Thinking in Systems 

As The Wellbeing Partners, we serve many roles within the community – bridge builders, conveners, systems architects…any way you put it, we realize that, as Aristotle once said,, “together we are greater than the sum of our parts.” In order to effectively improve our systems, we have to collectively address our systems.  

A few ways we do this are: 

-Convening our health departments and health systems towards shared goals 

-Educating the workplace through our Wellbeing Forums and ever-expanding Member Portal 

-Delivering curriculum to cultivate wellbeing in our youth and caregivers of young children  

-Fostering collective impact to reduce mental health stigma, especially for our BIPOC communities 

In order to render these branches unshakeable, we need deeply planted roots. From our grounding, we can expand.  

A few ways we do this are: 

-Living and breathing our why, to cultivate wellbeing every person thrives 

-Protecting our energy, through open communication and unconditional support 

-Consistently practicing our versions of self-care (our furry and non-furry little ones are a big part of that formula), and trying out new ways of learning about each other (hygge conversation-starters are fantastic) 

-Reflecting and sharing how we individually navigate transition, of which there are many 

Our mission is clear, but not easy. A sufi teaching story offers this lesson: 

“You think that because you understand “one” that you must therefore understand “two” because one and one make two. But you forget that you must also understand “and.”’ 

We seek to design with the “and” in mind, and extend an open invitation to each of you to join in the search.  

Melinda Sorenson

Interim CEO, The Wellbeing Partners