Discover the five elements of holistic wellness
Today, much discussion is made about the definition of well-being especially online. And yet, most of them are missing the point focusing on partial elements of well-being such as beauty, wealth, or even happiness. In fact, our personal well-being consists of a combination of our physical self and our interpersonal relationships, our self-fulfillment, and yes, our mental and physical health.
In a comprehensive Gallup study of people in more than 150 countries, the researchers managed to identify five common and interconnected elements that play a vital role in our everyday life: physical wellbeing, financial wellbeing, career wellbeing, social wellbeing, and community wellbeing. Those five elements of well-being are interdependent, and their interactions create our uniquely personal self-definition of wellness. The journey of self-fulfillment is therefore a matter of five aspects: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual
The Concept of Holistic Wellness
While Holistic medicine treats our body as a whole, Holistic wellness aims to view our full self in a 360-degree analysis, considering our mental, emotional, physical, social, occupational, and financial wellness. Those five elements of wellness counteract and influence our sense of well-being in various ways, What is key here is to understand that they are counteractive, meaning that a malfunction or imbalance in one can make influence the other, or make the whole system suffer. Tom Rath and Jim Harter in their successful 2010 book Well-being – the Five Essential Elements share the basic concepts of well-being and break it into those five elements whose harmony makes us feel well:
The Five Elements of Wellness
Career Well-being: Profession success and sense of self-fulfillment in what you do
Social Well-being: Creating meaningful and supporting interpersonal relationships
Financial Well-being: The concept of a balanced economic life
Physical Well-being: Nurturing our mental and physical health
Community Well-being: The sense of being part of a community or working towards a greater, social goal
Adopting a Holistic Approach to Wellness
A holistic approach to personal wellness can help you both improve in the areas that can be improved but also understand how the different elements of yourself interact and shape this unique feeling of euphoria that is well-being. According to a Gallup research, 66% of people have satisfying well-being in at least one or two of these elements, but only 7% of people manage to thrive in all five. We focus excessively on our physical health and often oversee the mental struggles we may be going through every day. Or we may aim to be professionally successful but lack the sense of personal fulfillment or a greater goal.
Holistic Wellness aims to focus on all those 5 elements and the way you can take care of them in order to transform your life. And while there are things outside our control, there are equally important things we can actually influence but often overlook. Creating meaningful relationships with others, keeping our minds stimulated, and finding a greater goal to devote ourselves to are some first steps we can take. And never forget, it's all about seeing the big picture at all times, which makes us truly happy.
