My Personal Wellness Model

 

To truly make this meaningful, I looked back at how my definition of wellness has transformed over time. Earlier in my life, wellness equated to how successful I was- I had very tangible and articulated goals of how I should be performing. Wellness was All A's, being a certain weight, spending a certain amount of time with others... This unforgiving mentality of wellness was a significant stress source for me when I did not meet these goals. Thankfully, I have had a significant transformation in my perception of what it means to achieve a healthy well-being.

My transformation shifted from these very harsh goals to a more holistic approach, where I value feelings and intuition over my life. Transferring to William & Mary, I had to assume this approach to maintain a sustainable life. With that, here is my definition of well-being along with my model of well-being.

Definition of well-being:

To achieve harmony throughout one's life, each dimension of wellness acts and interacts to promote a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life.

Description of my Well-Being Model

I have enclosed a visual of my personal model of well-being. This speaks to all of the dimensions I find essential in achieving collective harmony in my life. I think each of these dimensions interacts with one another; they are not isolated by any means. The dimensions as the models show include Intellectual, Organization, Service, Physical, Growth, Environmental, Social, and Emotional.

Intellectual: The commitment to life-long learning and the ability to maintain a student mentality. I think there is danger in thinking I know best in anything because there is always more to learn.

Organization: There is nothing too out-of-the-blue; I have a solid grasp on what to expect in a given day. I think this speaks to an overall sense of harmony, but it seemed to need its own category.

Service: This pertains to service to both my community, friends, family, and peers. I find it incredibly important to add value to others' lives or, more widely, my community. 

Physical: The commitment to maintaining a healthy physical life, including regular nourishment and regular exercise. I indeed find that if I am stressed, it often means I have not had the opportunity to pay special attention to my physical health.

Growth: The mentality to continuously pursue development and never settle with where I am. I think this dimension encapsulates a spiritual sense that other models spoke to. However, I think to me, growth seemed to better capture my own grapes on this.

Environmental: Commitment to creating a better environment personally and collectively. It is essential to find happiness where you reside, whether that be your personal home or the world you live in. This also goes hand-in-hand with the service dimension; it requires an active pursuit of making a better environment.

Social: The relationships I not only maintain but also work to grow. I find being social and having connections with others to be incredibly important and fulfilling in life.

Emotional: Being able to authentically feel and embrace all emotions. I used to think this meant constantly being happy, but I think over time, I came to realize that is not sustainable. I like to experience each emotion in its entirety and try not to force myself to feel something else. It also speaks to a grasp on stress levels, something I have needed to pay more attention to. 

I am excited to see how this will transform even further down the line. If I had done this exercise at the beginning of my college experience, it would be a very different picture. I am inclined to believe it will transform in another few years.