Wellness is… Wellbeing Sustained over Time
Have you ever been asked, “What is the difference between ‘Mind/Body/Spirit’ and Wellbeing?
To me, these are the same thing because for either, the ideal is to have sufficient, and when needed an abundance, of both positivity and energy.
Having studied and taught Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) for many years I know for certain that every student and facilitator of WRAP would develop their own unique definition of wellness.
Being able to explain what we mean by wellness almost always helps with sustaining wellbeing in ‘Mind/Body/Spirit’.
I’d like to share my most basic definition of wellness, while appreciating we all need a more detailed/elaborated version for our unique aims and personal goals.
For me,
Wellness is Wellbeing Sustained over Time.
Having defined Wellbeing as Positivity and Energy, I am happy to share my little equation that reveals more about how I consider my own wellness these days:
Wellness = Positivity x Energy x Time
Some people love acronyms, others do not! If acronyms work for you Wellness = P.E.T.
I will be sharing how this calculation can be used in conjunction with Dr Liz Miller’s grid, form her book Mood Mapping, and why this may help us to live longer while feeling better.
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Having shared Wellness = P.E.T. (Positivity x Energy x Time), I would like to share how wellness may have similarities to looking after a pet.
Whether you are imagining a cat, dog, horse, goldfish or tortoise… whatever pet they need consistent care to live a healthy long life.
A dog needs to feel safe, have excellent nutrition, walks everyday, playtime, socialising with other dogs, people and children and ideally have continuous education with commands such as ‘sit and stay’. Having other pets may seem more or less complex than having a dog, yet all may come with unique needs just as we each have our unique definition of wellness. If you keep fish you’ll know about the challenges of keeping their water clean over long periods.
For our sustained wellness we need routines that ensure we have:
- plenty of both positivity and energy
- ways to identify habits that cause us to lose our positivity or energy
- ways to install new routines that allow longer lasting positivity and energy
I may be implying that habits are bad and routines are better. It may not be that simple, especially as even the best routines can be made to be habitual. However, our routines/habits depend upon our subconscious beliefs, so more than anything else at this time I urge you to find at least one way in which you can examine your subconscious beliefs and change those beliefs. Change the subconscious beliefs that holding you back from the wellness (longevity with wellbeing) that is available for you.
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