SEE Your Potential

Taking a holistic approach to wellness helps contribute to our inner balance. This state of equilibrium prepares us for the personal and professional growth and development we desire. However, there are many external influences we are exposed to daily that can throw off this balance. This can keep us from even seeing our potential for growth and development. But what can we do to strengthen our holistic wellness so that these external influences don’t hinder our efforts in the long run?

Regularly engaging in activities that improve our Spiritual, Emotional, and Environmental (SEE) wellness is critical to our holistic health. Individually, these 3 dimensions can uplift us like the pillars that support a bridge. But the bridge will be strongest when these pillars work together. In unison, these dimensions can keep us calm and focused, limiting any affects from external influences and guiding us to see our potential with clarity so that we can turn this potential into action.

Spiritual Wellness

Peace Be Unto You…

Whether you’re a religious person or not, I believe we all have an inner consciousness that drives us. And this sense of spirituality can be a powerful contributor to our holistic wellness.

According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center, nearly 60% of people sampled said they felt a sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least once a week. Tapping into this space regularly can help ground us while we aim to make sense of the world we live in.

In addition, having spiritual balance may also have positive effects on our psychological well-being and its associated behaviors and actions. If our overall goal is to SEE our potential so we can improve our station in life, it seems to me that the spiritual aspect is a crucial contributor to this outcome.

But what happens when we are not feeling this sense of spiritual peace? For everyone this will be different, but I’ll use myself as an example for reference. I’ve often thought about spiritual wellness as my inner Zen Zone. I know I’m spiritually off my A-game when I am irritable, less patient with others, or frustrated over things that would not normally frustrate me. Oftentimes, this imbalance reflects something external I was exposed to.

To counteract this, I take deep breaths, count down from ten, and just sit quietly for a moment in meditation or prayer (I really like the serenity prayer during these times). This helps reduce any internal conflict in my spirit that I may feel. It also helps me manage my emotions better (another dimension) and my interactions with others and the world, in general.

There are many ways to access this Zen Zone. Though meditation and prayer are probably the most common approaches, everyone’s strategy will be unique to them.

What activities do you engage in that place you in the Zen Zone?

Emotional Wellnes

Keep Calm and Carry On!

It’s common for someone to say “Control your emotions.”–but I don’t think emotional wellness is about control. This dimension reminds me of the Jedi masters in Star Wars. The Jedi managed their emotions in a way that helped achieve focused and productive outcomes. Imagine if you could tap into ‘the force’ in a way that brought you similar affects.

Do people generally see you as a Grouchy Grinch, a Joyful Gem, or a mix of both? When we are emotionally imbalanced, our feelings manage us instead of us managing them. It’s like a bumpy roller coaster ride filled with passengers that each have a different mood.

These quick shifts in our emotions or mood swings reflect an imbalance that contributes poorly to our holistic wellness. It’s true— we need all of our emotions to help us process things. But, dwelling too heavily on one feeling or scurrying back and forth between them creates a certain level of stress.

According to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association about their level of stress since the pandemic first started, more than 8 in 10 Americans reported feeling at least one emotion associated with prolonged stress; most common were anxiety, sadness, and anger. Not only does this make us emotionally unwell, it can also adversely affect our physical health.

The National Institutes of Health have developed an Emotional Wellness toolkit in which they discuss 6 strategies for improving your emotional health. These include:

Being resilient and keeping a positive outlook
Coping with and reducing stress in your life
Incorporating good sleeping behaviors
Navigating loss
Strengthening social relationships
Having an attitude of mindfulness

Whichever approach you take, the more consistently you practice, the easier it will become to manage your emotions. And a strong grasp of emotional management can help guide your decision-making processes and tip your holistic wellness scale in the right direction.

Which emotions do you tend to tap into regularly?

Environmental Wellness

A Good Planet is Hard to Find.

I think people under-estimate just how important our environment affects our overall health. It’s ironic if you think about it… We (humans) have contributed greatly to an unhealthy environment. Yet, we expect the environment to treat us well.

Around the world, cities are covered in smog potentially contributing to increased rates of asthma and allergies. The oceans have become a cesspool for chemical waste—adversely affecting thousands of species of underwater wildlife. According to the World Health Organization, 24% of all estimated global deaths were linked to the environment in 2016. We can do better!

As an integral part of holistic wellness, making positive improvements within the environmental dimension needs to be a community effort. Like many of us, I struggle with being more environmentally responsible. But, I do recognize that there are other things I can do to reduce my carbon footprint and this in-turn may improve my own environmental wellness.

How can you shift the external environment so that it positively affects your internal one?

Summing it all up

When we look inward, we find there’s a lot we can work on to improve ourselves. When we truly SEE ourselves for the person we are meant to be, possibilities grow closer to actualities.

Getting a handle on spiritual, emotional, and environmental wellness is a step in the right direction. Now what happens if we can find a way to balance the remaining 5 dimensions, along with these?

As a reminder, there are 5 parts to this holistic wellness series. Be sure to check out the other posts in this series (titles listed below) and don’t forget to download the helpful PDF at the end of the series. It will be a great resource for you to discover key activities for you to incorporate regularly towards each of the 8 dimensions.

What's Up Next For the Series?

Disclaimer: The content of this blog and website is the sole opinion of the author and is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, medical, financial, or other professional advice. Always seek counsel from a professional for these matters if you have questions or concerns regarding your specific circumstances.

SEE Your Potential