‘Health and wellbeing’ means many things to many people. But … looking at health and wellbeing from an integrative and wholistic perspective creates a level of awareness unavailable in more simple definitions and falls short of an understanding of the complexities of living the best life possible.
Health is more than ‘losing weight’, ‘going to the gym’, accessing ‘mindset positivity’ and so on … the trappings of general thinking around health.
An individual’s wellbeing has a strong connection to their health across a wide spectrum of their life and lifestyle pursuits, and is a precursor to enjoying ‘wellness’.
The three together form the basis for all human engagement, which is in itself the foundation for pursuing lifestyle success in whatever form that may be for an individual.
This more wholistic approach suggests that there are a number of areas, or ‘meridians’, nine in fact, that have a part to play in someone’s approach to ‘health, wellbeing and accepted level of wellness’, and all must be attended to positively if a person is to enjoy a happy, balanced and rewarding life.
When any one or more of these meridians is not fulfilling a positive role the individual is at significant risk of experiencing ‘stuckness’ in their daily experience of life.
Over time, this ‘stuckness’ can grow into behavioural disease, a way of living that can lead an individual down a path of frustration, of acceptance of ‘second best’, and of course, eventual poor health. The longer this persists the greater the chance of it having a strong bearing on that individual’s potential physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing, and therefore their longevity.
In exploring this notion of human engagement encompassing an individual’s life it becomes necessary to identify specific areas such that sufficient and appropriate (to the individual) attention be placed and acted upon. As such, nine distinct yet inter-dependent dimensions or meridians exist.
Clearly, not all nine will be of significance at any one point in time, dependent on what the individual is experiencing at that time. And, equally, every individual will have different needs and goals at any given point in time that will distinguish them from anyone else. The important thing to remain aware of is that it is the act of addressing these nine meridians to the best of one’s ability that defines an individual’s drive for lifestyle success.
More so, the Nine Meridians are linked, wholistically, not just with each other, as outlined in the diagram below, but with the life and lifestyle of the individual in all aspects of their life, regardless of age, cultural or economic background.
Human Engagement is more than a ‘manifestation’ of an individual’s apparent health and wellbeing.
It is the ongoing pursuit of excellence in living life by and through design … taking into account (and managing) the impact of the myriad of physiological mental, emotional, psychological and (physical / personal / social) environmental influences on their lifestyle.
It is an outcome built from personal actions, learned and natural behaviours, developed beliefs and the decisions that govern their life as a result, themselves all based on knowledge and awareness, and being mindful of the individual’s environment, life history and potential future.
By learning about, adopting and engaging strategies that address these specific nine meridians of human engagement, an individual is in a better place to achieve a level of ‘lifestyle success’ that suits their needs and ambitions.
Of course, for some there may be a balance that favours one or more meridians to the exclusion of others, dependent on their own personal ‘map of the world’. For others, all nine meridians will be drawn into play. As an analogy … a car needs a mix of several resources working together to start and then continue its successful forward progression.
… petrol in the tank
… oil in the motor
… water in the radiator
… air in the tyres
… a driver
Without all of these it (and its passengers) has little chance of successfully reaching the desired destination.
In the same way, to reach personal success is to embrace its entirety, knowing the sum of the parts creates the whole and that when all the parts are in good ‘operating order’, so too does the whole have the chance to work effectively, and experience a positive healthy lifestyle.
The basic concept behind living life successfully and effectively is the (physical/mental/emotional) strength and health of the individual, the inter-relationship between their personal endeavours, their home (and work) and their sense of being present in their life … and in control of their chosen and accepted lifestyle.
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