By Debra Staton, Wellness Coordinator for the Arkansas Health Network

What is Wellness? The word “wellness” refers to a state of balance we experience in all areas of our lives – not just our physical well-being. To achieve optimal health, we need the appropriate resources, opportunities and challenges to address our whole person. Holistic health is a wellness approach that addresses the body, mind and spirit or the physical, emotional/mental and spiritual aspects of an individual.

Moving wellness forward is just that…not going backwards…not staying the same…BUT moving forward and taking steps toward behavioral changes. Wellness must encompass the mind, body and spirit to achieve optimum results!

As we move forward in the New Year, think about goals you have set for yourself. Examine these goals and make sure you focus on balancing these lifestyle areas.

For instance, a common goal is to lose weight, so we anxiously start that new “diet” and jump on the bandwagon. We are pumped and feel great for a while…we might even lose weight at the beginning but then suddenly this new “diet” is not working anymore and we are right back where we started. Why did it backfire?

Before starting any behavioral changes toward our wellness goals, we must examine our own mind, body and spirit and find our self-awareness. What is our own feelings, motives and aspirations? We must start with the basics and ask ourselves who, what, where, when and why we want to be healthy. Once we gain self-awareness, we will be in a better place to achieve our wellness goals.