Wellness is a promise we make to ourselves—a lifestyle choice and lifelong commitment.
Just as we need to tend to important relationships in our lives, we also need to nourish our relationship with ourselves.
Regular self-care lays the foundation for happiness and fulfillment both personally and professionally.
Ten Wellness Tips
1. mindfulness
The mind often wanders into the past or future—preventing us from experiencing joy in the present.
Take time to bring your awareness back into the present moment throughout the day.
Mind-body meditations using deep breathing exercises and body scans can help you stay connected to the present moment.
Learn to enjoy the moment with all of your senses—taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight.
2. Gratitude
Spend five to ten minutes each day thinking of the things you are thankful for to help elevate your mood.
The more you focus on abundance, the more likely you are to attract it into your life.
Life is a mirror of our internal state.
3. Healthy Eating and EXERCISE
Nutrition plays a vital role in our mental and physical health. The body and mind are intricately connected.
Physical exercise and healthy eating can boost your mood, improve cognitive abilities, and help to reduce anxiety or depression.
4. Self Check-Ins
Take a moment each day to ask yourself how you are feeling. This is an excellent way to stay self-aware and monitor the overall quality of your thoughts. When you notice a pattern of negative emotions, you can challenge any disempowering thoughts or beliefs that may be the root cause.
Sometimes no amount of self-coaching or examination of a negative feeling can lift our mood. It helps to remember that feelings are transient and temporary.
Resistance to a negative feeling can make it worse. Allowing ourselves to pass through painful emotions without trying to escape or numb ourselves can lead to profound wisdom and healing.
5. Holistic Therapy and/or Professional counselling/Medical TreATMENT
Conventional therapy and/or alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, massage, meditation, guided imagery, energy work, homeopathy, music or art therapy, etc. can help to manage stress and maintain a strong sense of well-being.
6. Authenticity
Living by your values creates a solid foundation for self-respect and inner peace.
Staying true to yourself will ultimately attract the right relationships and help to build deeper connections with people.
Taking off the mask can be scary, particularly in a society that rewards conformity and people-pleasing over critical thinking, but only those who give up the need for validation from others can bring about the kind of innovation3, social change, and creative genius that the world desperately needs today.
7. Boycott COMPARisons
Studies show that comparing yourself to others will lead to unhappiness.1
In the age of social media, it can appear as though other people’s lives are perfect—this illusion can cause others to feel envious, insecure, or malcontent with their own lives.
Look in the mirror rather than at your neighboUr.
Frank Sonnenberg
Be the best version of you instead of a second-rate version of someone else. There is no one like you in the world.
8. Acceptance
It is easy to forget to distinguish between what is within our control to change and the things we just need to accept as reality.
Acceptance begins with living in awareness. We can observe an undesirable reality without judgment, resistance, and escapism.
What you resist persists.
Carl Jung
Accepting that both pain and pleasure are an integral part of life can liberate us from suffering.
It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
Epictetus
You write the story of your life.
9. Seek New Experiences
Investing in experiences instead of material possessions leads to more happiness.2
Make memories.
10. Set GOALS
Regularly reflect on your life path/direction and whether it is aligned with your genuine interests. Life is busy and there are constant outside influences that can lead us astray if we do not stay anchored in our own deepest priorities.
We need to know what we want in life before we can ever hope to achieve it.
Create an action plan to make your dreams a reality. Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals for yourself.
References:
1. Inspired by “The Science of Well-being” Course, Yale University, http://www.coursera.org, Accessed: June 2021
2. ibid.
3. Inspired by “Companies fire employees for these personality traits, but maybe they should be getting bonuses”, https://www.fastcompany.com/90645863/companies-fire-employees-for-these-personality-traits-but-maybe-they-should-be-getting-bonuses, Accessed: June 2021
Connie Pillon 