Wellness, as defined by a quick Google search, is “the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.” The reality of wellness is so much more than that now. Wellness has broken the internet. A simple search will yield numerous accounts that all document the daily lives of individuals all seeking wellness in their lives, myself included. Good for us.
But here is an idea. Unwellness. Let’s take a step back from the cultural phenomenon that has us all wrapped up in clean chocolate brands, raw cheese, expensive skincare, and other items that we spend our money on and ask ourselves, is wellness causing us to be unwell?
My journey has taken me down a road of costly products that are promoted to enhance my wellness. Not that there’s anything wrong with these products. In fact, I love most of them! But it’s time to get back to the root of what wellness really is… Taking care of yourself. With that being said, I’ve composed a list of five things I’m focusing on to get back to true wellness.
Declutter
Our lives (unless you're a minimalist) are filled with clutter. Clutter in our closets, in our minds, on our news feeds. It’s everywhere. So the first thing I decided to do to aid my wellness journey was declutter. No, I didn’t Marie Kondo my entire house, but I did make an attempt to get rid of the things that just don’t make sense; empty cardboard boxes, shoes that were worn and torn, expired food (don’t judge, go check your cupboards.) I also decided to declutter my news feed. In fact, I took it a step further and created an entirely new account and only followed people I feel will have a positive impact on my mental health. I considered deleting social media altogether, which truth be told is probably the best thing I could do, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually do it. By decluttering, I’m creating a cleaner and more open space. I feel less constrained by the stuff that's taking over my home and my newsfeed.
Hot Girl Walks
The “Hot Girl Walk” was a trend this summer and it was nothing groundbreaking. In fact, people walk every day. But suddenly the term was coined, and the trend exploded on social media. And just like that, walking became a thing. Social media is funny like that. It can take something obsolete and turn it into this social trend that everyone does. In some instances, I love that for us. In other instances, like the singular spicy chip that forced people to seek emergency care, I hate that for us.
I was late to the “Hot Girl Walk” trend as it started approximately around the time that you melt when you step outside your door. Now it is officially fall and I can enjoy stepping out my front door and taking in the fresh air and sunshine. I have to admit, I used to think walking was lame. Yes, I take my dog for walks. That is for him, not me. I never saw the benefits of walking and barely reached 8,000 steps per day. Yikes!
Then, I decided to start walking a minimum of 10,000-12,000 steps a day. It’s no secret that getting your steps in is good for you. It can help you lose weight and blah blah blah. But really, it’s just good for your soul. Fresh air, sunshine, and movement. Anytime I start to feel unmotivated, I tell myself, “It’s just walking, you can walk.” The perks are that you get to listen to some rad playlists you put together, or an audiobook. I’ve listened to four audiobooks since I started walking daily. And on days when I feel overwhelmed by listening to something, I walk with my thoughts. I take in the sounds around me and focus on the tall glass of orange juice I’ll have as soon as I get home. It’s the little things.
No More Diets
I recently decided that food was annoying. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love food, but trying to decide between what’s good for me and what’s bad for me, is annoying. Everywhere I turn there is an advertisement for food. Whether it’s a diet that helps you with food, junk food that tastes amazing, or food that tastes like the “bad” stuff but is actually good for you because it has cleaner ingredients, my brain is fried. When did food get so complicated? I'm over deciding what’s healthy and what’s not healthy. Instead of being torn between good and bad foods, I’m making healthier choices and cutting back on portion sizes. By doing this, I focus on fueling my body with things that make me feel good. It truly is an experiment. Three spoonful's of cookie dough give me a really bad headache. A handful of Tru Fru, taste delicious and no headache.
My favorite new (to me) discovery is Tru Fru. Holy moly that stuff is amazing. It took a lot of self-control to not eat an entire bag. If you, like me, have not tried the stuff, let me paint a picture for you. Frozen pieces of fruit covered in white chocolate and dark or milk chocolate. It is delish! It’s a wonderful opportunity to practice self-control because you will want to eat the entire bag.
Less Caffeine
This one makes me sad, because I love coffee. I’m such a coffee fanatic that I consider myself on the Gilmore Girl level of coffee drinking. But alas, my anxiety does not feel the same about coffee as I do. I remember the day I made the decision to cut back on caffeine. It was recently enough. I had three cups of coffee that day and out of nowhere a major panic attack. Everything was in order, and I was safe, the only thing I could think of was the amount of caffeine I had that day. At that point I made the decision to cut back. Each day I do my best to have one cup only. Some days it’s two. Focusing on my mental health is such a huge part of my wellness check because I want to make sure I feel good. That means no more panic attacks that were self-induced because of something I could ultimately control.
Bye Bye Scale
Okay, this one has been tough and I’m still struggling with not weighing myself everyday but it’s important. Part of my wellness check is not obsessing over my weight. I used to weigh myself every single day. For some, this might work well but for me it would set me up to either have a good day or a bad day. It would also be the factor that decided what I would eat for the day. Scale went up? Screw it I’ll eat what I want since it doesn’t matter anyway. Scale went down? I’m amazing and will eat healthier today since it’s obviously helping me. And round and round I would go. It was a toxic cycle that has seen me balloon to my heaviest. I didn’t actually throw the scale away, I just put it in a place I wouldn’t see every day. Low and behold, I find myself caring way less about the number and focusing more on how I feel.
All in all, I’m happy with this wellness check. Taking time to focus on things that are truly good for me, and my overall health is important, and you should do the same for yourself. Ask yourself, is what you're consuming really good for you, or is it making you unwell? Come up with your own list of things that can help you get back to the true meaning of wellness.
Getting back to the root of what wellness is - taking care of yourself. Very insightful and helpful. Thank you.
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