Getting Started on Your Holistic Well-being Journey

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Chinese proverb. Your journey to holistic wellness begins with making small, manageable changes in your life that are easy to start and maintain. Adding changes every so often will allow you to create a well-rounded holistic wellness journey that can be managed long-term, providing the most positive and effective results.  

There will be different areas of your life such as relationships, yourself, your work, your hobbies, or your friends that require more of you at certain times. Mixing and matching different strategies is a great way to start. Some strategies you can start by implementing include:

• Make rest a part of your day: getting rest (which comes in many forms – read our article on the 7 types of rest every person needs) is a big part of your journey. Whether that means taking a nap, recharging through sitting in nature or playing with your pet, resting is vital! Getting effective rest leads to a happier and more creative you! The Pomodoro technique is a great way of teaching you to work with the time you have, instead of against it.

• Work with a coach: sometimes starting this journey alone can be a daunting thought, so working with a coach is a great way to start. Seeing how different dimensions of wellness fit together and impact the areas of your life can have the biggest impact on your overall well-being and can help you navigate circumstances, determine root causes, and achieve goals.

• Nurture relationships: how we are perceived by others often determines how we see ourselves and impacts our self-esteem. Having healthy and positive social relationships can have profound benefits on how you feel, what you do, and which next steps to take on your journey.

• Stay open-minded: staying open-minded is a great way of opening yourself up to trying new things and having new experiences. Trying a new food, getting involved in a new activity or socialising with a different group of people, getting out of your comfort zone could make you feel better. Don’t knock something until you try it.

• Do something you love: work hard, play hard is great advice. It turns out that doing something fun in your day influences how efficient you are in your workday. Creating this balance is key to both your happiness and wellbeing as well as your productivity at work.

• Establish your purpose: discovering what your purpose in life is, your purpose in certain relationships is or your purpose at work is can lead to self-compassionate and self-confident thoughts and behaviours.

• Set well-defined and realistic goals: setting goals that are achievable, meaningful, and well thought out is very important. Reaching your goals is a huge confidence boost and reminds you that you can achieve what you put your mind to. It also helps you remain focused and provides a sense of accomplishment once the goal has been reached. Just remember to be patient with yourself along this journey.  

• Develop a healthy mindset: don’t make each step of your journey solely results driven. Like the Chinese proverb says, everything begins with a single step and without each step, you will not reach the destination. Each step is just as important as the result and should be celebrated. Appreciate yourself and your efforts and take pride in each step of your journey.

• Journal your progress: keeping a journal is a good way of having accountability for yourself but is also good for tracking your progress and seeing how far you have come. Looking back on where you were a few days, weeks or months ago can lead to a feeling of fulfilment and growth!

• Focus on all aspects of yourself: focusing on your emotional wellbeing is just as important as focusing on your physical wellbeing. Make sure you take care of yourself from a physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and social perspective.

Here’s to you living your best, happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilling life!