When we speak about wellness, people usually think of physical health, nutrition, exercise, and weight management. But wellness is so much more. The term wellness extends beyond the physical to mental and spiritual well-being. This means that you need to look after your body, but also engage your mind and nurture your spirit.
Debbie L. Stoewen is an educational professional and wellness specialist. She is an entrepreneur, and facilitator, committed to advancing the health and welfare of people at the intersections of industry, academia, and civic society.
According to Debbie, wellness encompasses eight mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial and environmental. These are:
1. Physical Dimensions
Caring for your body to stay healthy now and in the future
2. Intellectual Dimensions
Growing intellectually, maintaining curiosity about all there is to learn, valuing lifelong learning, and responding positively to intellectual challenges
Expanding knowledge and skills while discovering the potential for sharing your gifts with other
3. Emotional Dimensions
Understanding and respecting your feelings, values, and attitudes
Appreciating the feelings of others
Managing your emotions in a constructive way
Feeling positive and enthusiastic about your life
4. Social Dimensions
Maintaining healthy relationships, enjoying being with others, developing friendships and intimate relations, caring about others, and letting others care about you
Contributing to your community
5. Spiritual Dimensions
Finding purpose, value, and meaning in your life with or without organized religion
Participating in activities that are consistent with your beliefs and values
6. Vocational Dimensions
Preparing for and participating in work that provides personal satisfaction and life enrichment that is consistent with your values, goals, and lifestyle
Contributing your unique gifts, skills, and talents to work that is personally meaningful and rewarding
7. Financial Dimensions
Managing your resources to live within your means, making informed financial decisions and investments, setting realistic goals, and preparing for short-term and long-term needs or emergencies
Being aware that everyone’s financial values, needs, and circumstances are unique
8. Environmental Dimensions
Understanding how your social, natural, and built environments affect your health and well-being
Being aware of the unstable state of the earth and the effects of your daily habits on the physical environment
Demonstrating commitment to a healthy planet”.
As we look at these eight dimensions of wellness, it becomes clear how much of our lives is governed by habits. In some cases, we can even describe habits as archetypes: patterns of behaviour that are so ingrained we cannot easily change them.
What are some habits that can help us address the 8 dimensions listed by Stowen? Well, this is up to each of us to determine individually. But looking at these dimensions, we can easily start to develop positive habits to reinforce our individual wellness. For example:
1. Physical Dimensions
Caring for your body to stay healthy now and in the future
Target Habit: Getting at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep
How:
Turning off TV, telephone, computer and social media at 21:00
Taking a shower or drinking a tea to relax before bed
Reading fiction to relax before bed
Closing the blinds in your room
Making sure the room temperature is suited to your preferences
Target Habit: Taking a 30 minute walk between your office and home
How:
Make a habit of not taking work home with you
Before getting home and sitting on the sofa, place your walking shoes and clothes where you will see them
Find a safe and attractive place to walk
Invite someone to walk with you to have some peer pressure to stick to the schedule
Develop your own habits, step by step, to promote wellness. We only have one life to live: there are no second takes.
Stay well and healthy!
Sources:
Debbie L. Stoewen. August 2017