faith, race, and culture, the sounds of our footsteps are heard. Inspired by the ones who traveled before us, we press on for the ones yet to follow. Moved by an ancient vision of a more compassionate world.  We seek wellbeing for all of creation,  for love and justice.  Peace and truth to thrive and enliven us all.

We have learned that the light which ignites the stars is the same light that flows through all things. And through all things flows wellbeing. 

So let’s jump in, let’s dive deep,  and let’s get to the heart of it.

 Thank you for listening to this episode of, At The Heart Of It. For more news research and stories about wellbeing and social change, visit wellbeing-project.org. The Wellbeing Project is the world’s leading organization advocating for the wellbeing of changemakers and for wellbeing in changemaking. We believe wellbeing inspires while doing. Thanks for listening and see you next time!