The concept of wellness can cover a broad range with definitions. For our purpose, wellness includes the belief that improvement is possible throughout your life. A person seeking wellness is someone continually seeking information and resources to improve themselves as a whole––mind, body, and soul. During your life journey, there may be times when you find yourself dealing with imbalance or disfunction. As you work to improve your level of wellness, there are many options for incorporating beneficial lifestyle choices and self-care practices into your life.

Why You Should Care About Wellness
Being comfortable in life and living every day as it comes is like running on autopilot. When you get to that point, you seldom notice that sameness has taken over. People around you may recognize that you’re in a rut that may have already gone on for several years. Someone in a rut functions on a stale daily routine that is comfortable for them, but gives them few opportunities to think about improvement.

If the idea of operating on autopilot describes you, don’t despair. Don’t just stay passive. You can become an active participant in your life and take charge of your own health and wellness.

Taking Back Control of Your Life
First, it’s important to know that you are not alone. You’re not the only person deciding to take charge of your life and change your future. Many people are making the same decision. Knowing you’re not alone should make you feel better and happier. You may even get excited about getting healthier. You may also decide to spend more time and energy on the things that matter most to you and more time with the people who matter most to you, too.

Taking responsibility for your wellness will dramatically improve your outlook on life. You will find yourself setting goals…and reaching them.

Purposefully Choosing Wellness
Choosing wellness means you are choosing lifestyle options that support your own best interests. Everything you think, feel, and believe impacts your whole being. When you choose wellness, this means you are now in command of all aspects of your life––physical health, career, relationships, finances, spiritual and emotional health, even your personal environment.

Allow me to introduce you to several people who struggled and then chose wellness. Let’s see how they reclaimed what had previously been missing from their lives. Each person has a unique part of life they wish to reclaim as they improve their wellness. The road to improved wellness for each person began with choosing to start and then making the effort to move forward and through what was holding them back.

How John turned his perceived lack of time into more time
“I don’t have the time,” John, a corporate attorney, kept telling himself and others. Of course he knew he wasn’t alone in feeling pressed for time. Lack of time was a concern for nearly everyone he knew. John wanted to be happier and healthier, but he just didn’t have the free time to date, visit his family, exercise, or do any of the other things that made him happy. When he decided to take charge of his wellness, the first thing he did was declare ownership of his time. He examined how he spent his time on an average day. By tracking his daily activities and realigning his priorities, John found opportunities to include doing things he really cared about in his daily life.

How Megan reclaimed her energy
Megan, a wife, mom, and marketing executive, was always tired. She had no energy to meet all the demands of her job, plus do housework, run errands, cook, take care of her children, and face the other priorities that consumed her day. She desperately needed to reclaim her energy, but, instead, she was letting other people drain it, steal it, and suck it out of her. Megan examined the areas of her life that needed more attention and focus. She also drew new boundaries to protect herself, by declaring what she would and would not allow. Instead of working twelve hours a day, for starters, she cut her workday to no more than nine hours. And then she stuck to her plan! She thus reclaimed her energy and now has new energy for both her family and her job.

How Jeff committed to making lasting changes
“Our resistance to making lasting changes is innate,” says Jeff, a mortgage loan officer. “Changing is such a big challenge for everybody.” He constantly told himself that his own inner resistance to change would stay with him forever. Jeff’s first step in changing, therefore, was to recognize that resistance is alwaysthe initial barrier. He started by being open to seeing the positive side of change, i.e., first deciding to change, and then enlisting help in doing so. For example, he had to decide to lose the seventy pounds his doctor recommended, which would offset having to take daily medication for his Type II diabetes. So he joined the YMCA and now participates in Tai Chi and walks five days a week. He has also met with a nutritionist who has helped him gain a better understanding of what to eat in order to maintain his overall health and well-being. Jeff has now lost thirty pounds and continues to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

How Sidney learned to set boundaries
What is one of the shortest words in English and at the same time is so difficult for many people to utter? If you guessed the word is “no,” you’re right. Sidney, a customer service supervisor, was so afraid of saying no that when someone asked her to do something that made her feel queasy inside, she always said yes. She wanted to say no, but felt uncomfortable actually saying it out loud. She realized that learning to say no to the things that she didn’t want to do would help her reduce the stress of excessive demands on her time and energy. The first thing she needed to do was learn her limits. She learned she could say no in a way that was comfortable to her, yet was respectful to the other person. Many people believe that when someone asks you to do something, you must say yes. But saying no is actually not so terrible. When Sidney began saying no, it changed her whole life: she found her “to do” list shrinking. She recognized that it was her choice to either overload her schedule or accept only requests to do something when she wanted to.

How Eden decided to take the best care of herself
Eden, an emergency room specialist, wanted to improve her quality of her life. She was bored with her daily routine. Her social life was nonexistent. She began making changes to improve her life by putting her own needs first. She focused on what she wanted, instead of what everyone else wanted. She began scheduling two social activities each month, which led to a new, improved social life for her. She had never really enjoyed living in the suburbs, even though she was close to her job, so her next task was to put together a plan to sell her house in the suburbs and move to the urban environment in which she could walk to quaint cafes, visit bookstores and other shops, and attend local festivals and art fairs right there in her neighborhood. She also started networking and began to meet new people on a regular basis. Her life is now more satisfying and fulfilling.

How to Say Yes to Wellness
Are you ready to be an active participant in your life? The following practices can help you get on the road to feeling better, being happier, and improving your level of wellness.

1. Figure out specifically what will make you happy. Pay attention to the parts of your life that are most important. Give yourself what you need.
2. Create daily practices that nurture your ability to boost your energy level. Take breaks and set healthy boundaries.
3. Get the recommended seven hours or more of sleep per night. (But be aware that some people need a little more, some need a little less.)
4. Take a break. Go outside. Spending time outdoors can help you reduce your stress and become more mindful. It can also lower your blood pressure.
5. Eat more plant-based foods like nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fresh fruits to bring healing to your body.