Ten Tenants of Well Being

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Ten Tenants of Well Being

 

1. Wellness is a holistic concept.

 

Anything short of that is incomplete and ultimately ineffective. We

need to look at the whole person and plan lifestyle changes for

mind, body, spirit and environment. Just working at the dimension of

wellness that you already like, such as exercising and minimizing

the others, like stress management or nutrition, doesn't work in the

long run.

 

2. Self esteem is the critical factor in change.

 

Wellness is caring enough about yourself to take stock of your life,

make the necessary changes and find the support to maintain your

motivation. Heal the wounds. Find what is holding you back from

feeling good about yourself and work through the blocks, not around

them. Acknowledge your achievements and express the " real you. "

 

3. Positive peer health norms encourage wellness lifestyle changes

 

Who we surround ourselves with either helps us stretch our wings and

soar, or clips them again and again. We tend to follow the lead of

our peers and find it hard to " go against the grain. " Positive peer

health norms encourage wellness lifestyle changes. Mutually

beneficial relationships with friends, lovers, family and colleagues

who care about us as people are what we need to seek and create in

our lives. Rather than being threatened by our personal growth, they

support it. Do your friends (partners, etc.) bring out your OK or

NOT OK feelings? Giving and receiving strokes are what it's all

about. Friends keep friends well.

 

4. Conscious living means becoming aware of all the choices

 

Break out of the trance! Conscious living means becoming aware of all

the choices we have and acting on them. It involves a realization

that we don't have to run our lives on automatic pilot. We can turn

off the television (remember TV stands for " time vacuum " ), read

labels, turn off the lawn sprinklers when we have enough rain,

notice how our food tastes, notice how tense and contracted we are

when we drive fifteen mph over the speed limit, etc. It means

consciously working on our relationships, life-goals, and maximizing

our potential.

 

5. Connectedness to other species, the earth and our environment

 

A sense of connectedness to other people, other species, the earth

and " something greater " grounds us in our lives. We are all of one

heart. Much of this sense can come out of the land we live on. By

identifying with where we live, getting to know the plants, animals,

weather patterns, water sources and the landscape itself, we develop

not only a love for it, but feel that love returned. Through our

commitment to our place on earth we value and protect our

environment by the way we live our lives, and by how we speak at the

ballot box. Through our contact with the natural world we experience

a solid sense of belonging, peace and harmony.

 

6. We are primarily responsible for our health.

 

There are the risk factors of genetics, toxic environments and the

like, but our emotional and lifestyle choices determine our health

and well-being more than anything else. As much as we'd like to

cling to blame and cop-outs, we must be honest with ourselves. The

flip side is the empowerment this realization gives us.

 

7. Increased self-sufficiency and sense of interconnectedness

 

From increased self-sufficiency comes the confidence and power that

overshadows fear. The Australian Aboriginal people say that when a

person cannot walk out onto the land and feed, clothe and shelter

themselves adequately a deep, primal fear grips their soul.

Recognizing our interconnectedness, we grow tremendously when we can

care for ourselves on many different levels. Skills, information and

tools that enable us to: choose our food wisely (or even grow it

ourselves);become more competent at our career; adjust the shifter

on our bicycle; take a hike into a wilderness area; bake bread from

scratch; etc., all increase our self-respect and self-confidence. We

need to learn these skills and teach them to others, especially our

children.

 

8. The use of solo time in the natural world

 

As much as we all need time with others, we all need time apart. Solo

time, especially in the natural world, helps us relax, de-contract,

and get beyond the distractions of modern life that prevent us from

really knowing ourselves. There are some powerful reasons that

peoples from all around the world have spent time alone (usually in

a wilderness setting) in order to gain vision about the direction

and meaning in their lives.

 

9. Avoidance of perfectionism and addictive behaviors

 

You don't have to be perfect to be well. Perfectionism often pushes

us to feel ashamed and feeds a negative view of ourselves.

Workaholism, anorexia and other addictive behaviors can result.

Wellness does not mean swearing off hot-fudge sundaes. It just means

not b.s.'ing yourself about when you last had one!

 

10. Permission to play

 

Play! We all need to lighten up, not take ourselves (and wellness) so

seriously. Remember the lessons of the coyote and be playful, even

ornery in a non-malicious way. Let the child within out to play. Give

yourself permission.

 

Even with these tenets there is no concrete wellness formula. You

have to discover what works for you and add your own tenets to the

list.