
I’m going to dive deep into Well Being and Wellness this week. Today, I’ll show you one way you can start living Well today.
What does Well Being mean? According to the dictionary it means to be happy, healthy, or prosperous. I don’t love that definition.
Wellness is the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal. Again, not a big fan.
Happiness, and health don’t just happen magically. They both require work. You can be happy and not well. The two really are not related. Wellness does not equal happiness.
But, what is this “Wellness” or state of “Well Being” that many of us are after and how do we get there?
For me, I’m looking to feel well in my body. Less aches and pains. Rested. Energized. Clear headed. Movement with ease. Less stress and overwhelm. Lab results in “normal” limits. Weight with in a range according to my height and age.
We don’t ever arrive at this “perfect” state either. It will always be a work in progress. There is no Wellness destination. It is…and I cringe saying this…a “lifestyle”.
Living a life of Wellness means you are actively living your life to be well. In order to do that, you have to make a lot of decisions. Not all those decisions will feel fun and pleasurable either. That is part of the deal.
- Why do we expect to feel well when we don’t eat well?
- Why do we expect to feel strong when we don’t actively work at getting stronger?
- Why do we expect to feel rested when we don’t actively work on improving our quantity and quality of sleep?
Because we want a well body to be easy and effortless. We receive messages all the time via media that suggests that it is.
The real question is why don’t we do what what needs to be done to be well?
Your limbic brain. It’s default it to choose pleasure over pain. Comfort over discomfort. Habits over new desired habits.
Our limbic brain, or the Primitive Brain is our “auto pilot” brain. This the brain the drives most of us. Its goal is to seek pleasure, avoid pain and be efficient. It can only think about the current moment. It wants the instant gratification right now.
The Pre Frontal Cortex is the part of our brain that can think about our future. It’s the planner. The cognitive thinker. It is capable of delaying instant gratification for long term satisfaction.
If we are seeking to live a well life, we need to be living that life with our pre frontal cortex…NOT the primitive brain.
We have to stop expecting ourselves to make the best decision on auto pilot. It’s not gonna happen.
Your primitive brain will never just choose not to eat cookies. It will always want the cookies. They will give us pleasure.
Living a life striving to be well, means we have to live intentionally. Not on default.
We have to plan what we will eat ahead of time with our pre frontal cortex, not our primitive brain.
We have to schedule our workouts and do it, even when we don’t feel like doing it.
Remind yourself in those times of “not wanting to”, or “not feeling like it”, that you made that decision with your intention in mind. Don’t let your primitive brain run your life. It just wants to sit on the couch, watch Netflix and eat snacks all day.
Tough love coming in hot….stop blaming your EMS life for your lack of Wellness.
This was a huge struggle for me. I was convinced that if I didn’t work in EMS, my health would be so much better. I would not have gained so much weight. It’s totally not true. I have my same brain. No matter where I work. Does our EMS life add a layer of complexity? Yes. But, it’s totally doable. It just requires more pre frontal planning.
You can do this. Despite your work schedule. You CAN be well and work EMS.
Wellness comes from intention and action.
xo. Valerie