While wellness may seem like it’s different to everyone, that may be just because of our various chosen lifestyles. Wellness generally follows a few key categories no matter who you are. There are eight key dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, financial, social, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, and environmental. Creating a balance between them all will ensure healthy well-being and can greatly impact your quality of life. Today we are going to be talking about some of the ways we can create harmony with the different dimensions, and build a lifestyle around wholeness.
Physical
Treating your body to regular exercise/movement will help you see an immediate difference in your energy and fitness. (I don’t mean your weight or physical appearance) This can be achieved through many activities, don’t confine your movement to someone else’s version. Don’t try to run every day if you hate running!
The goal is to increase your heart rate for at least 30 minutes a day. This can be through dancing, taking the stairs, or anything that gets that heart beating.
Learning to love fitness may be challenging, so just because you may have a few mishaps or bad days, doesn’t mean you should stop trying to attain a good relationship with movement! You are capable of hard things.
Emotional
“ Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.”
-National Institutes of Health
Emotional well-being usually requires some self-awareness and reflection. These things can easily get messy or shed light on things you would rather not bring up, but it is important to remember that there are no bad emotions. There is strength in feeling all the feelings, accepting them, and then being able to let them go. This will allow you to move forward and not sit in the past or future.
The National Institutes of Health recommends focusing on different strategies to improve your emotional health: Building resilience, reducing stress, getting quality sleep, strengthening your social connections, and being mindful. If you would like to read more on how to work on any of these areas, please click the link below!
Occupational
“This dimension of wellness recognizes the importance of satisfaction, enrichment, and meaning through work.”
NNVA
For so many of us our occupation is a representation of ourselves, so when you’re stuck in a position you hate, feel underpaid, or don’t know what you want to do… you may feel this section of wellness lacking. Unfortunately, we teach young adults and children that there is a type of limitation to what we can achieve, and promote the same careers over and over again. Although it may be hard, breaking the norm and exploring your options will help you find what you truly want to do. Like maybe you want to be a truck driver and see the country!
Remember that you can always leave a position, start over, and take breaks. Those jobs will still be there when you’re ready. Taking a step back and understanding what you want will help you choose something you’re going to enjoy for the long haul.
Social
Humans are very social beings, and our social wellness can feel ever-changing. Your desires and interests will change and that will be reflected socially! It is still good to pay attention to how different groups of people affect us and make sure we are properly being seen and heard by the people around us. If you’re feeling like your relationships are lacking, or aren’t healthy, the National Institute of Health has 6 key objectives for building healthy relationships in your life.
To build healthy relationships:
- Recognize how other people influence you.
- Share your feelings honestly.
- Ask for what you need from others.
- Listen to others without judgment or blame. …
- Disagree with others respectfully. …
- Avoid being overly critical, angry outbursts, and violent behavior.
Click the link to read more about each area!
https://www.nih.gov/health-information/social-wellness-toolkit
Financial
Financial wellness is extremely important but unfortunately is not taught as a curriculum at most schools. There are many types of relationships with money, and these are things that are usually taught through our families rather than in a setting like a school. This can lead to a lot of issues with consistency, understanding of how to live within your means, having enough money for your existence, creating a budget/savings plan, or even how to pay off debt.
“Financial wellness is a state of being in which you can fully meet your current and future financial obligations while feeling secure in your financial future and making choices that allow you to enjoy life, according to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”
Surveys say that nearly 77% of Americans feel anxious over their financial situations. This is a devastating situation that can put a lot of stress on a person’s life. There are many actions you can take to start to obtain a good relationship with money and should be done as soon as possible.
NBC just released an article on how to take control of your finances, this is a great place to start…
https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-to-take-control-of-your-finances/
Remember: This is a daunting dimension of wellness, it’s hard to talk about and your income has always been taught as something to not discuss with others, but it’s important to remember you’re not alone and there is always hope! Create a plan, research, and take action. Make it a nonnegotiable goal to become financially safe and you will be thanking yourself later.
Spiritual
“Spiritual wellness is defined as expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, including one’s morals and ethics. It may or may not involve religious activities.”
A sense of purpose and meaning in life. Your wholeness, your worth, your decisions and so much more are based on these foundations.
You can break down spirituality into four domains: To oneself, to others, to nature, and to the transcendent. If this all sounds very new to you, I’d encourage you to dive a little deeper into your spiritual journey…everybody’s journey is unique!
Here is somewhere to start:
Intellectual
There are so many things you can do to expand your intellect! Curiosity, being creative, playing crosswords/sudoku, reading, learning new skills, traveling, hobbies, critical thinking, and openness are just the beginning. When we treat learning as a chore rather than a luxury, we can create a negative association with it. Learning is fun!
Some other benefits of intellectual wellness include: “Tolerance and respect for others, a sense of dignity and belonging, enhancing memory power, improving how one expresses their thoughts and a sense of purpose and self-confidence.”
This section of wellness is not especially challenging, it just requires awareness. There are so many ways to stay intellectually engaged, even just by reading this blog!
Looking for a place to start? Try listening to JVN’s podcast called “Getting Curious”
https://jonathanvanness.com/podcasts/
Environmental
Your environment is where you are finding yourself at any given time. So this can be reflected in your indoor spaces, as well as your outdoor spaces. Environmental wellness can also consist of being aware of the earth, and how your actions can impact the environment. Such as conserving energy, reducing use, avoiding plastic and single-use products, and being aware of current events. Enjoy the epic range of environments that exist while actively being aware of your impact and how you could make it better for yourself and others. (Animals and plants too!) We are all in this together!
