Wellness goals are set by you. It is an individual journey to reach a sense of balance through a step by step process. When body, mind, and spirit work together in an energy filled balance you feel great. Finding wellness is a matter of becoming aware that one or more dimensions in your life are not in sync. Let’s look at how to get there.
Wellness Goals: You Hold The Key
This is Part II of The GOODista series on Wellness, and here we explore how a step-by step process leads to the wellness goals you set. Did you miss Part 1 – Wellness Defined?
Perhaps that you feel stuck because of early experiences, a difficult job, obligations and ‘must-dos’.
You hold the key to opening new doors – and you can change. In this post, you can read about how to take small steps, set mini-goals and develop a clear visualization of how to get to there. In the next post, we will look at how to turn ‘flight or flight’ response into so-called ‘flow’. Did you know that when we use stress positively we can find ‘Flow’ – a perfect feeling of balance. Want this too? The choice is yours.
Did you know that when we use stress positively we can find a perfect feeling of balance? Read Part 3 about how to turn ‘flight or flight’ response into so-called ‘flow’.
Join our mailing list for updates, newsletter and more: Learn More
Wellness Goals: Awareness
How well are you? Fine? OK… If you take this test, you may come back with a different answer: Health and Stress Test
Ask yourself if there are things in your life that you want to change? Here is the true secret: You have the key in your hand. You can unlock what needs to happen, by simply stating specifically what you would like to be different. The power of choice is yours.
By writing down what it is you want to see, you can then list 
what will happen if you don’t change. This might make you feel powerless, and you give up because the goal seems too far away – and excuses allow you to say ‘no’. It can also be a powerful motivation to decide to change, as you make the goal visible and reachable by mini-goals you set on the way. You can list what excites you about what happens if you change. This will make you want to fight for what can be yours.
Change Motivation
It can also be a powerful motivation to decide to change, as you make the goal visible and reachable by mini-goals you set on the way. You can list what excites you about what happens if you change. This will make you want to fight for what can be yours.
Looking at what area it is you want to change will trigger ‘start’ in you. A decision leads to an action plan in your head. You can be smart about this! Using a well-known method for reaching wellness goals step by step is an easier way to get to a final outcome.
Wellness Goals: Change Step By Step
Change is yours to be had if you decide to do so. In part I of this series on Wellness, we saw that there are 7 dimensions of wellness:
- Occupational: Want to change jobs? Job satisfaction from work that gives you recognition and that you feel you actively contribute to and thus get a sense of meaning from.
Emotional: Looking for love? Love and be loved. Family, and a special someone who supports you, and you give back to.- Spiritual: Inner calm – is that what you want? Religion or meditation – a resource you can turn to as a coping mechanism.
- Environmental: New house? Your surroundings, house, nature and the world we live in, with respect to its limited resources.
- Physical: Feeling energy drained? How you eat, move and sleep impact your physical overall being.
- Social: More time for your crowd? Friends, network and free time that you get enjoyment from. You give as much as you get.
- Intellectual: Travel the world? Culture, learning, curiosity in new things, worlds and a respect for everyone’s worth stretches our mind.
My readers pointed out that there is actually an eighth one: The ability to change lifestyle and continue to learn, grow and maintain the new habits that have formed from an initial decision. This is so right!
Wellness Goals: Seeing The Change Need
The ability to see that change is needed is not given when you work in extreme hardship, or on a 24/7 non-stop schedule that involve emails that come in the night, children that need your attention – or because you have suffered a loss which you haven’t dealt with.
We are hardwired to work hard, keep on going and dealing with ‘it’. We don’t allow ourselves to say ‘stop’. We have not found, in most cases, a voice within that tells us what is working – and what is not.
Finding that little voice takes courage and active awareness that something has to give, as it otherwise may lead to a bigger mess than what we are in right now. Give yourself the gift of small steps – it does give better results 🙂
Wellness Goals: Step By Step
Start small: Grab an apple and consider eating it instead of a bag of crisps. Take a five-minute walk. Have a break in the middle of the day, and open the window and stare out. Browse the internet for inspiring articles. Allow yourself to think the thought: I want to change.- Set goals: Make a plan, that is based on your needs and wants. No-one but you can truly define what is right for you. You can seek professional help for guidance, and help you define your plan – but the goal is yours.
- Learn how: Learning how to change is the first step. Get books, DVDs, internet advice and understand how to get the tools for what you want to achieve. An article that The GOODista highly recommends is Wellness From Within, by AHHA. It covers how you make yourself captain of your team, and what that team represents. By becoming aware that a change is needed, you can identify what triggers you, and make words into action.
- Make a lifestyle change diary: Write down the steps you are taking, and evaluate as you go along. You learn every day in this process, and will eventually see that by working on one wellness dimension – you can make a plan for another one.
Mini-Goals, Rewards, and Discipline: Let your mini-goals become part of your lifetime achievement award collection, and reward yourself. A new top from Gap, a book, a pair of shoes? Be hard on yourself too. If you miss one day – hey! that’s not bad — it’s normal! But – 7 days in a row? Then you need to discipline yourself. Read back in your achievement journal — and find the motivation again. Perhaps you need to re-formulate your wellness goals a bit?
Wellness Goals: One Change Gives Another
The really exciting thing is that each dimension of wellness interact with the others – so by addressing one you will positively impact the others too.
Start therefore by giving your body more energy for your change journey. An ‘easy’ one to grasp is the physical dimension. Don’t set yourself up for a marathon, simply try to eat a bit better, exercise again, and drink more water.
Trust me. I started with trying to eat better, exercising a bit – 
and eventually ended up altering my life. I have changed jobs, commute and am now living a mindful, happier existence that allows me to maintain my wellness balance.
Your wellness goals are yours – and you decide what works for you. There is no give recipe for all! By seeing the change you want to be is a great start to the best journey you will ever do!
Keep reading The GOODista for tips on how you can make lifestyle changes, and check out our tailored Coaching.
Recommended and Related:
- What is Wellness – University of California
- How To Change Your Energy Flows and Take Charge – thegoodista.com
- 13 Ways To Beat Stress In 15 Minutes Or Less – Huffington Post/Health.com
- Goal Setting as a Way to Achieve Optimal Wellness – Mercola.com
- How To Create A Wellness Plan – WikiHow
- Wellness From Within – AHHA
Brilliant and so obviously based on experience, thank you! A great help and real advice!