This is my first blog post for a reason. The reason is that MOST of the things I want to tell people have to do with wellness. So if people don't understand what I mean by wellness, I won't be able to properly inform/motivate the way I hope to. In other words: This is crucial! So let's explore how deep and important wellness is, shall we?
To start, there are 3 common beliefs about wellness that limit our understanding of it:
Many people feel that wellness is just a synonym for "healthiness," and of course, it is partly, but it's deeper than that.
Many people feel that if you are perfectly "well," then you must always be "happy," but that's not exactly true either.
People know wellness makes you "better," but never stop to learn or consider how MANY things it makes better nor how MUCH better they can get!
So, please... Allow me to elaborate. 💁🏻♂️
Let's start with wellness, simply meaning "healthiness."
The Merriam-Webster definition is: (Wellness: the quality or state of being in good health, especially as an actively sought goal). It's the 2nd part people miss, "an actively sought goal." It tells you that wellness is also a state of mind, a meaningful intention that you hold at all times. The reason this is so important is that deep in the core of every human is a desire to progress. Some people feel it stronger than others (me), but we all feel the same need. It's a powerful purpose that everyone has, even when they feel like they have no purpose. So in that way, wellness is sacred because it carries not only our well-being but our will to move toward something better. It's even a path for the pathless. *strong feels*
Now let's move on to the idea of wellness, including "happiness" in the definition.
While it is very true that good and complete wellness includes improving your mental state, it does not necessarily mean that you should become happy as a result. Rather, wellness is a path of becoming very, very.... OK. So contentment and peace are good wellness states. If you have ever been "not ok," you could realize very quickly that what you REALLY need is to just be OK again.
However, *plot twist*, wellness actually DOES make you happy after all!... Just indirectly, and sort of by accident, haha! What wellness ACTUALLY does is set you up to be in the proper physical and mental state required to allow for the highest chance for happiness to occur! The idea is that if you are suffering physically or mentally, the things that would normally make you happy will not be nearly as effective. Also, it is important to know that being ok is a natural and neutral state that is sustainable for a long period of time, but happiness is not. Happiness is a temporary high state and must naturally be brought back down in order to return to the body's natural state of equilibrium. Nice to have, but not meant to stay. Kinda like a party. So your goal is to use wellness to be more OK, AND so that you can increase the chance that you can also be happy.
Finally, let's talk about the idea of wellness making you "better."
Indeed I know you know that it makes you better. Your mom told you veggies are good for you, you've experienced the value of better sleep, and your doctor has suggested various other daily health habits. So on and so forth. HOWEVER, most people fail to realize how MUCH better you can be by improving in these various ways and indeed how MANY various ways you could improve! It's mind-boggling once you research how deep all these rabbit holes go. There is no shortage of studies on all of these things either, let me tell ya! In 2007 I tried a handful of these practices, and I GREATLY improved my ADHD in only 2 weeks! That was huge! In fact, it's the catalyst that started the idea of Motivate Me Mike. I discovered that I was living DRASTICALLY under my potential, and it blew my mind. I had no idea that my brain, emotions, and body could work and feel that much better in such a short period of time with just a handful of changes. My point is that this idea that wellness makes you "better" is a HUGE understatement.
So those are the 3 points I wanted to make to help you understand wellness. But even more important is what the practices of wellness actually ARE.
Well there are types of wellness, including "environmental" and "financial," but I like to stick with the ones that people have the most control over and bring about the most change. So here are the mMm 5 BASIC WELLNESS PRACTICES:
Fitness (Strength/Yoga/Cardio)
Sleep (Quality/Quantity/Timing)
Nutrition (Fruits/Veggies/Water/Protein/Quality/Quantity/Timing)
Active Lifestyle (Steps/General Low-Intensity Activity)
Mental (Meditation/Journaling/Grounding/Sunning/Counseling/Human Connection)
If you can improve all 5 of those to a good degree, you will be VERY well, I can promise you that.
So alright guys, hopefully the 3 points I made in this blog today have furthered your understanding and/or appreciation of wellness. If not, here is a great place to start:
My "Actionable Advice" to you today is this: Pick an aspect/aliment about yourself you'd like to improve and research a long list of natural wellness remedies from a credible source and cross-reference your doctor about the list. Then... Do The Whole List, And Do It Well!! You might just be surprised.
And please.... If you do, tell me how it went, seriously. I can make money in any way I like, but I do THIS because I want to help you. I want to know if I helped; I want to know if I made the world better by helping someone make themselves better. And if it didn't help for some reason, let me know that too! That info is just as valuable to improve my craft!
In any case, good luck out there my friend. May you Reach Your Potential.