Being Your Best You

Who is your best YOU? Do you know that person, or at least have a vision of who they might be? I didn’t really know the answers to those questions when I started thinking about life in the minimalist perspective. You don’t have to know where you’re going in order to know it’s not where you are currently. When I refer to wellness I am talking about who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually.

It is a marker of how well you are able to function as a human being going through life, in your current state. It is the extent to which your capabilities as an individual can be made real. Personal wellness is one of the areas with numerous distractions that we often use to limit ourselves. We hold ourselves to standards that aren’t in line with our tastes, desires, or life values. We usually adopt these standards on the basis of “supposed to.”

Ability to function in life

Being your best you is about functioning at your top performance to get where you want to be. What you must do depends on where you are going. Pinterest is full of prescribed methods of achieving vague goals. I think the problem comes in because we are trying to be everything. To quote many others, “You can be anything, but not everything”. You are capable of whatever great thing you set out to accomplish, but don’t spread yourself so thin trying to be everything that you sabotage your own success. Look around, find evidence of things you’d like to see in your life and identify that as your goal. Let go of the rest. This mentality distracts us from the real question. What do you need to be in order to achieve your goals?

Physical Capacity

The physical aspect of wellness is one you’re probably very familiar with. There are a million diet plans out there, special running shoes, slimming waist trainers… You name it. Each is specialized toward a specific goal. It can be easy to get caught up in the latest superfood fad or exercise regiment. But, don’t let yourself get swept away and set off track. Your body is a tool, a receptacle to move your consciousness. Where does your consciousness need to go? Reaching your ideal body should be centered around what you want to use it to do.

You may or may not want to be a triathlon star, but stretching yourself to triathlon limits takes time. My college advisor/mentor used to remind me often that “everything you choose comes with an opportunity cost.” That is sage advice and something I carry with me for those perfectionist moments when I want to do it all. 

Nutrition

Reaching your dreams physically is often primarily about nutrition and exercise. On this, and many fronts, I would say find something that works for you and stick to it.  Flitting about from one fad to the next is about as helpful as putting the key in the ignition and not turning it over. Nutrition is about putting in the fuel you need to be your best self and achieve your dreams. That fuel will look a little different in quantity and content from person to person. I will have more posts to come about my thoughts on good foods to support your goals and choosing what’s right for you.

Exercise

Exercise is also an industry flooded with excess and information that may or may not be for you. It is incredible and helpful if you know your goals and what applies to that endeavor. But, if you’re not clear about what you want then it can feel overwhelming. My dad says, “the kind of body you have is determined by how you use it, not in a one-season training binge, but continually through life. Find a physique you admire and do the activity they do”. Achieving your desired physique can be limited by your biology (this is often overstated). It is just as limited by your level of commitment and persistence.

Mental Wellness

The World Health Organization says that mental wellness is knowing your own ability, being able to cope with everyday stress, having the capacity to work productively and the potential to contribute to your community. I would entirely agree and would go far enough to say that wellness as a whole is not only having that potential, but living a life that allows you to fulfill these capacities, in your own way. This is Maslow’s hierarchy. At the pinnacle of the hierarchy is “self-actualization,” or personal development and the fulfillment of your potential. Personal development is the active pursuit of a better you or, by this definition, mental wellness. Personal development is building new skills and expanding yourself through reading and trying new things.

There is lots of talk out there about getting proper nutrition and regular exercise, but few people lay out what it means to take care of our selves mentally. To me, mental wellness comes when you are pursuing balance in each facet of your life and not letting one dominate too much of your time, as well as including that personal development factor into your life categories. Mental wellness will come when you feel like you are adequately pursuing that balance.

Wellness in Review

There is a lot out there on how to be well. But, wellness, like everything, is a journey and not a destination. Being well is being your best you. Therefore, your journey in being well will look completely different than the person walking right beside you. It is important that you sift through all the excess information out there to find what is right for you. No one can do that for you. Use the minimalist perspective when thinking about your wellness. What is truly necessary to help you be fulfilled in body, mind, and soul? Don’t be discouraged if an immediate answer doesn’t come to mind, that is part of the journey. If you have an immediate answer, great for you! Pursue that path. Also, recognize that that answer is likely to change. Your “right” path will change as you grow and reach new heights.