Say goodbye to fear and hello to wellness in 2021! I view each new year like a magical reset and usually, I like to take the opportunity to re-evaluate my life and set goals for the year. This year, however, instead of setting goals, the focus will be on improving overall health.
Farewell to fear and anxiety
I feel like I held my breath for the past ten months while living in a fearful limbo waiting for the world to get back to normal. I watched while people started to view neighbors as potential threats and everyone’s circles began to get smaller.
Not being able to see family and friends has been isolating and lonely. Worse, it’s starting to feel normal. This is not okay. It’s time to leave behind all of that fear to make room for hope.
Focus on what you can control
Redirect your focus away from the headlines shouting about our dark future and start to concentrate on what you can control. A positive attitude can go a long way to improve mental health in this difficult and ever-changing environment. In fact, embracing personal wellness can help to build resilience.
Wellcome wellness
Wellness and health are not the same things. The definition of health is being free of injury or illness while wellness is actually about balance.
Being ‘healthy’ is not just about nutrition and exercise. It’s also about our relationships, family life, job, environment, purpose, and even personal fulfillment. It’s a big picture idea representing all the parts of your life and how well you balance these areas.
Wellness strategies
Practicing self-care and stress management can add stability to your life and will contribute to overall health. They are in fact, very important for physical and mental wellbeing and contribute to happiness and life satisfaction.
What does wellness mean to people?
I recently asked people what they thought wellness represented and I was pleasantly surprised by the answers:
- Being okay with yourself when your health isn’t perfect.
- Participating in life.
- Being able to do things that matter.
- Finding peace.
You need more than blueberries to thrive
I once learned that you can exercise and eat all the blueberries you want to but if you’re unhappy, or not acknowledging and addressing mental health, you will not thrive.
Last year as the pandemic raged on, I didn’t realize how anxious I was getting. I let my fear overpower me and forgot to practice any self-care or stress management strategies. I shuttered myself in my house, didn’t give relationships outside my bubble the attention they deserved, and it was all to my detriment. It’s no wonder I ended up with panic attacks!
Wellness matters.
Mental health, relationships, purpose, nutrition, physical activity, and spirituality all contribute to overall health. My commitment to myself for 2021 is to no longer let fear guide my decisions and to make some easily attainable goals that will improve my attitude and boost my immune system including:
- Walks in nature because I find it meditative as well as good exercise.
- Write in my journal at least weekly. It’s therapeutic! A great way to work through anxiety and to acknowledge the good things happening in life.
- Add a daily smoothie to help meet nutritional needs.
- Redirect my focus to things I can control.
- Say goodbye to fear and hello to wellness!
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