Why is the Wellness Wheel Important?
Let’s explore the concept of the wellness wheel: a visual model for the various parts of your life, all of which, ultimately, are interconnected. You may have encountered a wellness wheel while reading about your health, happiness, and work-life balance. Subsequently, you’ll know that there are a number of different published models. We created a seven-part wellness wheel, which balances seven key aspects of your daily living. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to use this particular wheel as my guide. Note, however, that there may be a different one that speaks to you and your personal needs more directly.
- Your Wellness Dimensions
- How These Seven Dimensions Of Wellness Interact
- A Personal Wellness Assessment
- Wellness Wheel Wisdom
Your Wellness Dimensions
The wellness wheel I’ve chosen to highlight includes seven dimensions: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, environmental, financial, and spiritual. What do each of these mean to me (and to you)? Let’s explore them in a little more detail:
- Emotional Wellness
- Intellectual Wellness
- Physical Wellness
- Social Wellness
- Environmental Wellness
- Financial Wellness
- Spiritual Wellness
Emotional Wellness
- What’s your emotional health like these days?
- Are you feeling mostly happy, energized, and enthusiastic about life?
- Are you feeling stressed, anxious, or like you’re lacking motivation?
- Or is it some combination of both, with some days that feel much more difficult than others?
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Intellectual Wellness
- Do you feel like you’re using that powerful brain of yours in rewarding and productive ways?
- Are you sufficiently challenged at work and engaged in stimulating and exciting activities outside of it, like reading a great new book or taking a graduate course at night to stretch your skills?
- Or do you feel like you’re bored most of the time and that your talents are going to waste?
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Physical Wellness
It sounds like common sense, but people forget that physical activity can reduce stress and anxiety. Pay attention to your physical wellness, and the rest will follow. This critical concept is an essential part of the wellness wheel.
- How is your physical health?
- Are you eating nutritious foods, avoiding daily empty-calorie (sugary) snacks, and fitting a regular workout routine into your day?
- Are you getting enough sleep each night?
- Have you recently seen your general practitioner for a wellness check, along with any specialists to treat issues you’ve been experiencing, like allergies or digestive problems?
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Social Wellness
- What is your social life like?
- Do you have family, friends, and colleagues who are part of a strong support network?
- Are you able to kick back and relax on a semi-regular basis with people whose company you enjoy?
- Do you have someone you can confide in or vent to when things aren’t going as smoothly as you’d like?
- Or are you feeling lonely and isolated?
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Environmental Wellness
- What is your living space doing for your overall health and happiness?
- Is your home clean, inviting, and well organized, or is clutter making you a little crazy?
- Do you spend time outdoors each day to energize your vitamin reserves with sunlight, while also using sun protection when necessary?
- Are you mindful of your impact on your local environment?
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Financial Wellness
- How is your bank account looking these days?
- Are you putting money toward your student loans, a down payment on a new home, or your 401k or 403b?
- Do financial matters, like whether you’ll be able to pay the rent on time or make your next car payment, keep you up at night?
- Do you truly thrive at your current job, or is it just a way to pay the bills until you find something better?
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Spiritual Wellness
This is probably the most personal of the seven aspects of this wellness wheel. Spirituality means something different to everyone—and many people consider it a totally private matter.
- Whether you consider yourself religious or not, what is it that you believe, and do you feel able to live your life according to those beliefs?
- How do you put your morals and ethics into action?
- Do you engage in meditation, yoga, or other self-care rituals?
Explore spiritual wellness articles
How These Seven Dimensions Of Wellness Interact
It’s not hard to see how these seven parts of life affect each other. If you’re happy and productive at work, for example, you probably find that you’re feeling satisfied with your life (emotional health) and that you’re able to use your talents and knowledge in a positive way (intellectual health). Perhaps your consistently excellent performance on the job means you leave the office feeling valued and energized. As a result, you’re ready to hit the gym or Zumba class for a great workout (physical health), followed by dinner with good friends or a family member visiting from out of town (social health).
Furthermore, doing well at work means you’re able to earmark some of each paycheck for your retirement account. Such activities contribute to your financial well-being when you pay the rent or mortgage on a place you’re proud to call home (environmental health). Now, you’re crushing it in all these aspects of your daily living. As a result, you’re able to donate your time, funds, or gently used goods to a cause you care deeply about. Ultimately, you go to sleep each night with a grateful heart (spiritual health).
Of course, you can also see that, if there’s one area of your life that’s seriously lacking, it’ll drag you down in every other way. So what’s the best way to tackle those problems?
A Personal Wellness Assessment
Wellness wheel activities can be a thoroughly positive use of your time because they cause you to really examine what’s going on in your life—and how improving one area can have a truly beautiful impact on all the others! Are you a visual person who gains the most insight from hand-writing some of your thoughts? If so, then you may find that you want to design your own wellness wheel worksheet or download ours and print it out.
Download Our Printable Wellness Wheel
As you’re evaluating each key point, ask yourself where you feel you’re lacking. Then, do some serious brainstorming on what choices you might make to improve your situation. For example, if you’re struggling with your emotional health on an everyday basis, you may want to check in with your doctor to ask if seeing a specialized mental health professional would be appropriate and beneficial. Check out some excellent evidence-based mental health advice if you think this might be the case for you.
Maybe you find that, in general, you’re a pretty happy camper, but that you lack energy in the morning, feel sluggish in the afternoon, and can’t sleep very well at night. Or perhaps you just aren’t thrilled with how tight your favorite pants feel these days. In either case, paying more attention to your physical health will be highly beneficial, whether you embark on a 6-week challenge for weight loss or simply replace some of the sugary snacks in your diet with delicious mood-boosting foods and beverages, like eggs, fish, and green tea, that will keep you from wanting to take a mid-afternoon nap at your desk. And, of course, a little dietary and exercise self-care will improve other parts of your life, like your emotional wellness.
Wellness Wheel Wisdom
Now that you’re more familiar with the concept of a wellness wheel, it’s time to get to work. Take some time to scrutinize each of the seven points I’ve reviewed, and ask yourself where you see the most room for improvement. If you feel like the answer is “all of the above!” and don’t know where to begin, take some time to think about which parts of your life (pick two or three, tops, to begin) are giving you the most grief. It’s very likely that tackling one or two of those issues and making some definitive changes for the better will have a positive effect on many, if not all, of the other parts of the wheel. With a little creative brainstorming and some determination to commit to better choices, you’ll be on your way to living your best life in no time.
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