| Practicing Wellness by Lloyd J. Thomas Most of us are unaware of what we need to do to optimize our health. Sure, we have heard about taking vitamins, diet and exercise. But most of what we know describes what we must do to minimize the probability of becoming sick. Vitamins are described as a "minimum daily requirement." Diets are described as "for losing weight." And exercise is usually prescribed as maintenance of your current fitness. We know little of how to maximize our individual wellness. So below are a few suggestions for becoming optimally well. ¥ Think of your health as an ongoing process. Maximum health is not a state that you can achieve once and for all. No more than you can eat a single huge meal and not eat for the rest of the month, you cannot make a single change in your lifestyle and expect it to be permanent. To keep yourself in optimum health, you need to maintain a balanced lifestyle, much like standing on a teeter-totter with one foot on each side of the fulcrum. To maintain your balance (especially if there are variable forces on the ends of the teeter-totter) you need to keep shifting your weight from foot to foot. ¥ Take control of your thinking. What you think about the majority of the time will impact your physical health. Life-affirming thoughts have a direct effect on your immune system. You can control how you design healthy images and thoughts with which to fill your conscious mind. You can decide what you think and how you think, thereby programming your unconscious mind toward health or illness. Practice choosing language that supports a healthier environment...both inside and outside your body. ¥ Avoid thinking you are a helpless victim of circumstance, viruses and microbes. Rather, take full responsibility for how you want to be and how you want to respond in the presence of viruses, bacteria and stressful circumstances. Make those choices that will strengthen your own healing system. For example, if you know you have been in contact with potential viruses, thoroughly wash your hands with soap and hot water. Most viruses are killed by such activity. ¥ Listen to your body. Pay attention to your physical well-being. Every body is unique and therefore, it is essential that you learn to read and interpret the signals that your individual body is giving you. Your body is always sending you information about what you need for balance, healing and for generating greater vitality. ¥ Treat yourself as you would a loved child. You wouldn't force a child to overeat, eat fatty foods, drink toxic liquid, inhale toxic air, go for hours without sleep, or increase their level of stress. Rather, nurture yourself by: drinking lots of water; getting a massage; stretching and moving; sleeping long enough to restore your energy; learning relaxation skills; taking time to pursue your own enjoyable interests; developing a grateful heart; and becoming aware of the nutritional value of the foods you consume. ¥ Develop positive friendships. We are social creatures. When we are isolated, our mental, physical and spiritual health deteriorates. One of the healthiest things you can do is initiate and cultivate vibrant and enriching relationships with others. The quality of your friendships will reflect the quality of your well-being. Optimize your relationships and you maximize your health on all levels of your life. Practice wellness like you would practice a musical instrument. Play with your mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and relational well-being by daily practice. When you practice in the areas described above, you almost guarantee you will create an optimal state of wellness in your life. Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D., has more than 30 years experience as a Life Coach and Licensed Psychologist. Dr. Thomas serves on the faculty of the Institute For Life Coach Training. In that capacity, he teaches advanced coaching teleclasses. To contact the Institute, call (970) 224-9830 or e-mail doccoach@lifecoachtraining.com. Visit www.lifecoachtraining.com. Contact Dr. Thomas at (970) 568-0173 or e-mail DrLloyd@CreatingLeaders.com. To subscribe to his weekly column, Practical Psychology, e-mail your request to: PracticalPsychology-On@lists.webvalence.com and write "subscribe" in the subject line and an "X" in the body. Copyright © 2004 Lloyd J. Thomas |
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March 2004 |
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