Dec
This clip has always cracked me up. “Your name, with ness attached to it” It really is a great way of thinking. And it scary enough got me thinking. How many words do you know with NESS at the end?
But what does NESS actually mean at the end of the word? Please bear in mind that I am no English guru and my definition is taken off the internet and we all know how reliable that source can be. The definition of the suffix NESS:
The state of, or condition of being something
So going back to the clip, Carlness is the state of being Carl (pretty cool when you actually think about it!).
But I want to talk not about your last name + ness (although my Dadness is on fire right now), but of a word that has NESS at the end that people really don’t think about the full meaning:
WELLNESS
The state of being well. There are quite a few professionals in the health industry that throws this word around because they know it is a trend and they want to be part of it. Even I have the term “wellness” throughout my site. But when you see the word wellness next time, I want you to really think about what wellness means and what the person using the word is actually offering.
Wellness isn’t just weight loss. It isn’t just fitness (the state of being fit!). It isn’t just nutrition. It is your entire life. Every aspect of your life in perfect harmony. Because one thing is out of balance, the state that you are in gets misaligned and you are no longer in a state of being well. Everything has to be one cohesive team. That is being in a state of well being.
Are you in a state of well being? Can you take a step back from your life and honestly say that every aspect of your life is in perfect harmony? How is your stress level? How are your eating habits? How is your BMI? How is your physical activity? How is your work environment? How is your home environment? How is your financial situation? How are your relationships with the people in your life?
Wait – how do my relationships and my money and my home environment affect my wellness? I thought it was just my health
Here is where it gets tricky in my eyes for many people. Wellness is about health, yes. But everything in your life affects your health. If you don’t have good relationships, your social health is faulty. Financial issues cause stress on relationships. Your home environment could depend a lot on your motivation to get your physical activity in. Everything is connected. Every aspect of your life is factored into the state of well being. If you can honestly say that every aspect of your life is in perfect harmony, welcome to wellness.
If you are like the majority of people in the world and just aren’t there yet, guess what – you can get there. And getting there isn’t hard at all. Taking simple steps throughout different areas of your entire life will make drastic changes to your well being. It is the butterfly effect: A butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil will cause a hurricane in Florida (or so the theory goes). A small change in one area of your life will make a drastic change in your life.
So Where Do I Start?
The journey to a million miles starts with the first step. Sadly, the first step is the hardest step to take. More people fail at starting, then fail at doing. A wellness coach can help you find your specific situation and your specific change in your life. But if you are looking for a place to start, start with you. Do this exercise next time you are laying in your bed before you go to sleep. I do this exercise every night. It will do a few things for you. One, it will give you incredible insight into your life if you do it right and two, it has an incredible way to relax you and help you fall asleep.
Before you fall asleep, imagine you had the ability to step out of your life. Literally. Play the day you just went through as if you were an outsider looking in. As if you were watching a movie. Watch what you did. How you reacted to situations. What you ate. How you sat. How you talked to people. How you conduct yourself. How you were motivated, or unmotivated. If you are able to take a step back and look at your life from the outside, you are more apt to pick up on habits you never knew you had. You may be surprised at the results. I know I have been. You get so caught up in life you don’t realize half of what you are doing. Being aware is the biggest thing you can do in order to make a change. The first step in change is realizing something needs to change. If you keep doing what you have always done, you are always going to get what you always got. Figure out what you need to change, then go out and change it. I know that is easier said than done, but trust me, it isn’t as hard as some gurus make it out to be.
Take Away Point: Wellness isn’t just fitness (fit+ness), or nutrition, or stress management, or any particular one topic. It is everything. It is your entire state of well being. You need to ensure every aspect of your wellness is in check if you want to achieve total wellness.
