Your wellness and overall well-being include many different components and are influenced by a variety of factors. Depedning on which scholar you read, there are between 7-12 dimensions of well-being. I prefer to consider well-being in relation to the 10 interconnected dimansion found on the Wheel of Life. These include: Health & Fitness; Career & Work; Money & Finance; Fun & Recreation; Enviornment; Community & Contribution; Family & Friends; Parnter & Love; Growth & Learning; and Spirituality.
Taking care of all of these areas at once can be quite overwhelming, so creating a plan for addressing these components requires strategic thinking. To create a holistic strategy that will address all the essential aspects of your well-being, you need to follow the steps below. These steps which are designed to enable you to think strategically about what you need and how you want to accomplish it.
Step 1: Identify Your Current Well-Being in Each Area
Taking care of all of these areas at once can be quite overwhelming, so creating a plan for addressing these components requires strategic thinking. To create a holistic strategy that will address all the essential aspects of your well-being, you need to follow the steps below. These steps which are designed to enable you to think strategically about what you need and how you want to accomplish i.e about what comprises “well-being” in a particular domain, you can search online to understand what falls within these categories. Thanks to our friends at PositivePsychology.com, you can access a Wheel of Life worksheet [INSERT HYPERLINK] to help you in this process.
Step 2: Set Strategic Goals
You need a goal for each of the areas for improvement. Goals work best when they are specific, short-term, achievable, and measurable. You want something you can commit to for a few months, something that is currently just outside your capabilities, and that will help you develop healthier long-term habits to enhance your well-being.
You should also set a long-term goal for each domain. These are things you are striving for over the next few years. If you were to imagine your emotional well-being in, say, two years, what would you like to have achieved? Your short-term goals should help you to slowly build toward this ultimate destination.
Step 3: Track Your Progress
Outline your plan on your calendar, including milestones, important reminders, and other dates that will be important for measuring your success. Be sure to include checkpoints and other dates that will keep you on track.
In a journal or on a chart, you should track your daily progress toward reaching your short-term goal. Mark off how many times you engage in a new habit or other measurements that pertain to your ability to reach your goal in the prescribed timeframe.
Reflect on your progress weekly and monthly. Weekly check-ins can be to see how well you are sticking with your new habits and to adjust as needed. Monthly check-ins should also see if you are on track to reach your goal and if changes need to be made to your plan or your thinking.
Journal regularly to monitor how the changes you are making are affecting your overall well-being. Are you noticing changes in your outlook, your health, or your career that have come about because of your focus on well-being? What lessons are you learning, and how do you feel about your personal growth work? Journals are a fantastic way to capture the other aspects of this work that are not as measurable on a chart or calendar.
Step 4: Update Your Plan
Every three or four months, you should sit down and update your wellness plan. Start back at step one and consider how you feel now about your well-being in each of the strategic areas. Write new goals for yourself, using what you have learned from your previous work to make more strategic choices. As you change and your life shifts, certain areas may become more or less relevant to you, so be sure your plan reflects this, as well.
In order to help you on your wellness journey, download my free XZY resources which will get you started.
Until next time, many blessings and much peace! xo