Welcome to my blog, Harmony Shift! It’s nice to connect with you and learn about taking care of yourself while on and off shift. This is the place to come for information to keep you healthy, happy, and positive. There are a lot of different meanings to wellness. There are a lot of different ways people can talk about being well or living a healthier lifestyle by focusing on their wellbeing. So, let’s explore the different types, meanings and ways to stay healthy and live a more balanced and harmonic life.
The Well-Being Circle
There are several wellness aspects to the Well-Being Circle. I call it a circle, some call it a wheel, and there might be other definitions as well floating around. So today I will talk about the “Circle.” There are occupational wellness, intellectual wellness, environmental wellness, financial wellness, and social wellness, just to name a few. The whole point and reason for the Wellness Circle is to periodically check in with yourself to see how you are doing “wellness” wise. For example, as you look at the circle you can ask yourself how am I doing physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and see if there is anything you need to change, work on, or improve that day or week to be more “yourself”. Below is an example from the University of New Hampshire. They call theirs the Well-Being Wheel. This is a perfect example of the different aspects of your well being and how the wheel works as a tool to check in on yourself.
The difference between Wellness and Well-Being
Believe it or not there is a difference. So, Wellness is an active process. This basically helps the person reach their optimal well-being by incorporating all the different parts of the circle into their lives. Whereas Well-Being is an optimal and dynamic state. This allows the person to achieve their full potential through both the individual pursuit of wellness and the commitment and support of others. Making choices that involve wellness and well-being require skills that are developed through knowledge and self-awareness. As mentioned above, you have to check in with yourself and ask how you are feeling and if you need to make any improvements.
Different Aspects of the Circle
Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness is being kind to yourself as you recognize and experience a wide range of emotions.
Signs of Emotional Wellness:
Having the ability to talk with someone about your emotional concerns and share your feelings with others.
Saying “no” when you need to, without feeling guilty.
Feeling you have a strong support network.
Being able to relax.
Feeling good about who you are.
Environmental Wellness
Environmental wellness is contributing to and engaging with spaces that are safe, accessible, and sustainable.
Signs of Environmental Wellness:
Being aware of the limits of earth’s natural resources
Conserving energy
Recycling paper, cans, and glass as much as possible
Enjoying and appreciating time outside
Not polluting the air, water or earth
Intellectual Wellness
Intellectual wellness is allowing your brain both stimulation and rest for critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity.
Signs of Intellectual Wellness:
Development of good study skills and time management
Ability to challenge yourself to see all sides of an issue.
Becoming a critical thinker
Development of your own ideas, views, and opinions.
Subjecting yourself to new ideas, people, and beliefs that are different from your own.
Become aware of who you are and what you value.
Social Wellness
Social wellness is building and engaging in trusting, respectful, and authentic relationships.
Signs of Social Wellness:
Development of assertiveness skills.
Balancing social and personal time.
The ability to be who you are in all situations.
Becoming engaged with other people.
Valuing diversity and treat others with respect.
Continually being able to maintain and develop friendships and social networks.
The ability to create boundaries within relationships that encourage communication, trust and conflict management.
Having supportive network of family and friends.
Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness is connecting to your inner and outer worlds to support you in living your values and purpose.
Signs of Spiritual Wellness:
Developing a purpose in life
Having the ability to spend reflective time alone.
Taking time to reflect on the meaning of events in your life.
Having the ability to explain why you believe what you believe.
Caring and acting for the welfare of others and the environment.
Being able to practice forgiveness and compassion in life.
Physical Wellness
Physical wellness is knowing your body and giving it what it needs for health, healing, and energy.
Check in with your physical wellness:
Do you eat foods that you enjoy, stay hydrated through the day.
Are you able to keep a consistent sleep schedule and get 7 hours of sleep.
Do you move your body on a daily basis?
Do you have a habit of regularly washing your hands to prevent colds and flu?
So, I hope this helps and gives you an idea of the different aspects of the Circle. This isn’t the full list, but you get the idea. If you want further reading just look it up on the web and there should be more in-depth info about the different types of wellness and well-being. The main point I want you to take away from this blog is take care of yourself, look over the different aspects of the circle and know it’s ok to be not ok.
Until next time,
Darren
Harmony Shift 