What is Multi-Dimensional Wellness + 14 Actionable Ways To Improve Yours
Hola out there! Welcome to the beautiful month of August. It’s National Wellness Month, the month of my anniversary, and a slew of family members’ birthdays. It’s basically a time of celebration! For those of you who do not know, I’m kinda in love with the idea of wellness and how we can better call our lives into balance using facets of wellness. So I’d like to share what wellness means to me, dive into the different dimensions that exist, then offer a few examples of how to enhance a few dimensions in your own life.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
What the heck does “Wellness” really mean?
I’m so glad you asked! If we pull from the Wellness Council of America’s (WELCOA) and the National Wellness Institute’s definitions, basically wellness is the intentional pursuit of becoming your best or highest self. The suffix -ness means to be in the state of something. So wellness is the state of being well, and I would argue that being in a state of anything is something to be maintained. Like happiness. If someone is living in happiness, they have to be actively working to stay happy, right? Enough rambling!
So what’s with these dimensions?
Ya girl got a degree or two in wellness, and my masters program was centered around the idea that wellness is multi-dimensional. When most people think about wellness, they probably think of eating nutritious foods and exercising, but true wellness touches every single part of your life. While there are differing declarations out there of how many dimensions wellness has, I stand on the theory of there being EIGHT of them. Here’s the nitty gritty:
Emotional: are you emotionally healthy, stable, aware, and in control?
Physical: are you treating your body to activities & movement that keep your organs, bones, tissues, etc. strong and thriving?
Intellectual: are you regularly challenging your brain by reading, learning new things, taking up new hobbies?
Spiritual: are you connecting to or with something larger than yourself? (This one can be super fluid in how people perceive it & live it.)
Vocational: are you engaging and growing yourself when it comes to your work?
Environmental: are you ensuring your surroundings are safe and conducive to your health and growth?
Social: are you pursuing meaningful interactions or friendships with others?
Financial: are you mindful of your economic situation and employing tools to enhance your finances?
I meeeaaan, there’s a lot to actualize if you’re taking ALL of those dimensions into account. And I LOVE it, because the 8 of those do a great job of touching on each part of anyone’s life. Nothing goes unacknowledged.
Now what?
Now what is that I challenge you to choose ONE - just one of the above areas to improve within your own life for the next month’s time. For me, I feel like I’m always (annoyingly so) focused on personal development, which encompasses a few of them - intellectual, emotional, vocational, yada yada yah. So, I’ll settle on vocational. I’m in a new line of work and still getting my feet wet, but I’ve been around just long enough to start stepping up for a project here and there. I can definitely add more value, and I need to work on my confidence to be able to do that. Alternatively, I have Just Seria that I’m trying to grow into different avenues. I’ve even got a business mentor which has helped TREMENDOUSLY. I’m doing the work, and I invite you to do the same. I’ll even get the ball rollin’ for you! Here are a few ways to begin challenging and growing yourself.
PHYSICAL
Choose to tidy up your eating habits, like lessening processed foods and increasing fruits and vegetables.
Reduce screen time! Check the time you spend on your phone each day and see if you can cut down by 30 min - 1 hour. Turn your TV off 30 minutes earlier than normal at the end of the day.
Find a new activity that moves your body and commit to it - mall walking, gardening, rock climbing, tennis, swimming - you name it!
Drink more water - regularly! Get a bottle and try to drink at least 1-2 of them each day. (Adjust your goal depending on your starting point. You drink NO water? Try drinking half a bottle.)
Get more sleep. I’m sure you could use more! We generally need about 7 hours of sleep to feel rested. There’s deep sleep, REM sleep, & some stages in between that are all important for daily functioning and learning.
INTELLECTUAL
Something you've been wanting to learn? Dedicate 1-3 hours a week to researching it, like on Youtube, the library, blogs, purchase an online course, etc.
Join a club or group that highlights an interest you have, like a Meetup for comic book lovers. You're bound to find others who've learned a thing or two you haven't.
Turn off the TV and pick up a book, a game, a puzzle, a sudoku - anything that makes your brain work!
Have a chat with someone who respectfully challenges your beliefs or ideas and see if you can understand their perspective.
SPIRITUAL
This one can be tricky since some people heavily associate spirituality with religion, but they aren't necessarily the same thing. In my book, spirituality is the what or why, while religion can serve as the how. Spirituality is the curiosity, pursuit, and understanding of something greater than yourself, while religion stands to be the rules, rituals, and practices that come along with aligning with a specific god or higher power. How to expand your spirituality?
Travel: Experience how other people live, even if it's people from Montana if you're from Alabama. See new things, have new adventures. Expanding your horizons can make you more aware of the lives around you and help you develop a better appreciation for your own life.
Volunteer: Life's not all about you (or me). Volunteering allows you to help others who need it but will also give you an unbelievable feeling of fulfillment and gratefulness.
Journal: Set time aside for reflection. Write out your days, how you're feeling, your dreams, etc. Take the time to dive into yourself to pull out what you really want in life PLUS what you're currently getting and giving.
Yoga: Of course - yoga! Westerners often see yoga as an exercise, and while it is physical, the poses actually prepare your mind and heart to go exploring deeper within yourself. You'll see what I mean when you give it a consistent try.
Read up on beliefs that will expand or strengthen your own - a devotional Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, a self-help book, or the like. Get curious without judgement and see what you learn and how you feel.
So what’s it gonna be? Find me on social or comment here letting me know which dimension of YOUR wellness YOU’re going to TAKE CHARGE OF for the next 30 days. Remember that starting small is all the start you need.
Found this useful, do some good and share it out? Thought it was trash? Tell me so! Thinking of someone who might really need this? Pass it along! Thanks for taking time to read this, and I hope it helped you in some way. See you on the next post!
-seria.
*Featured photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash