What is wellness and how do we measure it?

Wellness is our sense of “well being” in all aspects including physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and in our purpose. These aspects are fundamentally intertwined, each one affecting the other. True wellness exists when all these aspects are healthy and balanced.

We can determine our level of wellness by measuring our sense of overall joy, as well as our joy within each aspect. (The definition of joy used here is not the “I just won the lottery” joy, but the deep-rooted joy for life that is present no matter the circumstances.) Taking a few minutes on a regular basis to check in with ourselves and our aspects will bring insight and awareness to that part of our wellness which requires attention.

Suggested questions to help measure your level of wellness:

(a) Physical – Is your body relaxed? Do you have full and complete movement? Is your body supple, flexible, and strong? Can you do all the things with your body that you want to do? Do you like how your body looks? Take a moment to listen to your body’s subtle messages. What is you body telling you? Does your body bring you joy?

(b) Emotional – What are you feeling right now? How do you feel about yourself? How do you feel about others in your life? How do you feel about what you do and how you do it? Are your feelings important? Do your feelings affect other people? Do your feelings bring you joy?

(c) Mental – Are your thoughts usually uplifting and inspiring? Are your thoughts about the past, future, or present? Do you guide your thoughts or let your thoughts guide you? Do your thoughts have value? Do your thoughts create your reality? Do your thoughts bring you joy?

(d) Spiritual – What does spirituality mean to you? Is spirituality important, does it have value in your life? Does it bring a sense of empowerment and assurance? Do you share your spirituality with others? Does your spirituality bring you joy?

(e) Purpose – What is your purpose in life? Are you fulfilling your purpose? Do you make your purpose known to others? Do those around you make it clear what their purpose is? Does your purpose bring you joy?

How do we take action to increase our level of wellness?

Taking action means we’ve made the decision to increase our level of wellness and can now draw on our innate wisdom, knowledge, and skill and/or that of others, to decide what action is most appropriate for us at a particular time.

(a) Self – most of us already know what we can do to improve our wellness. For example, incorporating more movement into our daily lives, improving the qualify of the food we eat, choosing an occupation or job that makes us happy, spending more time with people we enjoy to be around, or creating more quiet time in which to contemplate and intend.

In many cases, it simply takes commitment to ensure we incorporate these actions into our daily lives. It also helps to acknowledge that our wellness affects the wellness of others around us, and that we can best support others by being well ourselves (and in turn, inspiring others to be well themselves). After time, our commitment to a particular action becomes a habit that is easy to continue. Creating conscious habits is an excellent way to improve our overall well being.

If we need help in accomplishing or committing to an action (or simply need support or additional motivation), we can join a class, employ a trainer, and/or ask a friend or friends to help or join us. The world is full of people whose purpose is to help us (and others) achieve a greater sense of well being. We simply need to recognize that we need assistance and ask for it.

(b) Information – there are volumes of health-related information (and misinformation) available from numerous different sources. How do we go about selecting information that can help us take action? Simply by honoring our own innate wisdom, judging the quality of the information, and making a determination as to whether we can commit to the required action.

1. Innate Wisdom – we are all born into this world with innate wisdom of how to maintain our own well being. We simply need to pay attention and listen to (not just hear) the subtle signals providing information. When we recognize our own “knowing” and begin to trust that knowing, it becomes easier to recognize information that is important and relevant to us. Certain information we come across will resonate with us (in a positive way), and this is the information to trust and focus on. Even the best information may not be appropriate for us where we are right now, and it’s important to recognize and honor this distinction, too.

2. Quality of Information – we live in a time where there is more health information available to us than ever before. And new discoveries mean that yesterday’s information may no longer be accurate. No matter the source of information (friend, next door neighbor, website, newspaper, TV, etc.), there are a number of fundamental questions to consider to determine the quality of information. Is this information empowering or dis-empowering? Does the source of the information have a vested interested in your total well being? Is the information purely for financial benefit? Does the information agree with your own innate wisdom? Is there consensus on the accuracy of this information?

3. Commitment – in many cases information is only beneficial to us if we can turn it into a beneficial action. It’s better to choose to commit to one simple action and stick to it, rather than start and stop many actions. We not only improve our self esteem, but over time, this action becomes a habit and leaves us room to adopt a new action.

(c) Experts – there are many health related experts and practitioners (from a wide variety of disciplines) that are available to us. Like any industry, there are those professionals better than others, and some are truly exceptional ones. When choosing to seek help and advice from a professional, we are still responsible for our own wellness. We give professionals permission to help us increase our level of wellness based on their expertise. By taking on this responsibility, we have access to our own innate intelligence and are able to make decisions such as continuing working with a professional, or whether to seek out additional or alternative expertise.

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