Starting a wellness journey can be so very daunting. I get it. I have been there. I am still there, but making leaps and bounds the further I go down the road of holistic health.
Not only is it daunting, but it is OVERWHELMING.
In the age of technology, humans are saturated with far too much health information. Some of it is good, and a lot of it is not the best advice (to put it gently). If you are just beginning your health journey, I can assume that it is difficult to decipher what advice to follow. In this sphere I would simply encourage you to do your research diligently, and not just listen to what an instagram influencer says to you.
Over my health journey years I have done great damage to my body by taking health advice, but doing no research to back up my choices.
Today’s post will not be diving into specific health tips that I have researched and found allow my body to flourish.
Here are some posts to check out if you are looking for specific tips on holistic health:
5 False Nutrition Beliefs that You Need to Rewire
Instead today I am going to give you 5 tips to help you kickstart your wellness journey. First thing’s first, though, first a wellness journey should be defined.
What is a Wellness Journey?
The Global Wellness Institue defines wellness as “the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.”
The key part of the definition listed above is that wellness is directly related to holistic health, which looks at the body as a whole unit, instead of individual parts. Wellness is also something that is actively pursued, meaning it does not just get handed to you. Instead, you have to pursue it with passion and dedication.
With the definition of wellness in mind, it can be stated that a wellness journey is the act of pursuing a lifestyle which leads to greater health and wellbeing.
This health does not just involve physical appearance. While being physically fit is important to health, it is ABSOLUTELY NOT everything. There is so much more to health than this.
A wellness journey is not one-size-fits-all. We are all individual bodies with individual needs and goals. Health is not linear, and it will most likely shift over time. Please keep this in mind, and give yourself grace if you are not where you want to be. That is what the 5 tips below are for!
5 Tips for Beginning a Wellness Journey
1) Identify Where You are Currently At
Before you begin your journey, it is important to first recognize where you are at. This is vital to your journey because it is important to face the things you want to change. It is hard to pursue new goals if we are unaware of our current ways and habits.
Having self-awareness in this is key. It is difficult to be diligent in pursuing wellness if we are unaware of the things we struggle with and want to improve. I would encourage you to sit down for 5 minutes answer these questions in a journal:
-What good habits do you have in place? How do they positively impact your wellness journey?
-What habits hinder you wellness journey?
-Where do you see yourself a year from now?
Be honest with yourself in these questions so that you have a clear direction on where you want to go next.
2) Determine Changes you Want to Make
Now that you have journaled about you current habits and have dreamed about where you would like to be, focus on the habits that hinder your wellness journey.
Think or write about how you can change these habits in order to better serve you and lead you on a path towards wellness.
Look at the things hindering your health journey, and learn to let these things go. Whether they are habits, goals, or dreams, sometimes we get in the way of our own healing because we cannot let go of the thing holding us back. Reflect on how to let these things go. It does not have to be an immediate change. Letting things go, like the rest of the wellness journey, takes patience and time. It is well worth it though.
3) Set Goals
Once you have done all of this self-reflection, you can begin setting goals for your wellness journey. Goals are amazing because they can give you direction, and set the path for where you would like to be a year from now, and even further into the future.
I would recommend setting 1 goal in each pillar of wellness. I recommend this because it can get so easy to focus solely on physical health. This is a dangerous game to play because focusing only on physical health can hurt other facets of health in the long run, leaving your body more depleted and stressed than it originally was.
Again, this is not to say that you should not set physical health goals. This is simply to say that you should set MORE than just fitness goals.
Below I have suggested different goals to set based upon the different dimensions of health listed by the Global Wellness Institute.
-Environmental Goal Example: Have a circadian rhythm reset by becoming more in tune with the sunlight.
-Social Goal Example: Find friends that have a similar interest in pursuing wellness.
-Spiritual Goal Example: Discover my purpose.
-Emotional Goal Example: Learn to better control my emotions.
Mental Goal Example: Be more grateful on a daily basis
-Physical: Heal my gut health.
4) Develop Habits
Once you set these goals, turn them into habits that you do on a daily basis. I would recommend slowly implementing habits, so that you have time to ease into a new routine without adding extra stress. Pick one thing from each category of wellness below, ensuring that it will help you to reach your goals that you have set for yourself. Is that too overwhelming? Pick one thing to implement, or set your own goal that you will implement a daily habit to reach.
-Environmental Goals: Practice 10 minutes of grounding every morning, go on at least one nature excursion a month, reduce plastic use, switch to clean cosmetics, switch out cleaning products, be more aware of the contents in clothing or furniture
-Social Goals: Meet a friend face-face monthly, eat dinner at the table, go on 2 walks a month with friends, volunteer with an organization, attend one social event each week
-Spiritual Goals: Spend time every morning in prayer, journal daily, seek truth, read your Bible daily, understand that your life is filled with purpose, meditate daily
-Emotional & Mental: Journal daily, practice gratitude daily, practice 10 minutes of self-care daily, turn off technology at least 3 hours daily, develop a morning/night routine, stop working at 5 PM, find a creative outlet and practice at least 15 minutes daily
-Physical: Drink x amount of mineralized water daily, walk 30 minutes each day, get 45 minutes of exercise at least 4 times a week, take recovery days, practice yoga 3x’s per week, prioritize sleep, eat whole foods, limit processed foods, spend time outside daily
5) Be Flexible
I cannot stress how important this step is in your wellness journey. You can have your goals set and habits forming, but you do not have to be perfect. Please allow yourself grace, because it can be challenging as you begin your health journey.
Do not be dismayed if you struggle to form habits. It can take a while to figure out what works for you.
If your goals change, that is okay too. You are constantly evolving as your begin your wellness journey.
Do not let the process overwhelm you. If it adds more stress to your life, it will hinder the wellness journey.
Learn to allow balance amidst the journey. I am so proud of you. If you would like to jump into this journey, please send me a message. I would love to see how I can help you, and answer any questions you may have.
To Recap Launching Your Wellness Journey
These 5 Steps are an amazing way to launch your wellness journey for a lifetime full of health, vibrancy, and tuning into your tuition.
These 5 steps are:
- Identify Where You are Currently At
- Determine Changes you Want to make
- Set Goals
- Develop Habits
- Be Flexible
Are you ready to launch your wellness journey? Pin this post so that you can start taking ownership of your health today, share it on your favorite platform!
Feel free to contact me or comment below with any questions you may have!
