Well-Being 101 – Well-Being Blueprint: The Art of Well-Being

Do you wake up in the morning ready to jump out of bed, feeling rested and ready to tackle the day?

Do you have enough energy to get through the day?

Are aspects of your body, appearance, habits, or behaviors limiting or holding you back from who you want to be?

When it comes to living a fulfilling life, well-being is the cornerstone for seeking fulfillment, health, and happiness. Well-being is about physical health, mental resilience, and emotional balance. The month of May will be about well-being. I will share practical tips, current research, and insights to help you understand and develop your well-being plan.

Introduction to Well-Being

Lifestyle is how you live your life. It includes your habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards, spiritual views, and economic level. Your lifestyle partly defines your well-being. The choices you make in your lifestyle are essential foundations for your well-being. You have the power to change, to make different choices. You have the power to reach a heightened state of well-being and wellness.

The power lies in your daily choices: do I eat a donut for breakfast or a bowl of oatmeal? Do I spend the day on my computer, or take breaks and work out, or take a walk? How we spend our energy and time is critical to our overall health and well-being. Becoming aware of our habits and the consequences of these habits is a good starting place. Also, you need to understand that you cannot radically transform yourself overnight. Changing habits takes time. So, we will take this journey through continuous improvement incrementally. Small steps, small changes.

“Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit – the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being.”

– Greg Anderson

Components of Well-Being

The components of well-being are physical, mental, and emotional health. Finding the meaning or purpose of your life is also an essential element. Other areas of your life that are included are:

• Financial
• Spiritual
• Social
• Occupational
• Intellectual
• Environmental
• Referential Integrity

New Year’s Resolutions with Substance: Why Referential Integrity Matters, by Linda L. Pilcher

Key Concepts

Some key components are quality of life, lifestyle, a positive mental attitude, and habits.

Lifestyle is about how you live, including your daily habits, routines, and choices. A healthy lifestyle is about making deliberate choices about nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management.

Positive habits shape our lives. Consistent behaviors become a part of our fabric and routines, which is how we build new habits.

Well-being requires a positive mindset.

Quality of Life refers to your overall well-being and satisfaction in life. We each have unique needs and desires for our lives. You define quality of life.

You must be aware of your lifestyle and habits. Take on a positive mental attitude toward self-growth and move forward with consistency in your behavior.

“To create an extraordinary quality of life, you must create a vision that’s not only obtainable, but that is sustainable.”

– Tony Robbins

Mind Body Soul

Science has proven that we have a strong Mind-Body Connection. What affects our body also affects our mind. There is constant communication between our brains and bodies through neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) and hormones. What we eat and how much we move is critical to our physical and brain health. Our emotional state also plays a crucial role in our overall health. Every element of our being is connected and needs to be nourished. You can choose to survive, or you can choose to thrive. There are fewer decisions in choosing to survive, to get up each day with no plan and no regard for self-care. To thrive, you must look at the bigger picture, think about it, and plan long-term. Developing an understanding and knowledge of what it means to be a healthy, well-balanced individual. Who am I today? And who do I want to be tomorrow? You have the answer.

These are the areas in which we can create well-being. I say create because we create and design our lives by our choices. As we move through May, let’s look at where we are now (today) and where we want to be tomorrow (1 year, 5 years, 10 years from now). How can we improve our diet, exercise, knowledge, and social lives? When we do it right, we feel better, look better, and have the energy to live our lives and fulfill our dreams.

The Secret

The secret formula has never been secret; we have chosen not to see it or ignore it. A healthy body creates a healthy mind, and a healthy lifestyle creates opportunities for our futures. Optimal health gives us the energy needed to accomplish what we want in life. It makes a space to nourish our social connections and our soul. Being healthy means developing good habits and breaking bad ones. Sometimes, it might mean drinking enough water or getting enough sleep.

The secret formula is to eat for nutrition, not pleasure; food is our fuel to ensure our body functions optimally. The secret is to move, exercise, play, dance, do sports, take a walk, but move your body. A sedentary life leads to diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. An essential part of the equation is proper sleep and rest. Sleep strengthens your heart, regulates blood sugar, and reduces stress and inflammation. Sleep also helps to regulate weight, improve your balance, and increase your energy and alertness. Chronically missing sleep can increase your risk of health issues. Get plenty of sunshine. Build strong social connections.

It is no secret. We know what it takes to achieve optimal health, but we ignore it because it is easier to do what we want. We have heard what it takes to reach well-being and wellness from the news, TV, articles, books, blogs, and our doctors. It is time to take responsibility, make a plan, and put the excuses away. Your long-term health and happiness depend on what you do today; and what you do daily.

Conclusion

“Wellness encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind, and a tranquil spirit. Enjoy the journey as you strive for wellness.”

– Laurette Gagnon Beaulieu

In an article by Debbie L. Stoewen, she states that people often think about wellness in terms of physical health — nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc., but it is so much more. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit.

Prioritize self-care, seek knowledge, and embrace balance. The secret formula for well-being is hiding in plain sight. Our bodies are like machines. We need to move our bodies, use our minds, and stretch our capabilities to grow and thrive. Or we will stagnate and rust, similar to a machine. Well-being requires effort on our part.

Good health is the basic foundation of everything. Physical or mental illness can derail our lives. The stress of illness can be overwhelming. So, the basis of well-being is prioritizing your mental and physical health.

Join me on a journey to well-being

Recommended Reading

Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements, by Tom Rath, and Jim Harter

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, by Martin E.P. Seligman

Your well-being: more than just a state of mind, by Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter

Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life, by Debbie L. Stoewen

Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says these 5 daily habits are key to optimal mental and physical health, by Alexa Mikhail

Citations

Photo by Patrick Langwallner on Unsplash