I am frequently asked ‘what is a Wellbeing Champion?’ And whilst my response might differ depending on who I am speaking with and where I might be, the central principle remains the same. It’s about simple and practical steps we can all take to make a real difference to happiness and wellbeing in our workplaces and communities.

So how do we do that? Well, a good starting point is recognising our power to contribute to change. I love story telling as a way of learning and one of my favourite short stories is “The Star Thrower” which goes like this.

An elderly man was walking along the beach and noticed in the distance the shape of someone repeatedly bending down to pick something up and then throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he saw that it was a young boy who was picking up the starfish that had been washed up by the tides and returning them to the deep. He walked up to the boy and asked him what he was doing.

“These starfish get washed up by the tides and if they’re not returned to the water soon, they will dry up and die.” responded the lad. The old man looked up and down the miles of beach and saw that there were thousands of starfish left stranded.

“Look at all of the starfish that are dead and dying, you can’t possibly make a difference!” The boy reached down, picked up another starfish and gently returned it to the sea. “I made a difference to that one.”

So we too can make a difference to the wellbeing and happiness of others, no matter how small we might think our actions are. A smile. An encouragement. An appreciation. An act of kindness. All make a difference.

The other great news is that small actions grow quicker than you might imagine. For example let’s say that the boy’s actions in the story inspire two people to do the same. Only two. No more. And the following day these two people each throw a single starfish back into the water. The actions of each of these two people inspiring two more people to do the same the next day; each throwing a single starfish back into the water. And they then in turn inspiring two more people to do the same the next day and so on. Each day the number of people reaching down and returning a starfish to the water doubling.

Here’s the important question. How many people will be standing on the beach throwing a starfish back into the water by the end of the month? 100? 1000? 10000? The fact is that by simply inspiring two people who in turn inspire two more by the end of the month over one billion would be standing on the beach throwing starfish back into the water (if there was room!) 1,073,741,823 to be precise.

Isn’t that amazing!

So becoming a Wellbeing Champion is your opportunity to be part of something exciting and crucial to making the world a better and happier place for all. By taking simple steps you can contribute to transforming our workplaces, communities and cities into places where happiness and wellbeing are the corner stones of what makes life worth living.

Wellbeing Champions are ambassadors for happiness too. They help others refresh and reinvigorate their existing ways to wellbeing, as well as supporting them to discover and introduce new ways to lasting wellbeing and happiness.

It’s also about boosting our resilience. And what the science of happiness tells us is that with the right kind of personal resources along with a supportive environment, our abilities to both weather the storms and enjoy life to the full, are greatly enhanced. We learn to flourish and find meaning and fulfilment in our everyday lives. Whatever that might be.

If you like the sound of becoming a Wellbeing Champion take a look at our training pages or write to training@happycity.org.uk if you’d like to explore support for your organisation.

Between us, we can building a flourishing and sustainable world by ‘saving a starfish every day’.