We’ve been talking a lot lately about physical wellness, so I thought I’d share a little article I read in the ACA News the other day on “social wellness”. The article is written by Dr. Jay S. Greenstein; CEO of Sport and Spine Rehab & Athletics, Graston Technique certified, and a Titleist Performance Institute certified golf fitness instructor. It gives a great perspective on how we can be more healthy in our social lives.
“Social Wellness means having positive interactions and connections with other and enjoying those relationships. It includes having comfort and ease during work and leisure situations and communicating feelings and needs to others in ways that enhance the quality of your life. It involves developing and solidifying close friendships and intimacy, practicing empathy and effective listening, caring for others and for the common good, and allowing others to care for you. It is also recognizing the need for recreation and leisure and carving out time for those activities.
As you proceed on your social wellness journey, you’ll discover many things: You’ll discover that you have the power to make willful choices to enhance personal relationships, important friendships, your community, the environment and, ultimately, the world.
It is critical, first and foremost, to practice self-disclosure to ensure your personal happiness and self-actualization.
What does this mean for you?
Take a good look at yourself, and do an honest self-assessment. The more self-actualized you are, the greater your ability to interact with others socially and to be happy. Make a list of the top three things you want to fix in your life, and create a very specific action plan with deadlines to fix them. As you get to know your personal needs, make sur you pursue things and people that nurture those needs. Make a concerted effort to talk to the people who are supportive in your life. In short, have a great posse around you. You are a product of your environment, so create a great one! Know who you are, and interact with the people who can help you be who you want to be!
It’s better to contribute tot the common welfare of our community than to think only of ourselves.
How can you do this?
Get involved in local charities and organizations where you can build strong bonds and make the world a better place. It’s easy to say you don’t have time. But if you really audit your schedule, you’ll realize ways to squeeze in some “community love” time. You will feel better about yourself because you’re making a difference, and your life will improve because involvement significantly grows your social network.
It’s better to live in harmony with others and our environment than to live in conflict with them.
What’s the best way to live in peace?
Let it go. We have all experienced difficult situations in our lives that make us angry. The brain can accommodate only one thought at a time. You have to make a conscious decision to occupy your brain with good thoughts. If you’ve read the book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrnes, you know that the law of attraction states that “whatever you think about you attract.” So, think bad things, and you will attract them. Think good things, and you will attract them. It takes practice to retrain your brain to think this way. If you practice it every day, you’ll be leaders in social wellness and be setting the example yourself. You’ll be happy you did!”
I found this article really interesting because it brought the perspective that your social life and interpersonal happiness are not unlike your physical health. You have to train it to get it into shape, keep it healthy by interacting with the right ingredients, and keep progressing by stretching it and having the right mindset.
An interesting idea!
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