The Circle Of Life
Fitness and nutrition is not all about Diets and workouts. It comes under a much broader spectrum of “wellness”. There is a fine but distinctive line between Health, fitness and wellness. Wellness is defined as ‘the state of being in good health, especially as a pursued goal’. But what about health? Health is defined as ‘the state of being free from injury or ill-health’. When we talk about health or fitness, we refer to mental health, physical health, obesity, physical ailments and way more. But, wellness refers to an overall state of well being.
Why is wellness important? Wellness is important because if we want to function successfully in the world we need to be ‘well'. If we want to achieve goals, we need all areas of health to be well maintained because if any one is diminished, the others suffer too. No doubt health, fitness and wellness are interrelated, but pursuing a state of overall wellbeing must be one’s ultimate aim. Furthermore, Nutrition is secondary, Achieving a balance between the different aspects of life is far more crucial. There are in total 12 areas of life around which our life revolves. These together determine your state of wellness. That is why, it is extremely important to strike a balance between these 12 areas of life. You know that time in your life where everything feels "right"? You feel like everything is going well for you and the stars seem to be aligned. Chances are that you have a good amount of balance in all areas of your life, right from work to home and everything in between. Conversely, there are times when we feel that nothing seems to be going our way and it's easy to feel that "life" is against us. It's important in these times to stop and take check of where these areas of stress exist, and try to eliminate them. There will always be factors that are out of our control, events or situations that affect us negatively. It is in these times that seeking balance is even more crucial.
12 Areas of life
These 12 areas or aspects of life are highly influential on your productivity and happiness.
1. Social Relationships
This is a measure of how happy are you with your current state of relationships.
How strong of a support network do you have?
How much time do you get to travel, experience the world and do things that open you up to new experiences and excitement?
This is the quality of your home, your car, your office and the general spaces where you spend your time during the day and night (eg: café’s, bars, schools, etc), even when travelling.
5. Health and Fitness
Where does your health stand with respect to your age and physical condition?
6. Intellectual Life
Measure of how much time do you set aside to learn new things, and how fast are you learning? How many books do you read/podcasts do you listen to/tutorials do you watch? How many seminars to you attend yearly? Are you seeking to learn from others?
How fast are you improving the skills that make you unique and help you build a successful career, or enjoy a meaningful past time? Are you growing towards mastery or stagnating?
8. Spiritual Life
Do you devote enough time to spiritual, meditative, or contemplative practices that keep you feeling connected, balanced and peaceful?
Are you growing, progressing and excelling? Or do you feel stuck in a rut?
10. Creative Life
Do you paint, write, play music, or engage in other activities that channel your creativity? Or are you more of a consumer than a creator?
11. Family Life
How is your relationship with your partner, parents, siblings or extended family?
12. Community Life
Are you giving, contributing and playing a definite role in your community?
The answers to all the questions above is a yardstick to measure your wellness. This is why these areas are called ‘ the circle of life’. If the primary areas of your life are not in balance, no matter how much kale you eat, how many hours you workout, you will not be fit in your body and mind. Thus, the circle of life is primary, Nutrition and fitness come thereafter. If there is an imbalance between these 12 areas, it will lead to stress. As we all know, stress causes a hike in the cortisol levels in our body, which is again related to weight gain and stress related diseases. Hence, achieving a balance between all the areas of your life is paramount.