Implementing Wellness into your Life

wellness

As we work from home and practice social distancing in an effort to flatten the curve, it’s easy to let wellness fall by the wayside. Social media is rife with people lamenting the loss of their routines, quiet time, and work-life balance. Articles abound with tips for juggling a seemingly impossible new set of responsibilities and requirements now that our support networks are gone.

But there are positives. With “normal” gone from our lives, it’s easy to reflect on what we value – and what we want to spend more or less time doing once we resume our regular programming.  

What Does Wellness Look Like?

Given the nature of the emergency we’re facing, it’s easy to focus on our physical health as a measure of how well we’re doing. However, wellness is about more than that. Wellness is a complex, multi-dimensional concept that reaches into every part of our lives.

True wellbeing occurs when you’ve achieved balance between the 8 different areas of wellness: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental. This balance is highly individual, and depends on your own personal needs in each of these spheres. 

Ordinarily, we may be dealing with just a handful of stressors that pull things this way or that until we’re experiencing an imbalance of wellbeing. But the global shutdown has thrown a wrench in the works of our overall wellness. Being cooped up at home, fretting about our job security, socializing solely online, being concerned for the health of our loved ones and the wider community – the list goes on. And it’s one that shows that we urgently need to redress our wellness once the world opens back up for business.

What Kind of Changes Will You Make?

While things are difficult at the moment, we’ve been given an opportunity to identify areas for change. And, in many cases, ways to do so. 

For example, if working from home is making life easier by cutting your commute, now is the time to explore whether a permanent telecommuting setup would be better for your vocational and environmental wellness. If you’re feeling isolated or disconnected from friends, family, or your professional circles, start exploring ways to address this. It may mean joining a new meet-up group or clearing time in your schedule for coffee or drinks. If you’re feeling bored and unfulfilled, it may be time to learn a new skill or take on a new task or role at work. If you’re feeling cooped up and slothful, start exploring opportunities to get moving once parks and gyms open back up again. 

If you’re not feeling at the top of your game right now, be kind to yourself. We’re all in a position where we’re trying to continue on as usual even though things are decidedly abnormal. However, do use this time as an opportunity to determine what areas of your life are feeling most challenging to you – and to plan to make positive changes when life returns to normal.