Starting Your Wellness Journey
Sometimes the way you are living your life just isn’t working out anymore. Maybe you aren’t feeling as well as you think you could, or you have problems managing certain areas of our lives.
Realizing that there is a need to change is the first step to actually changing, and if you’ve taken that first step you may be wondering what’s next for me on my journey to wellness?
Here we will share with you the foundation of starting your wellness journey so that you can begin on the right foot.
Assess and Reflect
Once you have made the decision to embark on your wellness journey you will need to sit down with yourself and reflect. What habits do you currently have? Are they healthy or destructive? What kind of people do you surround yourself with? Do they lift you up and support you or do they lead you down a bad path? What is it that I really want to do with my life? What is wellness to me?
When you ask yourself these questions, be totally honest. Lying to yourself will not help you grow. Think about what parts of your life are aligned with what you truly aspire to achieve and which parts are harming you or that you think you could improve on.
Writing down your thoughts is a good way to keep things organized and get them out of your head. Daily journaling can also be a great tool to utilize along your path to wellness as it can help you to regularly reflect on your current situation and emotions.
Define Clear Objectives
After thinking about what you’d like to change in your life, it’s time to focus on how you will go about accomplishing your goals. You need to think to yourself ‘How can I get from where I am now to where I want to be in the future?’.
The best way to do this is to make your goals as defined and clear as possible. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, you can set a goal to fast for six hours every other day or to replace an unhealthy snack with a healthier alternative once a day. Whatever your goal is, you need to set objectives that are measurable so that you can keep track of your progress and reach a defined endpoint.
Designing Your Plan
Once you have established your crystal clear goals, it is time to begin actually creating the plan for your wellness journey. This plan should mainly be centered around the goals you have made for yourself, and how you are going to set yourself up to achieve these goals.
A well designed wellness plan incorporates many spheres of life, such as nutrition, sleep hygiene, exercise, mindfulness and self-care. Think about how each of these categories affects our ability to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Getting adequate amounts of sleep and exercise will elevate your mood and give you the energy to confront the challenges of everyday life. Using mindfulness to reduce stress and remain grounded will do wonders for your mental wellbeing. And of course, eating a balanced diet will result in you feeling your best and keep your body functioning at its peak.
It is always a good idea to seek guidance from a counselor or other professional who can help you form your plan based on your own personal objectives and help you with your specific struggles.
Building and Maintaining Healthy Habits
Building habits takes time, and that’s okay. When going through the process of making a change it is important to take it slow and start off small. While it’s tempting to go from 0 to 100, making small adjustments over larger periods of time will help you to form and maintain a habit that will last over time.
Consistency is the key with habits, so it’s important that you make it a point to engage in whatever activity you want to make a part of your routine daily. If you happen to mess up or forget a day, don’t worry too much. Just pick up where you left off and remember that every mistake is an opportunity to learn.
Nurture, Support and Adapt
No one can do everything by themselves, can they? Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then and having a support network is always a good thing. You’ll find that on your wellness journey the advice of a trusted friend or the family member who is always available to listen to your struggles will make all the difference in your level of success.
Letting your friends and family know that you are actively changing your lifestyle and asking for their support will help you to stick to your word and go through with the plan. You can also find communities who share the same values and work towards the same goals as you to find additional support on your wellness journey.
Also know that sometimes plans can change, and just because you started one way doesn’t mean you can’t adjust according to your needs. It’s a good idea to reflect every few weeks or so on your plan to see if it is still working well and whether or not you think you need to make any changes.
Take the First Step
Starting your wellness journey may seem challenging at first, but striving to live a balanced and healthy life is something achievable by all. If you are willing to put in a bit of dedication, never give up and forgive yourself when you fall short then you are well on your way to a better life. Here at [Polaris Counseling & Consulting] our hand picked team works seamlessly together to provide you with the high-quality and professional grade service you deserve with the personalized, authentic style you desire. We will work with you to confront your issues, move past your challenges, know what it takes to get you beyond your difficulties, and inspire you to achieve your fullest sense of self and discover true wellness.
Looking to book an appointment? Get started on your path to a healthier tomorrow here.
