I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and the moon whatever inly rejoices me and the heart appoints. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Each day, are you becoming more of yourself? At first an awkward question. Yet, as I continue to read and discover more about the mind/body model of wellness, it appears the pursuit of being “well” expands as we continue on the road to self-wholeness. Think of it this way, according to the mind/body model of wellness, we are in a constant process of becoming “whole” as we learn to become more and more of ourselves.

With this said, if you are not even sure where you are on this continuum or if you need a push in the right direction, in this article we’ll discuss how to both uncover your wellness potential, as well as three ways to get you on the road to wholeness.

Step One: Create Your Loves List

Discovering your wellness potential begins by discovering yourself. To begin, make what authors of The Wellness Book, Dr. Herbert Benson and Eileen M. Stuart, call your “10 Loves List.” This is easy to do. Simply, choose 10 things in your life you love to do that does not involve risking your physical or emotional health. Next, rate these items in terms of importance and decide if you’ve been spending enough time doing them. No need to think deeply on this. To make things simple, jot down your first instincts.

For example, my list looks like this:

write, read, exercise, meditate/journal/listen to music, listen to guided imagery tapes, watch movies, pet my cat, spend time with friends and family and make jewelry.

Step Two: Uncover Your Missing Pieces And Create A Long-Term Goal

Next, decide what images this exercise brings up for you. If the premise of wellness is re-membering our missing pieces to create wholeness, what activities are you missing in your life or not doing enough of? I think you will find your mind and heart will provide the answer to this question. Now, ask yourself how you can change your life to include more of what’s missing?

From this jumping off point you should now be able to create a long term goal. This goal should be something that is challenging enough to be exciting, yet not troublesome enough to burden you. It should also be a goal you feel you can accomplish within a year’s time.

I think you will find that this list conjures up the notion that you can continue to expand by bringing forward what you consider your gifts to the world. For example, as I examine my list, I realize, my long term goal (based on what I consider my greatest contribution to the world) would be to write, edit and publish an new book. With this in mind, take a look at your list and decide what you can contribute.

Step Three: Create Monthly Short Term Goals And Begin To Re-Member Yourself

Next create a month’s worth of short term goals, based on your time constraints. To make things easier, short term goals are defined as “specific, realistic, measurable and behavior oriented.” Here’s an example based on my goal of writing: I will write 5 pages of my book each day, 5 days each week.

After you’ve defined your short term goals, make a commitment to them. If you need, create a contract with yourself, sign it, date it and put it in an envelope. Plan to revisit this goal chart again at the end of the month. This is a simple, yet effective exercise based on the idea that it only takes 21 days to crate a habit. Moreover, if you are consistent in working your way through a month of short-term goals chances are you will be successful in reaching your longer goal.

In Conclusion:

Each month continue to renew and recommit to your long term goal by retooling your short term goals as you move along. Also continue to re-explore your “List of Loves” and see where you can apply them into your life. I think you will find, what you focus on expands and you will create more space for in your life. As a result, it is my wish that you will then be on your way to re-membering all the lost pieces of yourself. Remember: This is the path of a lifetime, and is the call for us always to be true to ourselves and ourselves only. For in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

When you first begin to undertake a time management
program it is beneficial to record your daily
activities for no less than one week. One option for
doing this is to keep a journal or notebook with you
throughout the day, for the period during which you
will be doing the recording.

Using both the front and back of a plain sheet of
paper in your journal draw 12 rectangles, several
inches wide. (You will have 6 on each side.) Each
rectangle will represent an hour of time, in a typical
12 hour day. Label each rectangle with hour
increments, such as 700 to 800 am for the first, 900
to 1000 am for the second, and so on. You will do this
everyday for one week.

Each block is reserved for you to record the
activities that you perform during that specific time
period. An example of a block of time could be;

“7:00 to 8:00 am, Monday- Showered. Brushed hair,
teeth. Made and ate breakfast. Dressed for work.
Applied Make-up. Balanced check book. Drove to the
office.”

Make notes as often as you can, and be specific in the
details that you record.

At the end of the week look back through your journal
and make note of any blocks of time that you could
have made better use of. Some amount of fun and free
time is important to your overall health and
well-being, but if you notice that there are
continuous blocks of time that are not being managed
wisely, this is a good place to start to make some
changes in your daily time management habits.

In the past, the need for research has not been something that was needed. Now that stress has been shown to help bring about diseases, it is more important. These studies have brought some ideas and programs that will help to reduce stress.

What is the big deal about stress and controlling it? Studies show that stress is one of the major causes of illnesses and diseases. It is not the main reason for the disease or illness but it gives you a feeling of being sick and this in turn gives you a more susceptible attitude for being sick.

Some of the ideas and programs for controlling stress do not help. There are many that do give someone who is dealing with stress some relief.

Listed below are some of the more effective ways to control. You may find that some of them are common to you.

Admitting You Have Emotions

When the nervous system reacts it is called stress. Anyone who has done investigations into stress will find that you have the desire to run away from it or to stay and fight it. The stress by itself is not the danger, it is the energy that is not eliminated from the body. This energy will wear the body down after a long period of time if not gotten rid of. The best thing for you to do is to start by showing emotion. If you see something funny, laugh out loud. This will get rid of some of that energy. If you are mad, then allow yourself to be mad. It is not healthy to hold it inside.

Starting some sort of exercise routine will help to send the energy into the right places. If you are mad, the gym may be a good place for you to go and take it out on a punching bag. The body will be ready to fight when you are mad, boxing is great for relieving this stress.

Take Over The Madness

It is important for you to be able to allow your emotions to come out. The bad emotions like being mad should be controlled. A good attitude and patience will help you gain control and stop the stress or at least reduce it. If you are able to take a hold on your anger, the need to fight or to run will not occur.

Taking Control Of Your Time Reduces Stress

One of the oldest ways to reduce your stress level is to take control of your time. This is a part of stress that is known as business stress. This type of stress is caused by the amount of time we are losing to something else. When you take control of your time and begin to be the boss of it, the stress will be lowered.

Be Happy With Your Life

When you are feeling happy, this will be the best for you. Being happy is all in your mind. You need to start thinking in this way and you will become happier. What is it that will bring about your happiness at this moment? If you mind is telling you that you would like to watch a movie then make arrangements to watch the movie. Think positive and bring along a friend to enjoy it with you.