Sense of nonsense, not right and wrong, balances the mind.
Balance can be perceptually misleading. Equilibrium, stability, and poise come to mind readily. In general terms, balance is mental and emotional steadiness. It is a result of soundness of mind‒clarity, in what is most important (values). We know that values are demonstrated through beliefs and actions.
Balancing work, family, relationships, health, spirituality, time, and mental health can be overwhelming to anyone. The key is designing a life with purpose, being proactive, and focusing on our circle of influence, rather than the outer circle of concern. When we can influence our emotions, breathing, our self-talk, and relationships with responsibility and accountability, our circle of influence expands to balance the areas of concern. This inside-out approach recognizes that we can only change ourselves, not other people. Emotions are powerhouse signals of information (knowledge) that effect overall (mental) health and bodily functions.
Only (thinking) of wellness in terms of physical health — nutrition, exercise, weight management is only part of the equation. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit (Stoewen, 2017). A striving for health is living life fully‒ a quality of life (lifestyle).
Wellness encompasses eight mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental. Attention must be given to all the dimensions, as neglect of any one dimension, will adversely affect the others, leading to an unhealthy well-being, quality of life, and balance. Progress not perfection is the aim. They must harmonize not balance equally.
The eight dimensions of wellness are useful to understand, cultivate, and integrate in our daily practices, until they become positive forming habits. It is a lofty goal, but one step at time, one day at a time, focusing on mental (intellectual thinking), physical, spiritual, social, environmental, financial, vocational, culminating in emotional wellness (steadiness), as our aim. What we aim for, with persistence (guidance), we can achieve.
Poor emotional health is a conduit for poor physical health. We must become expert of our emotions or be easily swept away in negative patterns. Thinking and feeling must harmonize.
When perception (awareness) rules the mind, our understanding or will (choice) grabs hold of pain and suffering. This can lead to a victim mentality instead of a victor mentality, which maintains responsibility for its choices. By blending the eight dimensions of wellness, we can bring balance to areas that are in our circle of influence (control) with harmony.
References
Nandkar, R. (2020, June). To study the effect of lockdown on physical, mental and emotional health of common people. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 5(6), 777-785. https://ijisrt.com/assets/upload/files/IJISRT20JUN637.pdf
Stoewen D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian Veterinary Journal = La Revue Veterinaire Canadienne, 58(8), 861–862.
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