wellness: my perspective
"What is wellness to me?" That's the question I had to answer for the final project of my intro to wellness course last fall. Almost instantly, a single word came to me as my response, loud and clear: GROWTH. What wellness means to me entirely revolves around the word "growth" and the holistic implications it holds. For my project, I created a digital presentation introducing my word, "growth", and explaining how it translates into the general concept of wellness. I've simply restructured and rounded it out a bit for this blog entry. Given I've only taken a couple of intro classes in my Health Promotion/Wellness major, this is mostly based on my ideas and independent research. My goal in sharing this is to help you understand the holistic concept of wellness a little more and become familiar with my viewpoint on it. Remember that this isn't the definition of wellness, including all 7 dimensions and such, instead, this is a breakdown of how I see wellness, what it means to me, and how I believe the idea of lifelong growth is the purpose/mission behind living a life in pursuit of it.
Why is growth the meaning of wellness to me? When I think about why I want to learn more about wellness and why I'm constantly searching for new ways to pursue wellness in my own life, it's because I want to change for the better and shape my life to reflect an ever-developing purpose. Intrinsically, I desire growth. Here are some tangible examples of how I know this:
- I seek ways to get exercise so that I can grow in fitness and strength.
- I stretch my mind by reading more so that I can grow intellectually.
- I adopt alternative ways of living to be more sustainable so that I can grow as a steward of the earth.
- I started this blog so that I can grow in experience as a professional in my field.
- I look for opportunities to challenge my faith and devotion to God so that I can grow my relationship with Him and help others grow as well.
To sum it up, the vast potential to grow in my life is the driving force behind my steps as I pursue wellness. I cannot stress enough that wellness is a lifelong journey; it is a lifelong transformation through positive changes, and to me, that centers in on the beautiful phenomenon of growth.
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Holistic growth through wellness encompasses 4 foundational elements, or "cornerstones". In order to grow, a person must consistently hone in on and refine these 4 cornerstones in their personal life.
They are:
1. Awareness and Acceptance
2. Intention and Initiative
3. High Quality Support Network
4. Purpose-driven Existence
1. AWARENESS & ACCEPTANCE
of...
- Good days and bad days
- Success and failure
- Joy and sorrow
- Seasons of growth and seasons of stagnancy
- Opportunities and closed doors
- Clarity and uncertainty
- Things you can control and things you cannot control
- ...etc.
Mindfulness is crucial to recognizing and coming to terms with changes, whether for better or worse in our lives. These changes may seem like huge setbacks or plans gone wrong, but over time, you will see that the "negatives" fit into the bigger picture and process of growth in your life JUST AS MUCH as the "positives" do. That's why it's okay to accept a bad day, week, or year even. Don't let the bad times control how you interpret where your life is going. Growth requires change, and change often requires quite a bit of time. So be gentle and patient with yourself when you struggle to see purpose or direction in life on the bad days. Until then, it's okay to have plenty of ups and downs. Acknowledge them and keep pressing on.
2. INTENTION & INITIATIVE
- Be intentional with time and energy
- Set realistic goals
- Actively seek out opportunities
- Turn ideas/words into action
- Don't wait
A big part of this cornerstone is about turning vision into action. No one is going to do the heavy lifting in your life for you. Only you can get the ball rolling on an idea. Don't think this means you shouldn't ask for help. That's a huge part of being intentional with your goals and taking initiative. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. We only get better at something by trying, and if we are trying we are most definitely going to fall a couple of times (life lessons from figure skating check). Taking initiative can be quite daunting at times. For some reason, we have such a huge hesitation to make things happen. I like to imagine there's a fake brick wall between our ideas and our actions. This brick wall is especially deceiving to people who struggle with procrastination ;) When we have a task to do or an idea that we want to put into action, we often are held back by the sight of that big brick wall, struck by the dread of having to get passed it. But once we finally DO, it's like we take a big swing at that brick wall and find out it wasn't nearly as difficult to conquer as we imagined. My tip to beating procrastination or hesitation on an idea is to take a strong swing at it as early as possible; don't give yourself the time to overthink it. I hope this brick wall analogy can be a helpful tool for you as you take initiative on your next big idea.
3. HIGH QUALITY SUPPORT NETWORK
Cultivate Healthy Relationships:
- Friends
- Family
- Life Partners
- Professional Relationships
- Mentors/Teachers
A lot of times, the reason we aren't experiencing growth is that we
aren't surrounded by people who genuinely want to see us grow or come
alongside us in our goals. As much as it is important to develop a sense
of intrinsic motivation for ourselves, we need external support and motivation; no
buts about it. Not only is it important to invite life-giving relationships and strong professional connections into your life, but it is equally necessary and GOOD to let go of some relationships in those areas if they are harmful or stagnant. That can be the hardest thing to do, but also the most impactful and crucial for growth.
4. PURPOSE-DRIVEN EXISTENCE
- Know your values and live by them
- Discover your passions
- Strive to live a life you are proud of
- Pursue ways to make a positive impact on others
- Reflect and recenter often
The purpose of growth is not merely for personal gain. It is to equip us and free us to live a more meaningful and rich life that ultimately makes a difference in the world around us. When we experience growth, we naturally start to understand and live through our beliefs and values more consistently. However, it takes continual mindfulness and effort to put those values and beliefs to practice. To do that, it helps to identify your goal/purpose in life and remind yourself of that often. Know that you have unimaginable impact on the people around you and of this world. From your own family to the stranger you smiled at once in the grocery store. Live each day knowing that you possess the ability to impact someone either positively or negatively. This is going to sound unbearably cheesy, but leave seeds of love and hope wherever you can. It matters...SO much.
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So there it is. That is my answer to the question, "what is wellness to me?"
How would you answer it? I challenge you to share one word that represents what wellness means to you in the comment section below!
As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions, comments, or feedback in the comments or via email.
P.S. The flower life-cycle graphics are my own :) Which brings me to a
lil update for you: those very same graphics can also be found on my YouTube channel (whoop whoop) which I am currently planning for!! Stay tuned.
- {just joy}
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