Building Holistic Wellbeing with GR8NESS

Most of us believe being healthy means not being sick. While that’s true, being healthy and our wellbeing is broader than that. Holistic wellbeing focuses on looking at your health from various pillars that must be aligned to be healthy. Some people call these pillars mind, body, and spirit, we’re going to break them down even further to help you understand the meaning behind your wellbeing.

What’s Holistic Wellbeing

Holistic health focuses on your self as a whole, rather than a specific sickness or ailment. Holistic wellbeing is a way of life that looks at how you interact with your environment. The core values of this practice focus on finding the connection between mind, body, and spirit. Once you’re able to connect these pillars and keep them healthy, you will reach the true meaning of wellbeing.

Building Physical Health

Let’s start with the easy portion of the pillars, physical health. Most of us can understand the importance of exercise and how it affects our bodies. However, the physical health goes beyond movement, and it involves other practices that aren’t close to physical activity. When building physical health, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you getting enough sleep? Why not? Can you do something to improve your sleep health?
• Is your diet healthy? What can you do to improve it?
• Are you struggling with vitamin deficiencies?
• Are you watching your portion sizes?

The answer to these will help you draw a timeline and a plan to start building your physical health one action at a time. Remember, it’s okay to start slow and work your way up. If you need assistance, reach out to a doctor to help you find the right physical health plan for you.

Focusing on Emotional Wellbeing

The way you navigate your feelings significantly impacts your overall wellbeing. Not only identifying feelings but also figuring out how to share and how to assess when feelings go rogue. The more you focus on your emotional wellbeing, the more centered and balanced you will feel. Here are some ideas to evaluate your current emotional wellbeing:

• Are you in a toxic relationship? Or, are you a toxic person?
• Do you struggle seeking help when you need it? Why?
• Can you name those who support you?
• Have you tried journaling?
• How’s your emotional intelligence right now? What can you do to improve it?

Working on your emotional wellbeing can be at many times, stressful, uncomfortable, and even painful. Be gentle with yourself while you work on these questions. Keep self-love affirmations close to you so you can give yourself a much-needed self-esteem boost.

Adjusting to Social Self-Care

We don’t think about this, but our social life impacts us a great deal. Remember the question about toxic relationships? Well, it’s time you put those answers to the test. Surrounding yourself with those you care for and that care back for you is the ultimate act of self-care. Make sure you practice social self-care by:

• Meeting new people.
• Scheduing calls or events with friends and family.
• Connecting with loved ones when you need help.
• Cleaning your social media accounts to protect your mental health.
• Avoiding toxic friends that keep bringing you down.

Make sure you choose the people you spend your energy on wisely. Stay away from energy vampires or those people in our lives that require all our attention, leaving us exhausted after every conversation. Surround yourself by those that lift your mind and spirit.

Working on Your Spiritual Wellbeing

For this article, spirituality is not tied to any religion. Instead, we’re talking about finding your sense of purpose and direction within your path. Spiritual wellness will look different for everyone, and it will change as you keep walking down your journey. How you choose to practice spiritual wellbeing is up to you, here’s some inspiration to try:

• Dedicate time each day for yourself to be alone.
• Maintain a journal.
• Choose your values in life, write them down, and reflect on them.
• Learn to say “no” when you want.
• Find a spiritual practice like meditation or breathing.

Working on your spiritual wellbeing can be intimidating, don’t let it keep you from trying. Start with small steps that can be as simple as a short meditation session to a new yoga practice.

Intellectual and Financial Self-Care

Not everything related to our wellbeing is internal. Part of this holistic wellbeing approach is to incorporate everything that affects our bodies and minds. Your intellect or self-development is a vital component of this wellbeing feeling, so is your financial self-care. Some ways to practice intellectual and financial wellbeing include:

• Joining an online self-development course.
• Taking up a self-reflective activity.
• Listening to a personal development podcast.
• Creating a plan to pay off your debt.
• Setting up a financial budget.

Consider self-development and financial stability actionable activities to improve your overall wellbeing. While it might not be your first thought, these two pillars often add anxiety and stress when unbalanced.

Don’t Forget Environmental Wellbeing

You can’t leave the environment and how it affects you out of the wellbeing equation. Many of us are experiencing eco-anxiety and know too well the effects the environment can have on our mental health. Working towards becoming a better friend of the environment is critical to achieving holistic wellbeing. But, beyond our planet, we must look at our immediate settings like our homes and workstations. Here’s how to practice environmental wellbeing:

• Take time to declutter your home.
• Keep your workspace clear and optimized.
• Join local volunteering efforts.
• See how you can help the environment with drastic changes.
• Analyze your habits hurting the environment.

Don’t let the vastness of the environment overwhelm you in terms of what to do. Anything you do today will make a change tomorrow. Start with small changes around your environment, and these will inevitably trickle down to the rest of the world.

A Note from GR8NESS

This might sound like too much at first, but working on your self-care with a physical, emotional, and spiritual approach can help you improve your wellbeing in ways you never could before.