This winter has been a difficult one, with the loss of both my mom and my dog of 14 years.

If you’ve ever gone through a season like that, you know—it has a way of rearranging your inner world.

It brings up the big existential questions. Most of us don’t stop to ask them—until something makes us.

What actually matters?
What makes a life feel satisfying?
What am I doing with the time I have?

I found myself needing to step away for a big exhale—so I scheduled a trip to Hawaii to catch my breath and recharge.

What Growth Can Look Like After Loss

There’s a concept in psychology called post-traumatic growth.

It doesn’t mean something good comes from loss.

But it does mean that, for many people, periods of hardship open the door to deeper clarity, stronger values, and a renewed sense of how they want to live.

I can feel that happening in me right now.

The Science of Wellbeing

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we design a life that supports mental health, clarity, and real satisfaction—not just productivity, not just getting through the day.

There’s actually an entire field of research on wellbeing, called Positive Psychology, led by psychologist Martin Seligman. It turns out there’s a model for living a life that feels good and meaningful, called PERMA—Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

A few findings that have stayed with me:

• Well-being is built from five core elements: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment
  • Strong relationships are one of the most consistent predictors of a fulfilling life
  • Feeling engaged in what you’re doing—where time passes easily—is a key driver of well-being
  • A sense of meaning and progress contributes more to life satisfaction than external achievements alone

In other words… Life satisfaction isn’t random. There are patterns that we can nurture intentionally.

And once you see yours, things start to make a lot more sense.

A Surprising Moment in Costco

Which brings me to something unexpected that happened in Hawaii.

I was walking through Costco in Kona—just casually wandering—and had this surreal moment.

It looked… exactly like the Costco where I live, on the US mainland, separated by over 2,500 miles of Pacific ocean.

Same layout. Largely the same products. Same flow.

It turns out Costco warehouses are designed to be highly consistent worldwide.

Because human behavior—what we buy, how we move through space, what we reach for—is surprisingly predictable.

Are Our Wellbeing Patterns Predictable Too?

And I found myself wondering:

If consumer behavior is that predictable, could our mental health needs be, too?

The research suggests… yes.

There are a handful of core areas—like our relationships, sense of meaning, daily engagement, and progress—that tend to drive how we feel in our lives, where things get stuck and where things start to flow.

A Simple Way to Check In

So I created something simple to explore that.

A Well-Being Checkup.

Not a diagnosis or a label—just a clear way to see where things may be out of alignment, and where they’re already working.

It will show you what’s working—and where to focus to feel better.

Take the Well-Being Checkup here →

Where does your life feel like it’s flowing right now? And where does it feel a little stuck?

The checkup is a good place to start.

After you take the assessment, hit reply and let me know anything interesting you learned from this quick snapshot.

Warmly,

Debbie