What does Wellness Mean
to You?
“I don’t need to worry about coronavirus. I never get sick.” That’s what an acquaintance of mine said the other day, as he was joking about the miseries of wearing a mask. How many people have you heard say something similar?
I believe that wellness is a moving target. Being well right now doesn’t guarantee that you are ‘always well’. In other words, your history may be one of not getting sick, but that’s not the golden ticket for being well all the time, always.
You have to continue to support your wellness infrastructure. Wellness is an action driven event rather than a state of being. Certain active wellness ‘things’ keep you strong, healthy, vibrant, and feeling great every day when the sun comes up.
Coronavirus is a common measuring point around wellness these days. And to many it means you’re well, because you have avoided this terrible virus. You may not be old. You may not have a pre-existing condition. However, your long term attitudes, behaviors, and habits also impact your wellness long term. You may eat a certain way because you’ve done your research. You know about anti-oxidant rich foods, the importance of fiber, the power of vegetables and fruits, the concerns around genetically modified crops, and the list goes on. And you make choices based on what you believe supports your body to its best health and performance. However, you may know these details about nutrition and your body but act differently. That’s your real wellness model in action.
What if you had a wellness plan, one that was action based, and every day you acted on your wellness? It’s like saying you are performing wellness every day. The wellness you have enjoyed in the past may have come from the choices your parents made for you when you were young. They may have focused on what you ate as a family, or made you turn off the TV and go outside to move and play. Your wellness is also sourced in your genes, but your environment and actions today influence those genes. Taking your wellness for granted could be equated to squandering an inheritance. You have it until you don’t.
After you reign in your mindset and beliefs around wellness, whether it’s, “I’m always well” or “I struggle to feel well”, wellness in action includes attending to your sleep, exercise, hydration, relationships and tiny day to day behaviors.
Experts say that if you can start something new and do it for 65 days, it’s yours. You’ve got it down as a new life pattern. So, I ask from my heart for you to set up a personal action wellness plan, and start small. Change one behavior or attitude, one action around your food or hydration, and one action around sleep or self care. Log each one for 65 days. You are taking action to improve, maintain, or just love on the wellness that is a gift of your life.
In a time where we are living day to day, hyperaware of the coronavirus, taking personal action is empowering and may just make a difference. Congratulations, my wellness friend! I look forward to hearing how you do.