NINE ELEMENTS OF HOLISTIC WELLNESS

Global Wellness HQ is based on the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness. 

In turn, the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness are based on the central premise that people would like to be whole. We believe that most people should be focusing on holistic wellness, impact, and freedom in their lives. We will apply the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness to help you navigate your personal wellness journey.

First, we will define wellness for the purposes of this website as the “conscious, deliberate process that requires a person to become aware of and make choices for a more satisfying lifestyle.” This definition of wellness is based on the work of Dr. Peggy Swarbrick and her Eight Wellness Dimensions (see more below on the origins of the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness). We are focusing on being conscious, being deliberate, and choosing our wellness journey.

The Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness are divided into three core areas:  Mind, Body, and Spirit. Mind, Body, and Spirit represent the three central areas of wellness. We recommend that you improve each area one at a time.

Within the Mind Core Area, we have emotional, intellectual, and occupational:

1. Emotional – coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships.
2. Intellectual – recognizing creative abilities and finding ways to expand knowledge and skills.
3. Occupational – personal satisfaction and enrichment derived from one’s work.

In the Body Core Area, we have physical, environmental, and financial:

4. Physical – recognizing the need for physical activity, diet, sleep, and nutrition.
5. Environmental – good health by occupying pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being.
6. Financial – satisfaction with current and future financial situations.

Under the Spirit Core Area, we have spiritual, social, and habitual:

7. Spiritual – expanding our sense of purpose and meaning in life.
8. Social – developing a sense of connection, belonging, and a well-developed support system.
9. Habitual – creating an intentional plan to habitualize the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness in your daily rituals. We want to deliberately and intentionally create the habits that help us become a more holistic person.

NINE ELEMENTS OF HOLISTIC WELLNESS ORIGINS

Before we get into this further, I want to give credit where credit is due. I have personally been inspired by many resources on the subject of wellness. However, the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness have specifically been formed based on an in-depth study of three key resources:

• Dr. Peggy Swarbrick & The Eight Wellness Dimensions
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• James Clear – “Atomic Habits”

I want to share the origins of our wellness story and journey as we begin.

Eight Wellness Dimensions

I would be very remiss if we didn't thank Dr. Swarbrick for the creation of the Eight Wellness Dimensions. As noted above, we are relying on her research and definitions for the first eight projects that we undertake. You can learn more about Dr. Swarbrick and her work at:

https://alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu/mapping-mental-health-dr-swarbrick-the-eight-wellness-dimensions

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Everything we do in relation to the Nine Elements of Holistic Wellness is further built upon Abraham Maslow’s research and hierarchy of needs model. Maslow was an American psychologist who is credited with popularizing self-actualization.

From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up in the hierarchy.

1. Physiological needs – air, water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing, reproduction
2. Safety needs – personal security, employment, resources, health, property
3. Love and belonging – friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection
4. Esteem – respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength, freedom
5. Self-actualization – desire to be the most that one can be

You can learn more about Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs here:  https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Atomic Habits

• “If you get one percent better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”  https://jamesclear.com/continuous-improvement
• James Clear author of Atomic Habits
• Great video summary of the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ7lDrwYdZc

The final project is “habitual.”  We will credit this last piece of the puzzle to James Clear and his book “Atomic Habits.”

We can only have limited or temporary success applying the first eight projects. We only see exponential and lasting results once we incorporate our wellness journey into daily success habits.