There I was, minding my business on my way to work, when suddenly a billboard caught my attention.
It had a beautiful beach with distant rock formations & the words “THIS IS WHAT WELLNESS LOOKS LIKE” sitting on the horizon. Underneath it read “Los Cabos, México.”
I saw that & I became…
Sad. & tbh, angry.
Because no, no it isn’t.
Wellness isn’t something borderline unattainable, only accessible if you’ve taken PTO, spent exorbitant amounts of cash, & flown to another country.
In this blog post, you’ll learn what wellness really is & how to incorporate it into your day-to-day life.
When you think of wellness, what comes to mind?
- Do you think of your abuelita going outside to pick fresh mint, then lovingly making some tea for your family while you all enjoy a meal together?
- Do you think of waking up twenty minutes early so you can get some you-time before the hustle & bustle of the day?
- Or do you think of a girl in lululemon leggings sipping on a $12 chai with oat milk on her way to a reformer pilates class??
I’m not trying to be a hater—I love beach vacations & pilates classes just as much as the next girly.
~ AND ~
It seems like in modern day, wellness has become synonymous with spending & consumerism.
It makes sense, if you think about it. Who doesn’t want to be healthy & feel great?
What is Wellness?
Wellness is “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.”
Global Wellness Institute.
Let’s digest that together a bit!
They make the distinction that it’s active, not a passive state of being. This means that’s an action & not feeling.
It’s a pursuit, meaning that you don’t have to be perfect ◡̈
It leads to holistic health, not just physical health. What does holistic health look like? I’m glad you asked!
The 8 Dimensions of Wellness
While we oftentimes think of wellness being purely physical, it encompasses much more than that.
Physical wellness is only one aspect of our well-being, which is why I love the definition above that used the term “holistic.”
There are 8 dimensions of wellness & we will explore them all, so buckle up!
Disclaimer: This is meant for educational purposes only & none of this is meant to be medical advice. Please speak to your licensed provider prior to making any lifestyle changes!
Physical
We’re starting with this one because this is probably what folks are most familiar with.
Physical wellness is when you take care of your physical body through things like movement, proper sleep, hydrating, choosing foods are rich in nutrients, taking supplements as needed, etc.
While this is the most common thing talked about, it also has the most competing points of view. Keto or vegan? Fasting or frequent small meals? HIIT or pilates?
After my fair share of wading through all the muck of information, there are few things that hold tried & true no matter what: whole foods, limit processed sugar, get adequate sleep, get outdoors & move your body (in whatever way that feels good & that you’ll do consistently).
Focus on these & you’re doing great!
Emotional
Emotional wellness has to do with how well you’re able to emotionally handle when life throws curve balls, & how much you’re aware of your own emotions as well as others’.
In Buddhism there is a concept known as equanimity where you are more or less even-keeled, recognizing that both “good” & “bad” things will pass.
If you have a history of trauma & find yourself having unexplained emotional outbursts, shutting down, or running away, I would highly recommend exploring somatic work & polyvagal theory.
This deserves a blog post of its own so I will leave it at that for now lol. Comment on this post if you have questions or want recs for somatics—there’s too much I want to say!
Spiritual
Spiritual wellness has to do with being keenly aware of your values & taking actions that align with them.
It does NOT mean belonging to an organized religion (unless you want it to).
It means doing things that give you a sense of purpose & meaning, like taking a friend some soup when they’re sick or staying disciplined at the gym or joining a committee at work.
It means doing things that ground you & put life into perspective, like going to the beach & feeling the sand between your toes, or being silly with your nieces & nephews.
If you want to learn more about yourself & your values, I have a workbook that walks you through how to discover them.
Professional
Does your work align with your goals & values? Does it satisfy you & bring you a sense of purpose? Is it challenging, in a good way? Are you happy with how you are being compensated?
Professional well-being encompasses all of those things & more.
If you’re like the majority of people, you’re probably working for one-third of your days. One-third! You have to be sure it’s something you enjoy, or at least see value in.
Work is a part of life. We can’t escape it. Even if you want to achieve financial independence (or even if you already have), humans thrive on things like routine, structure, & working toward a goal.
We cannot rid ourselves of that part of life, but we can optimize where we’re working to ensure we spend those hours in a way that feels fruitful!
Environmental
Environmental wellness encompasses your social, cultural, & physical environment.
I wrote a whooole blog post about this alone, because I think it’s one of the most important dimensions & one of the easiest ways to create a life you love!
Instead of trying to force yourself to act a certain way, you can change up your environment to make those things easy to do.
If you want some journaling prompts to get some inspo for your environment, I have a free workbook about habits that covers this!
Social
Okay okay okay, I have a high affinity toward all of these, but the social dimension is for sure one of my favs.
Social well-being means finding & maintaining friendships, loving others & letting others love you, being vulnerable in a group that provides emotional safety, & genuinely being part of a community.
Harvard University has been conducting the longest research study on happiness & they compiled their findings in the book, The Good Life, by Marc Schulz & Robert Waldinger.
Spoiler alert: the number one predictor of happiness across the lifespan is having good relationships.
I hear people say allllll the time that finding friends is hard. & it can be…if you’re not actively putting yourself in a position to find them. I wrote a blog post about how to find friends if you need some help in this area!
Intellectual
Ahhh, curiosity is my love language. Learning. Exploring. Finding different pieces of information that create mental bridges leading to that ohhhhhhh moment 💡
Intellectual wellness is about being a lifelong learner, & the beautiful thing is, this can mean whatever you want it to!
Reading books & blogs, learning how to edit videos, taking a pottery class, looking up the flowers you saw on a hike, crafting new recipes, getting a Duolingo streak—the possibilities are limitless.
The cool thing is that you never know how one bit of information will change you.
You might hear something that was exactly what you needed to find the motivation to make a change, or to have a confusing work problem finally click, or to get inspiration for your next passion project.
Financial
Alrighty, saving the best for last! Because IMO this is notttt talked about enough, which is wild because it is one thing that bleeds into every other area of your life.
Financial wellness is being a good steward of the finances you have, saving & investing for future-you while honoring present-you.
Why is this so important?
If you’re not in a good financial position, you can’t leave your toxic workplace or shop at grocery stores with fresher produce or hire professionals who could jumpstart your goals.
Money = Options.
Money can be a big source of trauma for people, & it can also be frustrating if you’re around others who are “ahead” of you.
If you have made uninformed or unintentional money choices in the past, you could feel a lot of shame around money that creates an unsettling feeling & makes things even harder to face.
If this is you, traditional money knowledge might not help you at first because it won’t address the emotional burdens you’re carrying that make it feel impossible to get started.
I would recommend starting with a book called Cultura & Cash by Giovanna Gonzalez. This is the only book out there that starts out by addressing cultural perspectives associated with money that might be holding you back!
HOW to Start Pursuing Wellness
Phew, we made it! You know that wellness isn’t only beach vacays—it encompasses a whole lot of things!
If you’re just starting out on your wellness journey, where do you go next?
You can do anything, but not everything.
We only have a certain amount of time & energy available, so if you’re shunting it to one area then you will naturally have less that’s free for something else.
Resist the urge to overhaul your life. Anytime you go to an extreme, you’re almost guaranteed to swing back to the other extreme eventually.
With that being said, hone in on one thing. One. Master it. Figure out how to really make it a part of your routine. Build the systems to make it a habit. Allow it to become a part of who you are.
Once it becomes second nature & you don’t really have to think about it, then you can add in something else.
WHERE to Start Pursuing Wellness
You might be thinking okay Samantha, but I need to overhaul my whole life. So how do I know where to begin?
Focus your attention on what’s actually going to move the needle for you, & don’t worry about the rest (…yet).
If you could only focus on one thing, what would give you the most bang for your buck? What would create the biggest wave?
Does anyone else get productive procrastination? I remember during my college days, I would have ten papers due in the next few weeks & I’d suddenly get the urge to deep clean by room. & my car. & my mom’s car.
Huh????
Our brains like feeling like we’re being productive, so we’ll pick the easy tasks instead of going after the things that we actually need to get done.
& this isn’t only relevant to to-do lists—it also applies to wellness.
Your hair is falling out due to your stressful job & toxic relationship, but you want to switch from scrunchies to claw clips.
You haven’t found a form of exercise you can stick to, but you want to find polyester-free workout clothes.
Mija, be honest with yourself: what is the one thing that would have a domino effect on everything else?
Start there.
One Response