[markbnj]

My reaction was the opposite. Of course well-being is important, but it's a state isn't it? How do you learn it, or teach it? It sounds perilously close to the whole "self-esteem" thing that became prominent in elementary schools a few years back. As if self-esteem was not something developed through accomplishment and the subsequent increase in self-confidence, but rather a piece of information to be conveyed by an instructor. "Shazam! You now esteem yourself."

[Kluny]

You can absolutely teach it. At the age of 25 I think I'm only now beginning to understand the specific actions and skills that go into making your life a good one.

Skills like: coming up with ideas for ways to be kind to people, being truthful with myself and others, communicating my feelings and problems early and calmly (instead of too late and tearfully), eating well, keeping my environment clean, exercising enough, and managing my time by making sure I don't overcommit myself.

I definitely didn't do most of these things when I was in school - looking back, I can see the useless, arrogant teenager I was, and want to slap myself. But honestly, no one bothered to teach me these skills, except (kind of, in a confusingly packaged, disorganized way) in Sunday school.

I got the fundamental concepts of how to conduct myself properly by reading books, mostly fiction, and learned to apply them largely by observing adults for what NOT to do - it was also a long time before I learned to find good role models.

[Lancey]

Well-being is a complicated topic, which only drives home why we need to teach it to children. Not only in respect to self-worth and work ethic, but in terms of empathy, morality, and the ability to rationalize the world around them. If we can help children think about why they feel the way they do, it can clear up confusion about the emotions of everyday life and prevent anxiety. If we do not, they'll simply have a more and more complicated world to deal with as they grow up, without the tools to help them simplify it.

[sp332]

Lots of people with impressive accomplishments don't have self-esteem. Impostor Syndrome, Dunning-Kruger etc. If you don't have self-esteem, you'll let yourself get pushed around because you think you're not really worth anything. But with it, you'll start to see your own potential, which is a good motivator to start working toward it.

[rustynails]

Self esteem is a double edged sword as it does not consider empathy and may lead to narcissistic values. That's the flaw with the self only aspect.

[tormeh]

It's a state, but you can learn quite a bit on how to get and maintain that state. Things like "ecstacy/sex/[whatever] works short term, but maybe you should see a therapist instead" isn't something that goes without saying. Lots of people take the wrong choice every day.