As human beings, we are granted the gift of this vessel we call our bodies. Within it are all of the tools we need to interact with the world around us. These tools allow us to accomplish our ultimate goal and purpose in life – to create daily. There is no simpler way to gauge the success of a day than to ask yourself at the end of the day, “did I create today?” The depth and breadth of our ability to create is what sets us apart from all other beings on this planet. Our thumbs, our spoken and written language, and our ability to reason are just some of the tools that the universe has granted us in this journey we call life.
In order to take care of our most sacred vessel and the tools that it possesses, we must have a guiding light or beacon that keeps us on the right path and going in the right direction. That light is a true understanding of the meaning and application of wellness.
If you were to draw a line between death and optimum health, where would you be right now? Most people think that their current location on this line is what defines how well they are. They could not be further from right. A much more important question to ask yourself is, “which direction am I going?” If your arrow is pointing towards optimum health, then that is wellness. Wellness is a direction, not a destination.
The truth about this line is that it is actually a mountain. Optimum health is at the top of the mountain and in order to be on the wellness path, you must climb the mountain. What determines the height of the mountain? There are many mountains that we must climb in our lives. Each has its own height and difficulty and each is determined by our genetics. However, our genetics do not prevent us from climbing the mountain. Determining the height and difficulty of the mountains we must climb is all that our genetics can do. Do not allow genetics to become an excuse in your life.
The direction we go on this mountain is determined every day by the choices that we make. Poor choices leave us tumbling down the mountain while wise choices allow us to climb the mountain. There are many people that can help you with these mountain climbs by making the climb easier for you. We will call them your wellness Sherpas or coaches. People like fitness trainers, nutritionists, chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, psychologists, counselors, and life coaches among others can provide you a peg on the mountain you can reach for. What they can not do for you is grab your arm and lift you up. You must make the decision to be on the wellness path and do the climbing by yourself.
So what is wellness? Previous definitions of wellness have been verbose yet limited in scope. Wellness must be defined in a way that encompasses the entire life’s journey. I have spent countless hours researching and soul searching to come up with this definition with every word chosen very carefully.
Wellness is the constant, conscious pursuit of living life to its fullest potential.
The universe will value our lives based on what we do most of the time, not what we do once or twice. This includes our appearance, our eating habits, our interactions with others, our behaviors, and our creations. We cannot pursue the fullest potential of our lives unconsciously. A life on auto-pilot is a life not lived.
A conscious pursuit requires constant assessment.
