Health and wellness is such a stale and sterile term for me. For some reason it reminds me of a white washed, cold hospital room with a dull beeping in the background. Whew, chills just went down my spine. And yet, I find myself circling back to it for not only personal growth, but also growth and betterment within my community. I know that underneath the cardboard flavored coating of the term there is a rich depth to "health and wellness" that can lead to a life-long, beautiful pursuit and journey.

When we dig into the concept of health and wellness we'll find that it touches every aspect of our being. No stone is left unturned, and no person can get away unscathed from the investigation of the state of our own health and wellness. Everyone has areas that they feel proud of, confident in, scared of, sad about. We are never stagnant in our pursuit of health and wellness because it's constantly morphing and adapting to the flow of the rest of the world around us and within us.

Whew, all of that seems very heady and philosophical, but what is health and wellness practically? Also, why were you curious enough to click on this page of ramblings about this topic? Health and wellness is a whole-body, mind, and spirit approach to living in alignment to your vision and values. You may be thinking, "Wait, why do I have to have a vision and list of values for my life like a corporation or business?!" The short answer is that we all have these things already whether we've consciously written them out or not. We all have things that guide our actions, dreams, motivations, goals. These values and vision for our own life are the foundation of our health and wellness.

Whether we have fitness, financial, social, professional, spiritual goals, etc. for our current selves, it is important and tremendously helpful to start our process of change with centering these goals with our overall vision and values.

This comes back to why you clicked on this article in the first place! There is a curiosity and interest in finding that health and wellness for yourself. You are already taking some of the critical steps towards your vision of health and wellbeing. This week take a few moments to write down that vision statement for your life and the values that you find important. Put them in a place where you will see them often and even take a few moments to reflect on them every day.

This practice is just the start for understanding what health and wellness means to you, and it helps to guide your thoughts, plans, and actions towards achieving the health and wellness you need and desire.

Action Step: Write your vision of health and wellness for YOU and add in what your life values are.

What is health and wellness…really?!