Wellbeing Superspreader Coach: Emma Delahey

THE Scone Wellbeing Superspreaders team came together for their first wellbeing workshop session on Monday night at the TAFE Connected Learning Centre, where they were introduced to certified Wellbeing Coach, Emma Delahey.

See photos below

Emma Delahey from Life Coaching Melbourne has a postgraduate qualification in Positive Psychology from Melbourne University and will be coaching the ten hand-picked Sconeite Superspreaders for the next three months.

“I was always really interested in people and emotions and I really like the idea of using tools from positive psychology to help people with their coaching goals,” said Ms Delahey.

“This is my first project like this, which is part of the reason I’m so excited about it, also to work with the wonderful Where There’s A Will and of course the Superspreaders who are an incredible group of people,” she said.

“They’re kind, community minded and full of zest . . . I’m fascinated to hear how this project is received and excited to make changes in the Scone community.”

What the Superspreaders will be doing

Superspreaders will have four one-on-one training sessions with Ms Delahey, setting personal goals and creating action plans on how to infect their fellow Sconeites with positive wellbeing.

“Essentially a Superspreaders role is to enhance their own wellbeing by learning about what wellbeing is and then adding wellbeing practices and activities to their lives,” said Ms Delahey.

“Over the next few months, they’ll be having wellbeing conversations with their different social groups, they’ll share their wellbeing ambassador experiences and wins on social media and in other areas, they’ll invite others to join them in activities that enhance wellbeing and they’ll also encourage people to prioritise wellbeing in their own lives,” she said.

“Whats so wonderful as well, is they are all so different to each other and that way so many different people in the community can relate to them.

“It’s that concept of ‘oh what are people like you doing? oh I think I can try that too, if they like maybe I will like it,’ creating that contagion effect.

What is positive wellbeing?

Positive psychology and wellbeing focuses on aspects of life that help people flourish, including cultivating positive relationships, immersing oneself in enjoyable activities, engaging in good conversations with friends and getting regular exercise and good nutrition.

Ms Delahey said people can begin to introduce positive wellbeing tools into their own lives by practising gratitude and self-compassion or by simply saying thank you more often.

“These tools are quite simple, they’re teachable, they’re accessible and they’re easy because they often don’t take too long to incorporate in our day to day lives,” explained Ms Delahey.

“We are all so good at practising kindness and compassion with our mates, so there’s no reason why we can’t try and do the same things for ourselves to help us move forward in our day,” she said.

“You can start by keeping a gratitude journal and noting down three things you’re grateful for each day, or list things you are grateful for at family dinners, or even by going on gratitude walks amongst nature.

“You can send someone a text or an email saying thank you for being helpful or for being an emotional support or for just being great and funny in life.

“If you tend to express gratitude at work and thank your friends for daily support, they can encourage others to do the same . . . it feels good to do something kind and it feels wonderful to receive that kindness, so it’s a spread on effect.”

Sconeites can also start embracing ‘the three good things practice,’ taking note of three good things that happened and why they happened at the end of each day.

“It could be something like a work meeting went well because I was so prepared or a difficult conversation with my child went really well,” said Ms Delahey.

“That idea you’re focusing on the good, putting things into perspective and when we do that it helps with our resilience, helps us to bring us back to the here and now and that boosts our moods, allowing us to enjoy life more,” she said.