Wellness is a concept that dates at
least as far back as the Ancient Greeks. For at least 2500 years, mankind has
been striving to obtain and maintain overall wellness in life. In case you’re
wondering, wellness is defined by the National Wellness Institute as ‘an active
process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful
existence.’ What do they mean by ‘successful’? Earning six figures, having the
corner office, driving the newest, biggest, shiniest German import? Not at all,
actually. ‘A more successful existence’,
in fact, consists of having a better understanding of concepts like: destiny,
health practices, spirituality, family, environment, work, money and security,
health services, social support and leisure. It’s about finding balance among
all of these elements. It’s about taking care of your body through proper
nutrition and regular movement. It’s about having healthy and satisfying
relationships and feeling connected to your world. It’s also about pursuing
those things in life that make your toes tingle and your stomach flip. It’s
about feeling ALIVE! And perhaps the most important factor to remember is that
it’s also about connecting all of these elements in a balanced, harmonious way.
Every one of us has something
inside called an inner guide, also known as our intuition or a ‘gut
feeling’. This thing we call our inner
guide drives us to pursue our personal wellness. According to psychologist
Abraham Maslow, who’s responsible for a ton of groundbreaking work in the field
of wellness in the 1960’s, our inner guide ‘rarely disappears in the normal person-perhaps
not even in the sick person. Even though denied, it persists underground,
forever pressing us, urging us towards wholeness and full expression of our
true selves. We are driven by a nagging sense of feeling unfulfilled, that our
lives are incomplete and we will never feel fulfilled until we achieve
something great (to us)’. So, we have this amazing driving force that reminds
us and guides us to pursue our wellness, so, why isn’t everyone running around
with optimal physical health and an overall feeling of fulfillment? Well, we have another force residing inside of
us as well-the yin to our yang that is our inner guide. This force is a little
less encouraging. It exists with good intentions yet never encourages growth or
overall wellness. It causes us to cling
to safety, avoid taking chances; it discourages us from upsetting the status
quo. It is our inner guide’s meddling cousin: our inner critic. A fear-driven
cautious force, a nagging, annoying, sometimes mean inner critic telling us
that we’re not __________ enough (smart, funny, rich, attractive, young, old,
etc.) to do this or that . This can be discouraging, so our challenge here is
to allow and also encourage ourselves to tune into our inner guide despite what
our inner critic has to say.
I want
to further delve into a very important point regarding our journey towards
wellness: whatever it is we’re pursuing, it has to be something that is great to us. You
and I cannot strive to express ourselves in a way that simply pleases someone
else. That satisfaction and wholeness we’re trying to grab simply won’t
materialize. So you have to ask yourself, what do I want to do/be more than
anything else? What will make my heart sing every single day? Competing in a
tri-athalon? Painting a mural on your bedroom ceiling? Growing an organic
garden in your backyard? Maybe you’re driven to compose a song, eat sushi in
Tokyo, collect antique tea cups, start your own website, have a family, live in
a tree house in Bali….I could go on forever here-the potential for inspiration
is endless. My point is-do what you love, be well and feel nurtured and
satisfied for yourself. The brilliance and radiance of your wellness will be
beneficial and far-reaching. And in case you’re concerned, actively pursuing
your wellness is not at all an act of selfishness. The fuller you feel, the
more that those wonderful feelings will overflow and positively impact everyone
around you. Don’t believe me? Just think back to a time that you were genuinely
happy and having a great day…you were more joyful and kinder towards others,
right? You probably noticed a lot of returned smiles and kindness coming right
back…and they probably treated the next person they encountered with extra
love, too. So, you see, it’s not at all selfish to be happy; you can’t help but
pass it on to others, who benefit and pay if forward, too.
As
we’re all aware, life is an amazing gift. Every day, every hour, every minute,
every second-you will never get them back, so why not be well? Why not be on
the constant, conscious pursuit of living your life to your fullest potential?
Why not follow your dreams? Why not take immaculate care of your body so your
mind can be happy, too? Why not live a life of wellness that inspires others to
do the same?
Now
here’s your homework for this week….grab a notebook and a pen and take 30
minutes for yourself…find a calm, quiet place and get comfy. Now take a deep
breath and just think about what makes you happy or what would make you happy
and let your mind wander. Let yourself
dream and imagine all sorts of things. Don’t limit your thoughts or criticize
or judge them. Anything goes here-just let them exist and evolve. Now start
paying attention to what makes you tingle. What gives you butterflies in your
stomach? What makes you feel excited and alive? Write these things down in your
notebook, along with how they make you feel. Excited, nervous, apprehensive,
happy? Jot it all down and stay tuned….
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