For many years now it has been known that a feeling of well-being is an essential constituent to a high quality of life. It's not surprising then, that a feeling of well-being is often striven for to maintain this. But how can we compare the well-being of different individuals? Some people may be said to have a high feeling of well-being, but there is no precise way that we can scale well-being. In this essay, I want to consider the ways that well-being can be measured, and the factors that contribute to it.
	To be able to measure well-being, it would first be helpful to define the term, and state the factors that influence it. The Oxford Dictionary gives the definition “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy”. However well-being is such a subjective concept, therefore I need to determine what is the most appropriate definition. Upon asking my friendship group, I got various responses defining a feeling of well-being, including being a valued part of society, having a sustained relationship, however the most commonly mentioned factors coincided with the dictionary definition quite closely, that well-being is the state of being happy, healthy and having purpose.
	These factors of well-being correspond closely to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow proposed a theory that we have five needs as human beings for a good quality of life. In order of importance, these needs are Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization. Physiological and Safety correspond to health, Belonging and Esteem correspond to happiness, and Self-Actualization corresponds to purpose. Although this seemingly does not bring me closer to determining a model for well-being, it tells me that health is the most important factor and purpose the least important factor, thus I can consider that health most directly affects well-being, and that happiness and purpose affect it to a lesser extent.