The reality for the majority of us is that at some point in time we’ve been told something about how we need to manage our health & wellness without having a working definition of them. There are a variety of places we hear “advice” from: doctors, nutritionists, exercise trainers, friends or family members, social media and on the list goes. We’ve been taught to think that health and wellness translate into maintaining a restrictive diet, never missing a minute of an exercise routine, getting 8 hours of sleep a night and 32 ounces of water a day. That’s just to name a few.
Answer the following questions about your pursuit of health & wellness. Have you ever:
Answered yes to any of these? It’s because we have never created our own personalized definition of health & wellness. We have been attempting to follow practices set out like manuals with instructions telling us how to eat, drink, sleep, exercise and relieve stress. But without our own definition of health & wellness we do not know what we are working towards, these manuals or instructions do not add value to our lives. So, we quit using them and retreat back to our previous habits.
Webster defines health as vigor and soundness of body and mind; freedom from disease or ailment. And wellness as the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort; emphasizing preventing illness & prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating disease & illness.
Webster’s definitions do not give any indication about sleep, proper nutrition, exercise or any other health fads. But rather points out that health & wellness are simply deliberate efforts to prevent illness & prolong life. What we’re never told is that each of our definitions will be uniquely different for everyone. Just like no two people look alike, no two people are going to create a definition and establish the same healthy practices that they maintain over time.
There’s one last thing to understand about health & wellness, it is that your personal definition comes from within you. You already came with it coded in your unique body and mind. You won’t ever find your definition anywhere in the world because you’re the only one who can write it. It requires a set of self-written values that inspire your quest for health & wellness. Once you’ve established it, you’ll know exactly what to do about nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress relief and so on. And you will never need to quit, because it was written solely by you to be able to follow it or re-write it when necessary. Are you ready to begin writing your own definition and alleviate any stress about health & wellness?
For more information about Health & Wellness Coaching in order to begin the inspiring and uplifting process of writing your own definition email info@growwellnessgroup.com.
