Last Minute Wellness
It’s nearing the end of the year and the ramp of life steepens. After years (that felt like millennia) of enforced life in the slow lane during the COVID era, the pace of our lives has again increased- to warp speed. This leaves us thinking ‘Where did the year go?’ and ‘What have I actually done this year?’
It’s nearing the end of the year and the ramp of life steepens. After years (that felt like millennia) of enforced life in the slow lane during the COVID era, the pace of our lives has again increased- to warp speed. This leaves us thinking ‘Where did the year go?’ and ‘What have I actually done this year?’
The reflective nature of the human is what sets us apart from other species and allows us to grow and learn from our experiences and especially our mistakes. The inevitable end of year reflection at work or school is a dreaded, yet necessary part of us moving forward. When it comes to new year’s resolutions or personal goal setting however, I don’t prescribe to the SMART goal theory, nor do I encourage us to delve into a pit of self-effacing punishment when we don’t hit our end of year sales quota, or heaven forbid, fall short on our exam result. What I do prescribe to is a reflective and non-judgemental awareness of where we were and where we have come. And yes, as most of us will realise, there is a need for a refocus on our health, wellness and wellbeing needs at the end of our year and the time to action mental health proactively is now!
“And yes, as most of us will realise, there is a need for a refocus on our health, wellness and wellbeing needs at the end of our year and the time to action mental health proactively is now!”
I think we can all attest to the lessons learned from the last few years: slow down, take care of yourself, focus on your health, time with your loved ones is precious and connect with others. So where have those lessons led us now? Reflecting on your micro world now, how have you instituted the gifts that were afforded in lockdown? An average end of year resolution may sound like ‘exercise every day’, but why are we waiting until the end of the year to start taking care of ourselves?
Put this in a wider context, schools, social groups and workplaces have us ponder individually and in teams about how we will achieve our personal goals throughout the year and keep ourselves sane. Your corporate manager or principal asks “What will you do for you?” “How will you give back to yourself and fill your cup as the year unfolds?”. Then two months on, you’re drowning in an unachievable workload and expected to do more, be more and give more. The mental bliss of the start of year yoga session has definitely worn off and the answer to your managers’ initial question is likely, “I’m doing nothing for me, everything for you and I might actually die in this prison”.
So what happened? So many good intentions were set, so many goals and commitments to the self. But somehow in the realities of life, that surf session you were going to do each week has fallen away, along with your ongoing mental health and your enthusiasm for, well everything. Now before you adorn your shame hat, let's look at the stats. Discover Happiness says that only 9-12 percent of people keep their new year's resolutions and that 6 months after kissing that stranger at a new year party, about 46% of us are still trucking along with our goals if we resolved to keep them. For those making resolutions in 2022, the top of the wish list are living healthier (23%), personal improvement and happiness (21%) and losing weight (20%). Funnily none involved, meeting KPI’s at work or climbing the social ladder in the school canteen line. The resolutions revealed one truth, we are starved for health and happiness and we long for more of the stuff that makes us well.
The key to outstanding and ongoing health, happiness and wellbeing is not a solution I am here to magically provide for schools, companies or communities. The secret to happiness has been long studied by western and easter societies and there is much to learn from both. As a secondary teacher and yogi, the enmeshment between these philosophies on happiness, particularly for teens, really lights my fire. But what I do know is that well being does not occur in isolation. It is a group effort that requires time, resources and care. Enter, support network. To build a culture of wellbeing for yourself or in an environment you frequent (ie workplace, school etc) you're going to need help from experts who can guide you in instituting clear and targeted strategies that work for you. In essence, we all need an ongoing wellbeing toolkit that we can dip into whenever we need to remind ourselves of that commitment made when the clock struck midnight.
“To build a culture of wellbeing for yourself or in an environment you frequent (ie workplace, school etc) you’re going to need help from experts who can guide you in instituting clear and targeted strategies that work for you. ”
End of year wellbeing commitments are no coincidence, as the busy work winds down, the time and space for thinking, creativity and us-ness increases. It is in that space we see a return to what we really need. It is essentially the time and space lockdown provided for us and the lesson that we all seem to be forgetting too quickly. Slow down, and return to your promise to be healthy, be well. Your workplace or school may be providing an activity or wellbeing week at the end of the year. They may even get in someone like me to run a wellbeing session and provide you with some of those strategies that we are all seeking to improve your overall sense of wellbeing. Take advantage, use these sessions with experts to prioritise your mental and physical health, learn the tips and tricks that help you with your needs. Remember, It's never too late to shovel in some last minute wellness to set you up for the end of year.
Find stacks of wellbeing resources in the Resources section of our site or book a chat to see how we can support your teens, secondary schools students or staff with some last minute wellness focus.