“When you have talked yourself into what you want, right there is the place to stop talking and begin saying it with deeds.”
-Napoleon Hill, Author
When it comes to embracing a life of wellness, one of the first steps often involves this idea of creating a wellness vision. That is, you create a vision of your ideal life of well-being; where in, you see yourself as you would if you are already living it. What does it look like? What are some of the lifestyle practices and details surrounding or supporting it? One thing to consider in making this a bit more interesting is to make it as detailed as possible. Where would you live? What would you do with your time? Would you be working? And if so, what would you be doing? Would you spend more time in the garden, exercising, painting, building, writing or in the great outdoors? Once you have captured the idea, the next step is to write it out. A wellness vision is written in first person as if you were already living it. For example:
“I am involved in meaningful work, while making sure to take time for family and friends. I am fit and healthy in mind and body. I take time for daily reflection, prayer or meditation. I am living my greatest values and ideals. I am enjoying life.”
If you decide to embrace this quest of establishing a wellness vision, there are some questions that may be worth reflecting on.
- Who am I really? What are my likes, dislikes, personality traits, preferences, passions, etc.? Although getting these details down on paper may take time, it is well worth the investment when it comes time to determining if your wellness vision aligns with who you really are.
- What are my deepest held values? This is another important element to reflect on when considering your wellness vision as your values often are captured within a well-crafted vision.
- What are my greatest strengths? Author Marcus Buckingham once described a strength as something you can get lost in. That is, you could spend hours in this activity or activities and never feel worn out from it. Rather than draining you, spending time doing it actually energizes you. Another thing to consider when reflecting on your strengths is to ask others who really know you the question: “What do you believe are some of my greatest strengths?” And lastly, pay attention to potential feedback from those whom you may not know personally…like a statement “You’re really good at that.”
- What is it that you want? When it comes to living your life of optimal well-being, what is it that you are really seeking? What areas of wellness have your greatest attention?
If we can answer the above questions honestly and thoroughly, you will have what we need to begin crafting a well-crafted wellness vision. The last two steps are to choose a future date for your vision to be in place (where you are actually living it) and to begin writing some short-term action steps that will help you begin moving in that direction.
Greg McCann is a certified Wellness Coach, a certified Personal Trainer and a certified Yoga Instructor.