The 5 Components of Health and Wellness & How to Enjoy Each Daily
Energy is everything.
While our culture likes to spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about happiness, I believe energy is what we all should really be trying to optimize
The best way to do that is to take care of the 5 components of health and wellness.
- Physical
- Mental
- Emotional
- Social
- Spiritual
But telling someone to eat right, work out, sleep better, and build deeper relationships is general, unactionable, and therefore unusable advice.
So in this article, I’ll offer some specific habits for each one of these 5 areas that you can incorporate into your daily routine to increase your energy and hopefully leave you feeling a little bit healthier.
How to Enjoy the 5 Components of Health and Wellness Daily
1. Physical Wellness
Physical wellness involves maintaining a healthy body through things like exercise, nutrition, and rest.
Daily Habit: Walking
Take one fifteen-minute walk every day. First thing in the morning or after dinner.
Walking is a simple way to regularly improve your physical wellness.
I find my walks are best and easiest to keep in a routine when they’re either first thing in the morning or right after a meal.
A few other ways you can incorporate more walking movement into your daily life are:
- Walking Meetings: Instead of sitting in a conference room or coffee shop, suggest walking meetings. This not only adds steps but also boosts creativity and improves conversation.
Steve Jobs was known for his walking meetings.
- Walk During Breaks: When taking a break during the day, instead of lying down on the couch or in your car and scrolling, try a 5-10-minute walk. You’ll get movement plus leave the break with a boost to your energy and mood.
- Take the Stairs: Opt for the stairs whenever possible instead of elevators or escalators.
Don’t believe walking can dramatically improve your health? Check out this article from the American Heart Association
2. Mental Wellness
Mental wellness is all about maintaining a healthy mind with practices like mindfulness, meditation, and learning to control the brain.
Daily Habit: Gratitude Journal
Gratitude has been proven to increase happiness and life satisfaction.
Writing down a few things you’re grateful for every morning is a quick and easy habit to practice gratitude and improve mental wellbeing daily.
How to Integrate a Daily Gratitude Journal into Your Routine:
- Choose Your Medium: Decide whether you prefer a physical journal, phone app, or even a sticky note.
- Set a Regular Time: Dedicate a specific time each day for this practice. Most people find that early morning or late evening works best as it allows you to either prepare for the day with a positive mindset or reflect before bedtime.
- Write Three Things: Start by writing down three things you are grateful for each day. These can be as simple as appreciating a good cup of coffee, a smile from a stranger, or something significant like family support during a tough time.
3. Emotional Wellness
Emotional wellness involves understanding and managing your emotions effectively.
Daily Habit: Verbal Positive Affirmations
In the same way that the words we say to others have a big impact on their emotions, the words we say to ourselves do too.
Positive affirmations can boost self-esteem and emotional resilience. Here’s how to incorporate them into your daily routine:
- Choose Meaningful Affirmations: Select affirmations that resonate with you and address areas where you need support. Examples include “I am capable of _” or “I am worthy of love and respect.”
- Use the Present Tense: Affirmations are most effective when phrased in the present tense, as if they are currently true. For instance, saying, “I am confident in my ability to handle whatever comes my way,” reinforces a sense of capability that is already within you.
- Visualize Things Going Right: We often like to think of how things can go wrong, but what about how they can go right? When repeating your affirmations, try to visualize the outcome in action.
Learn more about affirmations from the Cleveland Clinic here.
4. Social Wellness
Social wellness involves building and maintaining healthy, supportive relationships with others.
Daily (Well Actually Weekly) Habit: Sunday Night Phone Call
- Set a Regular Schedule: Commit to a specific time each Sunday night for your call.
- Prepare Conversation Topics: Think ahead about what you’d like to discuss. This could be events from the past week, common interests, or questions that encourage your new friend to share about themselves.
- Choose a New Friend Each Week
5. Spiritual Wellness
Spiritual wellness involves finding meaning and purpose in life. It includes practices that nurture your spirit and help you connect with your inner self and the world around you.
Daily Habit: Connect with Nature
- Get Outside Every Day: Make it a priority to spend time in nature regularly. Whether it’s a weekly hike, a quiet morning walk in the park, or even gardening in your backyard, find activities that physically place you in natural settings.
- Be Present: While outdoors, turn off the music and podcasts and pay attention to the sounds of birds, the texture of the ground under your feet, the smell of the trees, and the overall beauty of the surroundings.
Conclusion
By embracing practices that enhance physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual wellness, not just when you feel like it, but as a daily practice, the effects will compound 365 times a year and you will hopefully begin to enjoy a fuller, more satisfying, and more energetic life.
So, start small, be consistent, and watch as these practices collectively uplift your everyday experiences, leading you to a healthier, happier you.
