In my classes for my masters, we briefly talked about the 8 Dimensions of Wellness that covered the financial, emotional, environmental, physical, occupational, spiritual, intellectual, and social elements in our lives that we can improve or define to balance our personal wellness. I spoke about these dimensions in previous posts. But my professor asked about another one that is similar that broke it out into 10 areas instead of 8. Each area was a part of life. Each small step of life that leads to a happier wellbeing.
Thinking about life
This got me to thinking. Am I really happy with how my life is and if not, what can I do or what areas do I need help with? When was the last time I took a step back and asked myself, what areas of my life do I want to get help on? The Level 10 wheel of life breaks out into areas of contribution/giving, body, mind & emotions, relationships, lifestyle, career/mission, money/finances, and spirituality (there are many variations to the list). You score each of these sections a 1 to 10 with how you are happy with your life in each.
We all need work
Right now, I know there are areas that I want to work on in my life. Am I happy with how my life is? No. But that is okay. Because I am starting to see what those areas are and find out ways I can improve them. One area was my career. I realized that I was not really happy in my career. With the help of my family, I made a change, and I am working to ultimately change my career to mental health awareness. My mind and emotions were another area that I was in need of help. And thus started my blog and the therapist I see monthly.
Start small
What I am trying to say is we all have areas in our lives that we do not like, are not happy with, and would like some help to make better. Whether it is how we look, how we feel, our careers, our friends, whatever it may be. It is never too late to stop, take a look, and make a change. It doesn’t have to be something dramatic. Even the smallest changes in our lives make some of the biggest impacts.
All about me
Recently, I started focusing on me. I didn’t like the way I was feeling every day. I was tired all of the time. Feeling lonely when sitting with friends. Wondering what my purpose in this world was. I was losing myself. I could sit outside in the cool breeze and bright blue sky and be numb. That is not what I wanted in my life. So, I made a small change. That I would start thinking about what I want. I didn’t need to tell anyone. Just making sure I made a decision, even in my own mind of something I wanted, anything I liked, made a difference. Friends want to go to lunch and ask where would I like to go. Before, it was the standard answer of, “wherever you want, I’m not picky.” Or, “I don’t care.” I may not care, but I do have an opinion. So, I started forcing myself to make a suggestion. I didn’t care if they didn’t want to go there and we went somewhere else. But point was, I made a suggestion.
By making myself voice an opinion, I started to get more comfortable with making suggestions, voicing opinions, and I started to want and like things for myself again. The more I did this, the more I liked it. I made sure I wasn’t pushy about it, just to say, “hey, I like something.” I felt better about myself. Feeling lighter about the world around me. And ultimately, I wanted things again.
Look good to feel better
Lately, I noticed that a few extra pounds have been sitting on my hips, and I do not like it there. The scale is telling me that 5 pounds are still with me. So, I took a look at my eating habits and discovered that I have been having snacks pretty late at night. These snacks were anything from crackers and peanut butter to candy. My small change, move those snacks to daytime if I want them and if I get hungry at night, maybe some cheese, cashews, or some fruit. Then I also looked at why was I snacking so late anyway. Noticed I have been staying up a little too late these few days. Small change, try to get to bed a little earlier each night.
One small step
It doesn’t take dramatic changes, just a small alteration to how you do something can make all the difference. Because we have one life. This is all we have. We need to make sure we are the happiest and healthiest we can make it. Remember, if all you see is a mile, you will struggle. but if you only look at the one step ahead of you and then the one after that, before you know it, the mile was never an issue.
With great warmth,
I truly enjoyed this blog. You got me to thinking I do need to see some change the town one small step. Thank you