FOUNDATIONS OF WELL-BEING
UNVEILING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF WELLNESS
Welcome to the Wellness with Geri weekly blog! If you would have told me I was going to be starting a business and blog just after my 60th birthday, I would have told you that you were crazy, but that is in fact what is happening.
After my divorce from a 28 year marriage, I have invested a lot of time in healing and reevaluating my life. What has become crystal clear to me is that having a career I love while helping other people improve their wellness is my top priority.
It might be risky to start something new later in life, but with risk there is great reward. I have spent the last 15 years studying, training, and practicing wellness and would love to share what I have learned with you. My experience can help you move more quickly from theory to practice to a healthier and better life.
In a world where the pursuit of well-being has become increasingly paramount, it is essential to recognize that true wellness extends far beyond physical health. From nurturing emotional resilience to fostering connections with others and our environment, wellness encompasses many interrelated facets.
In this blog post, we will explore twelve building blocks of wellness, uncovering their significance and offering strategies to implement change for a positive impact on your health and wellness. Each week hereafter, the blog will cover one of the building blocks in more detail.
1
EAT HEALTHY
Eating healthy is a critical component to overall wellbeing including physical health and mental health. Making meaningful lifestyle changes to eating habits can change how you feel and help avoid the many diseases and problems that are associated with the typical processed food western diet. Effective techniques to eating a healthy diet include:
Explore your relationship with food – Look into emotional eating habits and find other outlets when you are feeling emotional.
Eat a whole food diet and limit sugar intake – Shop the perimeter of the grocery store and limit packaged food items with many and/or unrecognizable ingredients.
Eat at home more often – Eating at home provides complete control over ingredients and food preparation.
2
MOVE FREELY
Our bodies were built to move, but unfortunately, we spend a lot of time sitting during the day. Many people are both active and sedentary, they might go to the gym in the morning but then sit at work and in front of the TV at night. Some key ways to invite more movement into your life include:
Change your mindset around movement - Movement is way more than one hour of exercise during the day. Start adding more movement into your day on a regular basis. Try setting an alarm to get up and move every 60-90 minutes. A short walk, some jumping jacks or some burpees are easy additions to daily movement.
Incorporate activities you enjoy – Make a list of the activities you enjoy that you currently do or would like to do. Start scheduling time to do these more.
Stay consistent – Set a goal for the quantity and variety of movement you would like to do each day and stick to it.
3
SLEEP SOUNDLY
Sleeping is critical to living a long and happy life. Our body needs time to rest daily so that it can function at optimal levels. The percentage of people who are sleep- deprived is huge and many people need medications to help with sleep. Our sleep is dependent on many factors, including what we eat and how much we move, so combining healthy habits in many dimensions can have compounding benefits. Suggested techniques for improving sleep habits are:
Create bedtime rituals – Make it a regular practice to turn off technology and turn down lights at least one hour prior to bedtime.
Incorporate a meditation practice – Meditation allows your thoughts to slow down enabling you to relax more and fall asleep sooner.
Limit food and caffeine intake in the hours prior to bedtime – Stop caffeine by 2pm and avoid heavy meals before bedtime.
4
BREATHE DEEPLY
Finding time in our busy lives to breathe deeply and meditate can be challenging but the benefits are undeniable. From stress management to better decision-making and improved sleep, taking time to breathe and mediate can improve your life tremendously.
Start out slow – Starting with a tiny goal provides the best chance of success. Even one minute of mediation is a good step toward developing a regular practice.
Use available apps and tools - There are many tools and apps in the marketplace. Try HeadSpace and the Calm app have both have guided meditations that are perfect for beginners and more advanced meditators as well.
Schedule a specific time to meditate – Meditating first thing in the morning or right before bed makes it easier to remember and keep the new habit consistent.
5
WORK PRODUCTIVELY & PURPOSEFULLY
Work consumes a large part of our waking hours. Finding ways to work productively and purposefully results in more enjoyment at work and more free time to spend with family and friends and on self-care outside of work.
Incorporate deep work blocks - Uninterrupted work blocks remove distractions and allow for focus on the most important thing at that time.
Find purpose whether you love your job or not - Even if you don’t love your job you can find purpose showing up with integrity, competence, and kindness and patience for co-workers and clients. At some point you may need to love it or leave it to find meaningful work.
Set boundaries around time at work - Finding a satisfying work life balance will require setting limits on how many hours you are willing work and limiting calls, texts and emails outside of scheduled work hours.
6
CONNECT SOCIALLY
Having strong social connections leads to a fuller and happier life. Creating these connections sometimes means stepping out of your comfort zone. Identify connections that are important to you, why they are important to you, and nurture them.
Cultivate existing friendships – The best place to start is with the relationships you currently have. Make time to engage more with your friends in a variety of ways including sharing a meal or getting out to exercise.
Explore ways to connect with new people – Meeting new people can be uncomfortable at first, but look for opportunities to meet new people. Suggestions include your workplace, the gym or other exercise venue, or the large variety of Meetup groups.
Consider volunteer opportunities – Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and be of service to others. Check with your community, religious organization, or online resources for opportunities in your area.
7
COMMUNICATE CLEARLY
Clear communication is critical to having healthy relationships which are essential for our happiness and well-being.
Improve listening skills – Listening to others is one of the best ways to improve communication skills. Listening intently can help us to understand how other people feel and be better able to respond.
Use “I” statements – Blaming other people is not an effective way to communicate. Focusing on expressing how you feel using “I” statements keeps the focus on you and away from criticizing others.
Set boundaries – Identify what is important to you and take steps to safeguard it by letting people know what you will and will not tolerate.
8
LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY
Love is almost always the answer, but loving others is not always easy, especially when other people see things differently than you do. Loving others without being co-dependent, and celebrating our loved ones as they are without needing to fix or change them, is critical to healthy relationships.
Love others without losing yourself – Relationships with other people are important but not more important than the relationship with yourself.
Have unconditional positive regard for others – Always assume others are doing their best and treat them with respect.
Practice compassion – When other people challenge your patience, showing compassion and finding forgiveness allows you to release your resentment and feel better.
9
GROW SPIRITUALLY
Having a connection to a power greater than yourself gives life meaning and allows for inner peace as you trust things will work out as they should.
Identify spiritual beliefs and how to deepen them – Look at past and current beliefs to identify ways to deepen your connection to a power greater than yourself.
Create space to connect – Find time in your busy schedule to regularly connect with a power greater than yourself. Daily meditation and prayer practice will lead to spiritual growth.
10
TREAD LIGHTLY
A healthy environment and a healthy person are tied closely together. Making small changes to care for the environment and limiting exposure to environmental toxins will help you feel better, live healthier, and save money.
Identify and reduce toxins used at home – So many body care and cleaning products have unhealthy chemicals. Read labels and find options that are better for you and the environment. A great resource is EWG.org.
Trade convenience for conservation – We live in a fast-paced world and people are opting for short-cuts. However, that isn’t the answer if we want to have a healthy planet for generations to come. Consciously considering the environment will help drive better long-term decisions.
Reduce to save money – Reuse and repurpose is a better choice than replace. Environmental consciousness saves money and benefits the planet.
11
BE HAPPY
Happiness seems to be the ideal everyone strives for, but few people seem truly happy. Here are a few simple steps to take to find more happiness in your life, even when things seem bleak around you.
Be grateful – Make a list of things you are grateful for each day will help remind you of how fortunate you are.
Find joy in the little things – Take a moment to smell the flowers, enjoy the view, and watch a butterfly go by.
Identify your strengths – Know your strengths and focus on them to bring your personal and work life into alignment with your values.
12
LIVE FULLY
Living life fully means enjoying each day while finding balance between family time, work, and personal time. To create the life you were meant to live you need to embrace the uncertainty that comes with it.
Lead a balanced life – Identify priorities for how you want to spend your time and set boundaries to protect them.
Treat joy as a compass – Find what brings you joy and follow that compass.
Be of service to others – Give back! There is no greater reward than helping others and no better way to forget about your own problems.
Exploring the dimensions of wellness interplay between various facets of our lives leading to balance and harmony. By nurturing each dimension, the way is paved to a more fulfilling existence. Embracing this holistic approach ushers in a journey of self-discovery, resilience, and lifelong growth. By cultivating physical health, mindfulness, purpose, and connection in our daily lives, well-being improves. True wellness encompasses the nourishment of body, mind and soul. I look forward to you joining me on this journey to wellness.
JOURNAL OR COMMENT PROMPT
In what areas do you feel you have the most potential for growth?
How can you close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be?
