Minding Our Wellness

Hi Byte Wellness Fam,

How are you feeling? Now, how are you thinking?

There are lots of ways our mindset can make it easier or harder to reach our wellness goals.

What’s the Right Wellness Mindset?

Like every other piece of the wellness puzzle, the wellness mindset is all about balance. 

1) We need to be flexible in our problem-solving approach. But, sometimes, we rigid discipline to execute a specific plan. 

2) We need to treat ourselves kindly (like a parent might) when we fall short. But, we also need to take accountability when we deviate from the plan.

3) We need to appreciate our ongoing wellness wins (even baby steps), but sometimes a deadline is a powerful tool!

What’s more, our ideal wellness mindset is personal and individualized (based on the ways we interact with ourselves and the world). So, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

We talked about these issues in this week’s #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop . Watch the recording to hear how the “vacation diet” approach could jumpstart a wellness journey for some people or derail the journey for others.

Read below to see where you stand on each of these 3 domains of your Wellness Mindset. When you think about the which approaches have been most successful for you? How far on the spectrum are you? 

Abundance vs. Scarcity

Do you believe there are lots of different ways to reach your wellness goalS? 

When you hit a roadblock, do you:

• Re-think your problem in a flexible way and try another solution? (Abundance)

  • Example: You want to work out everyday at the gym, but it’s so far from your house that you don’t have time to go everyday. You find a way to do workouts at home or close to home.

• Or, do you get discouraged and feel like you’ll never reach your goal if you can’t reach it in a specific way? (Scarcity)

  • Example: You want to work out everyday at the gym, but it’s so far from your house that you don’t have time to go everyday. You tell yourself that you have to find a way to get to the gym everyday if you want to workout.

Journey vs. Destination

Do you think that you ever stop working towards greater wellness?

When you set out to reach your goal:

• Are you committed to improving your habits and health sustainably? (Journey)

  • Example: losing weight by building the habit of eating more veggies everyday

• Or are you focused on getting to that goal by any means necessary- even if the results are short-lived? (Destination)

  • Example: yoyo dieting

Self-Compassion vs. Guilt

Do you believe you can move beyond your mistakes and short-comings to eventually reach your wellness goals?

When you don’t follow your wellness plans:

• Do you give yourself the benefit of the doubt and troubleshoot ways forward? (Self-compassion)

  • Example: You’re trying to cut back on cookies, but you have a weak moment at work and eat a few during your break. Instead of telling yourself you’re worthless for eating cookies, you acknowledge that you do want better and you look for causes of your slip-up. “Am I having a stressful day?”, “Did I skip breakfast?”, etc.

• Or do you default to guilt and self-shame?(Shame)

  • Example: You’re trying to cut back on cookies, but you have a weak moment at work and eat a few during your break. You tell yourself “I don’t deserve to reach my goal if I keep messing up like this”.

Don’t forget our discussion question for the week.

Discussion Question:

• When you think about your progress toward your wellness goal, what has been more important- mindset or environment?

Happy Healthy Living!

Dr. Wuse