Wellness- worlds collide in order to achieve it (inner vs. outer)

Wellness is many things. Wellness is living with health, balance, focus and quality. Wellness is doing good, and fulfilling activities. But most importantly, wellness is a mindset. Wellness is the mindset that we are going to do things that make us feel good. Not only are we going to do these things, we are going to make time for them and strike a balance in our lives. Wellness really is that balance that keeps us striving for more growth and challenges while still appreciating the comforts friends and family.

We create our lives. When wellness is a part of that creation, it is truly yours to enjoy. You may feel that things are not in your control or that you are at the mercy of others. Well, you are…if you don’t live with wellness. Too often we look outward at our problems. Too often we look outward for solutions to these problems. Most answers, while not always clear, are inside. They have been there and will continue to be as long as we are human beings. So how do we achieve as human beings?

We make it part of our lives. In order to feel good, we have to do things that make us feel good. Getting up in the morning feeling good is a result of wellness. Going to bed at night feeling good is also a result of wellness. And, clearly feeling good throughout the day is a result of wellness. Living with wellness and making it part of your life is easier said than done. But it is being done by many already and can be done by anyone.

Wellness is what you get when you start each day with your agenda. It goes back to inner versus outer influences. Ask yourself a few questions: Who is winning the battle, the outer world or the inner world? What is driving your life, the outer world or the inner world?
How do you answer these questions? Actually asking yourself the questions is difficult enough. Especially in a time of stress, but it is important and can be very rewarding. You have to ask these questions if you want to know where you are in relation to wellness. If the inner world is what drives you, than wellness is a part of your life. If the outer is driving you, than…you guessed it, wellness is not a part of your life.

You may say, “I am a healthy person who practices many good habits, but my life is demanding and I have no control.” Or you may say, “It’s not my fault that my schedule is the way it is, but I get the healthy things in when I can.” Well, I am here to tell you that wellness is more than getting some exercise in or taking a break when you can. Wellness is much more that racing to the gym with a moment of your spare time. It is much more than getting a diet soda at the fast food restaurant.

Wellness is the mindset. The mindset that you are going to do what you need to do in order for your inner world to be as harmonious as possible. Our inner world can only be as controlled as we believe it can be. Much like our outer world can only be as out of control as we believe it can be. Until we look inward and truly find what drives us, we are simply going along with the outer world no matter what the consequences are to the inner world.

I’m no Buddhist monk, but I know a thing or two about enlightenment. I don’t mean the spiritual enlightenment that can only be achieved by years of meditation in the Himalayas. I mean the enlightenment that you achieve by looking inward and asking yourself who or what is in control. Am I running my life or is someone else? That is the real question. And all too often, the answer is either someone (or everyone) else. You may think that you can answer it at a glance or without thinking about it, but chances are you are proving the fact that the outer world is winning by not taking the time for yourself.

It is one thing to take time to go for a walk or relax on your day off. It is quite another to ask yourself what you really want. The reason our worlds (inner and outer) are limitless is our minds. Our minds are so powerful that we can literally be held captive or set free be them. A thought or decision inside your own mind can determine the best or the worst imaginable outcome. And guess what…it’s up to you.

The moral of the story is that we are creating our world. Either by doing what we want and getting great satisfaction or by allowing others to dictate what we do and what makes us happy, we are creating our world. It is up to us which world we focus on, but the outer will always reflect the inner. That is why if we look inside, we can make the changes that will affect the outer. We must look inside to change anything. We have to go to the root and start from the source in order to make any changes.

If you are not where you want to be, simply ask yourself these questions: What needs to be done in order to get there? What do I have to do in order to get what I want? If the goal is important enough, you will make the changes to reach it. If the goal is not important enough, you won’t.
That is why I emphasize the difference between the inner and outer worlds. If your goal is based in the outer world (by someone else or to meet something on the exterior) it is not important enough for YOU to make a change. Only when your goals are rooted in your inner world are they going to be important enough for YOU to make the changes necessary to reach them. And only when you are able to ask yourself what is important to you in the inner world will you be able to set goals there.

If you can identify what you want, set goals get it and make the necessary changes, you can do anything you want. But if you can’t identify what YOU want or set goals based on YOUR desires, you can do nothing. You can do nothing other than live according to your outer world. It may be easier or feel “normal”, but it is not. In the short term, you may stay comfortable, but in the long term is will be much harder to deal with.

Once you have begun to satisfy your true passions and strived to reach your true inner goals, you have made wellness a part of your life. How important are your goals?