Since the dawn of the next chapter in my life in 2025, I have become more aware of my existence. Now that I have all the freedom to make life choices to mark another exciting milestone in my life, my self-awareness is more acute as I spend more time pausing, reflecting and restarting. Most activities that I do nowadays are intentional, yes having an intent moves me forward to take actions.
Personal wellness has now become more pertinent in this phase of my life, therefore attaining it requires my intention. At this phase of my life, my personal wellness blueprint reveals the following aspects:
- Good health- food intake, exercises
- Physical Mobility - moving, stretching, staying active
- Mindfulness - stress management, reflection, refocus
- Meaningful Engagement- relationship, hobbies, travels, reading, brain boosting activities,
- Psychological Aspects- positive emotional and mental state, positive mindset, feeling good (appearance, emotion, energy..), personal growth,
- Spiritual Fulfillment- inner joy and peace, life purposes, contentment
Good Physical Health
Exercise & Food intake
Having a weekly regime of exercise activities engage us actively and prevent us from easily succumbing to diseases. Knowing our body limitation, and adopting the right kind of exercise that suits us is important. For seniors who are yet to embark on an exercise routine, either to gain strength and to be energized, it's good to start slow, set achievable goal and to enjoy the activities and social connection. Choose something that we enjoy doing. There are many types of exercises and fitness programs for every all age groups, hence pick one that we enjoy and keep going to maintain good physical fitness.
I have been healthy and active and full of energy to engage in all work that I undertake. There’s this sense of pride that I can do countless things that many of my juniors are incapable of achieving.
Sadly, I had an accidental fall last October that resulted in a tear in my Achilles tendon again, yes for the second time. Although it was not life threatening, the experience taught me never to take my health for granted. I began to slow down my pace, and be more cautious when indulging in various sports. I wish to remain physically active for many more years to come. Age is just a number. However, the thought that I'm no longer young helps me evaluate the risk at hand and also my limitation, sad truth but it’s a fact that saves.
Exercise alone doesn't not bring about good physical health, food intake contributes significantly to our body health. We know eating right is important for our health, but we are often tempted to indulge in delicious yet unhealthy food. So what choice do we have? For me, self control is the key. Everything taken in moderation is good, excessive in any form of indulgence is always bad.
Though I don’t spend too much time thinking if my meals are balance, I do mindful eating. Knowing the importance of having enough protein intake to build muscle strength, I take hard-boiled eggs on most mornings, and have other protein rich food in either my lunch or dinner. Not forgetting weekly consumption of fruits and vegetables that forms the bulk of nutrition that our body needs.
It’s also necessary to avoid the wrong kind of refined carbohydrates ( https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-refined-carbs-8418034 ) that may cause a host of health problems to some people. Eat the right portion, we never benefit from over eating. I have the habit of eating small portions and this regulates the amount of my food intake; serving me well in maintaining 70% full.
Different people have different food intake needs. Hence, we need to find out what is the best for us and keep to the practice that offers us the best results. Reading up about what’s good for us and adapting it to our needs is vital. There’s no one size that fits all. We need to find out what’s best for us.
Periodically I take time to prepare some Chinese herb beverages or soups that are beneficial for health such as the Hawthorn Apple Drinks, Goji Berry& Red Dates beverage, Black Beans plus Liquorice Drinks and many others. This is scheduled weekly or biweekly. As I spend more time learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine, I'm beginning to understand how our body' 5 major organs work together to maintain a balance to achieve optimal health. Equipping ourselves with some health knowledge will definitely help direct us to seeking better option to maintaining better health..
Not forgetting to boost our brain health as it is the central computer that decides how well the body will function. For this, I boost my brain health with activities such as Sudoku - I regularly play the game on my handphone, and also solve puzzles. I learn new things like reading, play musical instruments in order to provide my mind with cognitive stimulation. I also do a bit of writing. Learn online courses to strengthen my neural connections and promote cognitive function of my brain. There is no end to learning and growing that can continuously enrich ourselves.
Good Physical Mobility
When we have good physical mobility, we can perform daily activities like walking, running, climbing stairs and a host of other activities easily without pain or discomfort. Besides, maintaining good mobility enhances our overall quality of life as it helps us prevent injury and be more independent. I advocate staying active by involving ourselves in activities that keep us moving such as intentionally moving out of the house to engage with the nature, people and things that inspire us. When we allow the habit of being sedentary, passive or inactive, our body will get the signal and slowly our body system will shut down and this may lead to poor physical health. I make it a point to do some stretching after being passive for more than half hour. Stretching is good to boost agility and flexibility. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-importance-of-stretching
Good Rest and Sufficient Sleep
Maintaining good health requires conscious effort. Lack of good sleep affects our health. Taking a rest while deep breathing will do the trick to relax the body and give our body a boost. I'm thankful that I always have good rest in my sleep. I hit the pillow early at night around 9.30- 10.00, and get up early in the morning at about 6 or 6.30am. Having good rest allows my body to heal and restore. Sometimes, stress gets the hold of us when we are bombarded with negative news prior to our night sleep therefore it's good for us to manage our routine well. Adequate and good quality sleep enhances our mood and contributes to our overall wellness.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a choice, an intentional act. When we are in a state of being fully present and aware of our current moment, our thoughts and our feelings, our overall wellness is enhanced. https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/stress/benefits-of-mindfulness When I’m engaged in some mindfulness activities such as painting, crocheting, sewing, I feel calmer, more aware of myself and the surroundings. In another word, mindful engagement reduces stress but regulates good emotion. My days are filled with different mindful activities to help me stay calm, enjoy the moment, relax the body and deep breathe to be conscious of who and where I am. The overall feeling is satisfying.
Meaningful Engagement
Living in a community and practising positive social interaction among communal friends promotes better sharing, support and protection. Taking time to make new friends, building new connections and participating in meaningful communal activities such as group exercise, festivity celebration promotes spirits of kinship. When we can trust and support, respect boundaries and have open communication, we promote social and emotional wellness.Taking time to meet old friends, reminiscing good old days and planning trips together or having meals together to foster good vibes and nurture good interpersonal relationship.
Psychological Well-Being or Mental Health
A positive mental state promotes overall wellness. https://url-shortener.me/CRH0 . It is interconnected with other aspects of wellness such as finding purpose in life, having a positive relationship with people, personal growth, physical health and self-independence. A positive mindset and a sense of feeling good will enhance our overall wellness. If one aspect of the other contributing factors is misaligned, we are deprived of happiness, peace and rest. To achieve a good psychological well-being, among the areas that we need to look into are self-acceptance and personal growth. In addition, having a purpose in life is also important.
Having a purpose in life establishes the core value of our psychological well-being. It provides us with a sense of direction. Without a purposeful direction in life, we will be reduced to an individual with low motivation and a depressive mood. This can lead to boredom, anxiety and the prolong unfulfilled life will lead to health problems. Our overall wellbeing is dependent on what values we attach to this life and what we see ourselves in relation to the bigger part of the world. Whatever we wish to do, we can find the connection to make a difference and to contribute. Sometimes, it suddenly dawn on us that we have been fulfilling the purpose without realizing it, but other times we have to continue seeking God for a sense of direction and new experiences. Everyone has their role to play so don't give up on yourself.
Feeling good about our physical appearance also contributes to our wellness. With proper nutrition, regular exercise, positive state of mind and adequate rest, we enhance our skin health that will eventually boosts our overall wellness. To me, looking good means appearing youthful and energetic, not necessarily pretty. Daily, we could adopt an intentional facial routine. I do face massage or face contour stretch whenever I wash my face or as and when I remember to do it. The key word is ‘consistency’. Looking good always helps us feel good about ourselves, it does a lot to our well-being. Personally, I incline more to taking the right type of food that enhances my skin instead of using expensive skin care products. When our internal organs are clean and healthy, we will have a natural glow on our face so we just need the basic skin care for maintenance.
Spiritual Fulfilment
As I journey into better overall wellness, I desire more inner joy and peace. Nowadays, I am blessed to have more time communicating with my heavenly father ; seeking God's guidance , solace and strength for my everyday living, trusting my Abba Father in everything that I do. The peace of God helps ‘calm the sea’ in my daily life challenges. Spending time reading the bible energizes my day with confidence, knowing that I have entrusted my day into God's hands. Prayers help me stay in touch with the Lord Almighty and strengthen my faith.
Everything that we wish to achieve boils down to how much we desire the outcomes. Are we intentional or attaining personal wellness is just a wistful thinking? Knowing it and not doing it, is not knowing. Therefore, the intentional and conscious effort in forming small habits will help us stick to our daily routines to attain our goals.
This year marks my second year of new beginning. I have ups and downs, tried a number of things; achieved success in a few but failed in others. I have been able to keep my focus, sharpen my mindset, diligently follow the good and effective routines while allowing flexibility at some points. Nothing is permanent, I am keeping the good and positive and shaking off the bad or negative, still pruning and growing. I hope to score well in my personal wellness journey, but I know it requires my intention, motivation and discipline to continue learning, changing and progressing into a satisfying level of attainment.
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