5 Steps To Achieving Wellness Your Way

The term wellness has become the trendiest of trends. It’s used to describe everything from vacation, to most recently, architecture. What? But have you stopped to consider what it really means to be well? I don’t mean just physically, but mentally, emotionally, inside-out, from end to end. All of you. What would make your work your relationships your body and your spirit…your entire life  “well?” What does it mean to you, personally? And how do you make sure you do what it takes to stay well?

Fitness, diet, healthy living, and wellbeing have always been on my radar. I haven’t always done something about it, but it was there, hiding behind my love of french fries. As I’ve gotten wiser, wellness has spread its tentacles into every part of my life, from beauty to travel and everything in between.   

But wellness doesn’t just mean yoga and meditation or eating vegan or using natural products (ahem…whole other can of worms).

The way I define Wellness is anything that will improve my health, my state of mind, and my spirit.

And that can be different for everybody.

I’ve come up with 5 easy steps for my personal wellness strategy. And I want to share it with you.

Step 1: Think about it

Consider what wellness looks like to you, not your neighbor, not the woman on Instagram, not even Oprah. What are the things that would make your life healthier, happier, and whole?

As we get older and the horizon shortens, it’s even more important to figure this out for ourselves. Because we can’t do everything, there’s no time. So we have to prioritize the sectors of wellness that will bring us to our healthiest, happiest, and more fulfilled.

These are my wellness goals:

♥ I aim to be physically healthier (because when it’s time to go to the old folks’ home, I’m walking in wearing heels —red ones.) This means nourishing and moving my body every day (give or take a cheat day or a lazy one). So for me, moving my body means working out at my gym, going for a brisk walk in my neighborhood, or taking a yoga class.

For you, moving your body may mean something else, like dancing or swimming.

♥ I want to bring more peace into my life (mental health) so I try to meditate or sit still every morning.

For you, reading a book every night may bring you that sense of calm and peace. Or taking a long bath, or cooking or sewing…whatever.

Again, you do you.

♥ It’s also important for me to take care of my skin and my overall physical appearance. But maybe that’s not important to you (you then, have a lot more time to dedicate to other aspects of wellness).

See what I mean?

Pretend you have a Wellness menu, and you get to pick what you want. Or like Choose Your Own Wellness Adventure.

Step 2: Write it down

Write out your wellness priorities. Use a journal, a sheet of paper, a Post-it…whatever. Out of sight, out of mind so it should be visible to you. Tape it to your fridge or your bathroom mirror, keep it in your car, by your desk….whatever works.

Example: This is my list.

1. Nourish my body by eating healthy foods and staying away from sugar, processed food, too much coffee, and too much wine. Drink more water. Take my supplements.
2. Move my body. Either go to the gym, walk around the neighborhood, do yoga, or stretch every day.
3. Take care of my physical appearance by looking after my skin, my hair…anything that will make me look in the mirror and not want to go back to bed and hide under the covers (or break said mirror.)
4. Be still. Pray, meditate, or just focus on my breathing for at least 10 minutes.

Step 3: Take action

Here’s the hard part. Maybe. Do the things. Join a gym or a yoga class and go. Shop for your healthy foods and learn to prepare them and then eat them. Drink the water. Buy the skincare and actually use it, morning and night. Use sunscreen. Fix your hair. Put on the makeup. Buy the cute clothes that will make you feel good about yourself. Buy the shoes!

Step 4: Keep yourself accountable

At the end of every night, I go through my list and tick off the boxes.

Did I eat to nourish my body? √

Did I move my body? √

Did I take care of my physical appearance? √

Did I meditate, pray, or take 10 minutes to sit still and breathe? √

Or…If you slacked off or blatantly refused to partake in wellness that day, I take notes.

Example:

Did I eat to nourish my body?

Well, kinda, sorta…I snuck in some chocolate because I was stressed and WholeFoods tempted me with chocolate at the checkout line, and the chocolate made me feel better.

Did I move my body?

I just wasn’t feeling the gym today. I had cramps (I no longer get cramps: the unmentionable) But I might still get one more cramp session, no?

Sigh.

Did I take care of my physical appearance?

Hell yeah! Except, well…I was feeling lazy and didn’t do my 10-step Korean skincare routine because A. I’m not Korean, and B. I couldn’t be bothered. But I did wash my face. That’s something.

Did I meditate, pray, or take 10 minutes to sit still and breathe?

Who the hell has time for that?

Step 5: Readjust and refocus

You will start to see a pattern develop. I did. Figure out what areas you need to focus on, or maybe go back to step one and make some changes. I’ve noticed that I slip up the most in the nourish category. I don’t drink enough water, and I sneak in chocolate. So I’ve had to be more mindful of those things.

That’s it. That’s the system I use to stay on track of my wellbeing.

Remember, no one can do this for you. Be your own Wellness advocate so you can live a healthy, happy and whole life.

I hope this helps you make the changes you need to make in your own life. These tips have really helped me. Let me know in the comments what your wellness tips are.

Be well!

xoxo