I have previously posted about Dimensions of Wellness and that I believe it is an important concept regarding whole person and whole life health. I want to talk a bit about using these Dimensions in goal setting. I pay a lot of lip service around here to training goals (Physical Health Dimension) and those are, of course, part of your Dimensions of Wellness. But as I believe looking at our health from this interconnected standpoint is critical, Physical Health goals are not the only ones. Nor are they always the most important. So, in the interest of both talking the talk AND walking the walk, I’d like to share with you how I use Dimensions of Wellness to set goals for myself.

First, you have to define what your Dimensions are. Some will be the same for most of us (i.e. Physical and Mental Health Dimensions). Some might be slightly different (i.e. Occupational vs. Environmental). The National Wellness Institute has some amazing resources to help you with this process. When I started, I made a list of things that I do very regularly (at least weekly, if not daily) and grouped those things into similar categories. Then, and this will sound strange, but I looked for gaps, things that I wasn’t doing but felt I should be, and grouped these. For me, this is what I came up with:

Physical – relates to everything with my physical body; diet, exercise, aging concerns

Mental/Intellectual – relates to mental health (depression/anxiety) as well as reading, learning new skills, stretching my brain

Emotional/Spiritual – relates to what I call keeping an even keel; gratitude, meditation, mindfulness, church attendance

Social – relates to my interpersonal relationships outside my core family

Marital/Family – relates to my relationships with my husband and son, both individually and as a pair

Environmental – relates to the bubble in the world that I inhabit most and my impact on the planet

These are also my definitions based on the areas I am typically trying to work on. Right now, I am a stay-at-home mom with a part time teaching job, but if I worked full time, I might swap out Environmental for Occupational since that would take up more of my time/energy. And, there are also some things that don’t strictly appear on my Dimensions, because each person or circumstance may necessitate a slightly different grouping. Like Financial. Depending on the circumstance, I could file that under Martial/Family or Environmental, or Mental… you get the idea. As I’ve said before, the strict Dimensions, definitions, and groupings you choose are YOURS.

After you have your Dimensions, sit down and think about what you’d like to work on under each one. Some may have many sub goals while others may have just one or two. That’s okay. Again, these are yours and they mark where you are in your wellness journey right now. The point, though, is not to overwhelm yourself. What are the most important things to you in each Dimension right now? You can always amend things later if you need to.

Which brings me to the most important part. You ready…? Sure…? Write them down. This goes for all goal setting, if you write it down, it will be that much more solid and you are much more likely to follow through. So I’ll say it again. Write ‘em down. If you are the bullet journal or crafty type, make these as pretty as you want. If you aren’t, that’s cool, you do you. Get them on paper as neatly as your handwriting allows. Which brings me to a second key piece. Put these where you will see them regularly. Notice I said where you WILL see them. Not where you can. You want to see these at least every few days.

I have actually done this as a New Year’s (anti)Resolution thing the past couple of years to great success. It helps me focus on what the most important things that I want to work on or accomplish are but without the overwhelming pressure of getting it all done right this very now. I like the idea that even if I am not perfectly attending to each Dimension every waking minute, my goals are always there in the back of my mind waiting for their moment. I like the idea that these are fluid. If I need to make a mid-course correction for whatever reason, I can. And I really like the idea that I am choosing to create sustainable wellness practices.

In case you’re interested, here are some of my specific goals for 2018:

• Physical
  • 5x/wk workouts – 2 each strength, yoga, cardio
  • Plant based diet – 5-6 fruits/veg per day, eat rainbow, try plant yogurt
• Emotional/Spiritual
  • Continue regular church attend
  • Daily gratitude journal and meditation time
• Mental/Intellectual
  • 20 CECs this year, ACE recertification in April
  • Continue reading diff books, visit library
  • Brainstorm work outlets, both freelance and teaching
• Social
  • Connect w/ cousins 1x/wk
  • Build relationships with “new friends”
• Marital/Family
  • Plan a long weekend trip over summer w/ hubs
  • Swim lessons and other activities for kiddo
• Environmental
  • Craft time 1x/wk @ night
  • Cultivate minimalism