Healthy Living
When we ask the girls in our workshops
what healthy living means, we always get the same response: exercise
and eating right. And while those two are very important for our
physical health, they do not fully encompass what it means to have a
healthy lifestyle. There are so many more things that contribute to
our health. So today I’d like to introduce you to the seven
dimensions of wellness:
Physical
This dimension includes diet and
exercise of course, but it also includes having a regular sleeping
schedule, getting check-ups at the doctor, and maintaining your
personal hygiene.
Emotional
The most important part of emotional
wellness is simply allowing yourself to acknowledge all of your
feelings. We are all human and we were meant to feel. It’s a part
of life and we have to accept it, good and bad. Obviously it’s
important to be happy overall, but we have to have some negative
feelings to remember how great it is to have the positive ones.
Social
When you think about social wellness
you should think about maintaining the meaningful relationships in
your life. Remember that drifting away from certain people is a
normal part of life but it’s important to always have a support
system of close friends and family. Make time to have some fun with
the people that you love while continuing to connect with new and
different people every day. You never know when you’re going to
meet your next best friend.
Environmental
Environmental wellness means not only
taking care of the environment that you live in (reduce, reuse,
recycle), but also about how you protect yourself from the potential
dangers around you. Wear your seat-belt in the car, wear a helmet when
you ride your bike, wear warm clothes in the winter, and wear
sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun in the summer.
Intellectual
Intellectual
wellness is all about stretching your mind. Seek opportunities to
learn new concepts and skills. Fuel your curiosity and seek personal
growth. Is there something that you have always wanted to learn or
experience? Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to play an
instrument or perhaps you love plants. Ask your parents to sign you
up for lessons or allow you to start a small garden in your yard.
Keep your curiosity alive and don’t be afraid to let your questions
lead you. Discovering and exploring is like working out for your
brain and will open the doors to so many opportunities.
Occupational
This of course deals with happiness and
fulfillment in your work or career, but since many of you probably
don’t have a job yet, you can apply this to school. Of course when
you do have a job, you can pretty easily decide to find something
else when you become unhappy with what you’re doing. The one thing
that I always remind myself of is that I can’t control what others
do or say. All I control is how I react to it. So if things are
getting tense at work or school, reflect on how you’ve been
reacting or usually react to things and tell yourself that you will
see the situation in a different light from here on out.
Spiritual
Many of you probably jumped straight to
religious beliefs when you saw the heading, and you aren’t wrong
because our religious beliefs help us with our spiritual health, but
we need to make this dimension broader so that everyone can
understand it. Spiritual wellness at its core is about staying true
to your values and beliefs and using them to lead a purposeful life.
When working on this dimension you are discovering your meaning and
how you can establish peace and harmony in your life. This is one
that is especially unique to each person in the way they choose to
practice it and the journey that it takes them on.
All of these dimensions depend on each
other. Improving environmental wellness improves physical wellness
which improves your intellectual and emotional wellness. When you’re
happier you tend to reach out to others more often and want to be
with your friends and family. I could go on and on but you get the
picture.
So think about your strengths in each
of these areas and reflect on things that you can improve. This is an
ongoing process with plenty of ups and downs. Don’t overwhelm
yourself but choose one thing to work on at a time so you can
continue to lead a wonderful, happy, healthy life.
Ashley
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