Health and wellbeing is more than just going to the doctor for an annual checkup. Wellness is an active process.
—"Wellness is an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence." - National Wellness Institute
The Eight Dimensions of Wellness provide a framework. The goals we set, activities we engage in to reach those goals, and the timelines are unique, individualized, and up to each one of us.
There is no one way, there is no single ‘right way’ to wellness.
Each dimension is interconnected and contributes to living a healthy life. They are about the whole person, for each person.
Emotional wellness could be becoming more aware of and accepting our feelings and emotions, or it may be incorporating a practice of cultivating gratitude.
Intellectual wellness may overlap with spiritual wellness and can be in the form of reading a book by Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra. While another person views intellectual wellness as signing up for a class or learning a new skill.
Physical wellness can include activity goals and eating nutritious foods, for others it may mean prioritizing 8 hours of sleep a night.
The dimensions can be viewed as a pathway or a guide to optimal living.
The actions we take each day cumulate, creating a large impact on our overall health and wellbeing.
Actions like ditching the drive-through and preparing a nutritious meal at home, skipping the glass of wine at night and opting for tea, or deciding to take a longer walk than usual don’t seem like major decisions in the moment, but over the long-haul, they make a difference.
Our daily choices and habits can bring us to a more successful existence.
