Defining Wellness

Today I’m writing from the heart. My purpose is not as much educational as it is inspirational, so if you choose to embark on this journey with me, I hope that you will take some time to reflect at the end of our time together.

April is my favorite month in Arizona, the weather is ideal, the sky is bright blue and the desert is bursting with color. Today is an incredible day! I’m so fortunate to be working from home because it’s just wrong to be trapped inside on such a day. I’m sitting on the back patio feeling the wind in my hair, hearing the birds sing and enjoying the vibrant colors of the spring flowers blooming in our yard. This is my own personal paradise. I feel peaceful, I feel happy, I feel alive and I feel connected to the universe. This is my vision of wellness today.

The word “wellness” is so overused in our society that I think it has lost meaning for a lot of people. When I entered the workforce after my undergrad degree I had to explain the word wellness on a regular basis, the words “health promotion” were easier for folks to grasp, so I often avoided the term wellness with those outside the profession. My, how times have changed! Although we see it, hear it and use it all the time, do we really understand what it is we are talking about when we say wellness?

Here’s a definition from my website:
“Wellness can be simply stated as the opposite of illness, but it is really so much more than that. Whether we realize it or not our own personal wellness, or sometimes the lack there of, affects everything we do on a daily basis. Think about it, how productive are you when you have a cold, a headache, are hungry or haven’t slept?

Our wellness is not only affected by physical needs but also by our self image, our relationships, our environment, our careers, our ability to learn, share, grow and connect with others. Most of us take our wellness for granted until something affects it, and then we choose to take action. Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ Wellness is a balanced approach to life.”

The seven dimensions of wellness include: social, emotional spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual and physical. If you want a definition of each component, you can visit the AW Brooks site.

This definition works for me; I understand it and seem to have success when explaining it my audiences. But there is more to wellness than what I think. Wellness for you needs to be about what you think and how you feel both physically and emotionally. What does wellness mean for you in your own unique life at this unique moment in time? Who cares what I say, what the newspapers, magazines or infomercials say? Your voice is the one that matters. It’s all about you. There, I said it – haven’t you been longing for someone to tell you that?

In the professional world, away from the sales pitches, products and promotions wellness is often about behavior change. During the early part of my career, I wanted to help people change. Now I see things differently. Now I have a clearer mission: to inspire people to make informed decisions. Maybe you don’t need to change, don’t want to change or aren’t ready to change. Fine with me. When you do make a decision about your wellness, I hope it is your decision, based on sound information and free from commercial, media or even family bias. Free from guilt or fear. If you are feeling guilty about all of the things you “should be” doing for your health then how can you ever be well? When you’re perfect and you magically have the time and resources to do everything right? Wellness is not about perfection.

If you are in this profession, remember that wellness is not about programs, processes or policy – it’s about people. All too often we (as professionals) get too caught up in finding the ideal intervention. There are a myriad of cookie-cutter programs out there and the message is “your company can get results just like Company XYZ”. But you’re not Company XYZ, and people are not cookie dough. You can still follow industry best practice, but follow it in a way that makes sense for your people. What does wellness mean to your company? What does wellness mean to you. Perhaps the most important question. You won’t find the answer in a blog, a book or a binder so stop looking outside and start looking in. I found it years ago on a bike ride one glorious desert morning. I can see it right now in the soft petals of a cactus flower. It blooms for just a few hours, just one day - today. What a precious gift! Where will you find it?