Wellness is Holistic 
Wellness approaches life from the perspective that all human beings function at four levels: the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual levels.   For optimum health we need to look at the whole person.  Each of these aspects/levels impact on the well-being of the individual.   Just picking the dimension of wellness that you like and ignoring the others doesn't work in the long run.   

The physical level focuses on the physical body, its health and sickness, its diet and nutrition needs and its fitness and exercise/activity needs. 

The intellectual level focuses on the mind, its health and sickness, the impact of thoughts on a person's life, the power of thought, the play of negative and positive thoughts on our life, and the impact of other's thoughts on us.

The emotional level addresses issues of the impact of emotions on the individual, stress and its affects as well as relationships and how they impact on our well-being, as well as the social aspects and its impact on the individual and vice versa.

The spiritual level addresses the relationship with God, in developing a philosophy of the purpose of your creation on this earth.  Looking at a bigger picture.

Healthy Self-Esteem
Wellness is caring enough about yourself to take a look at your life, making the necessary changes and finding the support to maintain your motivation.   Take an objective and honest look at your own thoughts, feelings and actions for the purpose of learning from it. Know yourself, know what motivates you and what holds you back.  Growth comes from working through the blocks, not around them.  Being blind about yourself does not promote growth or well-being.  Change requires the hard work of facing your fears and healing old wounds from your experience growing up in your families of origin and your community.

Company You Keep
Who you surround yourselves with either helps you stretch your wings and soar, or clips them again and again.  Healthy friends encourage wellness lifestyle changes. Mutually beneficial relationships with friends, family and colleagues who care about you as people are what you need to seek and create in your lives. Rather than being threatened by your personal growth, they support it.

Conscious living
Becoming aware of all the choices you have and acting on them.  It involves a realization that you don't have to run your lives on auto pilot. It means consciously working on your relationships, life goals, and maximizing our potential. Recognize that even when you think you are not taking action you are making a choice. 

Responsibility
There are the risk factors of genetics, toxic environments and the like, but your emotional and lifestyle choices determine your health and well-being more than anything else.  As much as you would like to cling to blame and copouts, you do have to be honest with yourself. Empower yourself.

Self-sufficiency 
From strength comes the confidence and power that overshadows fear. Recognizing your interconnectedness, you grow tremendously when you can care for yourself on many different levels. Skills, information and tools that enable you to choose your wisely, become more competent, etc., all increase your self-respect and self-confidence.

Meditate
As much as we all need time with others, we all need time apart. Alone time helps you relax and get beyond the distractions of modern life that prevent you from really knowing yourself. There are some powerful reasons that peoples from all around the world have spent time alone in order to gain vision about the direction and meaning in their lives.

Be Realistic 
Extreme perfectionism is a shame-based process that feeds a really negative view of self. Often resulting in addictions.  Extreme behavior is a way to distract yourself from some other issue that needs your attention.

Play! 
We all need to lighten up and not take ourselves (and wellness) so seriously. Integrate a healthy sense of humor and play into the workplace.

There is no concrete wellness formula. You have to discover what works for you.  And don't try to be perfect in creating one... take it easy on yourself.  ;-)

[reproduced with permission from www.crescentlife.com]

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/18/2002 8:08:14 AM

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