Continuing with our journey on how we can get more fulfilment and happiness in life, my pen today is turning to Health and Well Being. Interestingly you have given a huge response to this in the survey we invited you to complete. I will send you a full report on that in the next P.S. Life Can Be Easy newsletter, due soon. Thank you.
Meanwhile regarding health and well-being – there wa s a time when I believed this to be just a New Year seasonal thing to assess and maybe adjust our current state.
But ten years into the new millennium it’s becoming more and more obvious that as we evolve through our lives we are questioning more and more as we seek new answers on our quest for the ‘feel good factor’, being stress free and happy.
Maybe it’s because of economic gloom in the media, a sense we will all have less disposable income therefore expect pain, misery and the end of life as we know it, that we are searching for new hope and solutions?
But if this is the case, how can we explain how some people have never looked in these areas for health and well being in the first place? Do these people need money and a tiger economy to be happy? Do you believe that your health and well being is dependant on disposable income anyway?
Some people spend their pocket money on going to a health club, maybe a personal trainer, buying healthy vitamins from the relevant health food shops. Arguably we need money for that.
Wellbeing may be associated with picking up bargains in the January sales, or having a new car because we have grown tired of the current one? For some it’s knowing that the summer holiday is booked thus ensuring rest and fun time ahead.
For the girls – maybe it is being able to buy the latest seasons’ fashions to feel and look bang up to date? Whereas the guys prefer to know they can have the latest techno gadget for work or leisure; I think this is known as retail therapy!
For this blog let’s explore further what exactly we mean by Health and Well Being; accepting there may be different takes on this.
Let’s assume HEALTH is – the state of being bodily and mentally vigorous and free from disease, as per the dictionary, in other words not ill!
And then WELL BEING – the condition of being contented, healthy or successful; welfare.
Now accepting we may all choose a different formula to get to our desired result, with our health and well being, we still all have in common that desired state to be free of disease and feel contented.
Admittedly this is not always easy, when there are so many winter bugs going around and so much negative thinking in the press on the economy. But if we take a look at the true definitions of Health and Well Being, there is little to suggest that our happiness should depend on staying free from other people’s germs and the economy anyway.
The first gift to give ourselves is this;
We will attract or detract illnesses according to how healthy we are within our bodies in the first place. Diet, exercise and attitude all play a part in this, as we know. They largely dictate how vulnerable or protected we are against catching ailments from others.
But wellbeing, I feel, runs deeper. In my experience well being or being well is all about being satisfied, peaceful, relaxed and unperturbed within ourselves. It is about being true to ourselves, honest, without fear of ourselves or others. It’s about having relationships that work and bring us happiness and if they no longer work, that we are at least completely free of anger, hurt or resentment towards the other person. It’s about having a relationship with ourselves that brings us confidence, clarity, assurance, freedom from guilt, regret worry and fear.
Where we do not fear being judged by others, where there is no need to judge other people. It’s about feeling happy for others’ success without feeling threatened ourselves.
It’s about being able to meet anyone, anywhere at anytime from your past without guilt, shame, anger or regret. It’s about not feeling judged, disliked, put down, jealous of, by other people – and if this is the case – not letting it bother us.
Is all this possible? Of course it is. It is this perfect state that nature intends for every one of us. But we have to want it enough , be prepared to strive for it, feel worthy and determined to have it. We need to make a plan and stick to it.
The reality is that if we look after our well being, our health takes care of itself. And if we don’t have illnesses, we are not taxing our well being. Both are connected positively or negatively, depending on how we choose to live our life.
Sometimes it is hard to understand that we don’t have to play the victim in life. Realising it is just a choice, is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
Isn’t it reassuring to know that health and well being is not just dependant on the economy and the amount of money we have at our disposal? Granted, a little can sometimes help but then the tendancy within us all is to believe that just having a bit more OR that better news, will somehow give us better health and well being. That’s being dependant on ‘things’ and ‘others’ to make us happy.
Our Health and Well Being is all up to us and yes that takes commitment. But the good news is, we are in charge to get the results we want; irrespective of what others think and do.
Over the coming weeks I will be sharing with you how we can look after our Health and Well Being by taking charge.
After all isn’t that what we are all seeking?
Have a good week
Billy
