In order to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle, it is important to assess each of the nine dimensions of our wellness. These dimensions of wellness comprise our overall state of well being. Ohio State University is the founder of this idea of dimensional wellness. This concept has spread like wildfire to health and wellness related ideologies.
Diving into your dimensional wellness goes much deeper than simply mental, physical, or spiritual health. These certain characteristics of wellness focus on all aspects of your life.
What are the Nine Dimensions of Wellness?
Your nine dimensions of wellness include physical, emotional, creative, environmental, financial, occupational, social, spiritual, and intellectual.
When it comes to reflecting and healing any dimension of wellness, there are two questions we can ask ourselves. These questions will help us sufficiently reflect on what actions we can take to improve our well being.
1.) What is your dream goal regarding this dimension of wellness?
2.) What can you change in order to make this dream happen?
By going through these series of questions for each dimension of wellness, we can discover what exactly we need to do to achieve our desired state of well being.
Jump to:
Physical Wellness Emotional Wellness Creative Wellness Environmental Wellness Financial Wellness Occupational Wellness Social Wellness Spiritual Wellness Intellectual Wellness1.) Physical Wellness
Exploring physical wellness
Your physical wellness focuses mainly on the well being of your body. The physically well person gets a sufficient amount of sleep, consumes healthy nourishing foods, gets an adequate amount of exercise, and listens to their body.
For the physical realm of wellness, assess where you are now. What are you consuming? Are you getting an adequate amount of exercise (150 minutes per week)? How does your body feel? Do you feel exhausted or full of energy?
Now think of your dream goal for physical wellness. Some examples of physical wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Lose weight by eating more mindfully
- Be more active
- Get more rest
- Improve your immune system
- Have radiant skin
- Prevent diseases and illnesses
Now that you have your goal in mind, here is the next question. What can you change in order to make this happen? This means what can you start doing today, right this moment, in order to take steps closer to your dream physical wellness goal?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Drinking more water
- Eating less fast food and more high vibrational foods
- Making a set work-out schedule
- Taking time to rest when your body needs it
2.) Emotional Wellness
Your emotional wellness is comprised of how you are feeling. We can assess our emotional wellness in order to reflect on how we are reacting to situations.
An emotionally well person is able to identify, express, and manage all emotions they have. For the emotional realm of wellness, assess where you are now. How have you been reacting to emotionally stimulating situations? What tends to make you mad, sad, happy, or stressed?
Now think of your dream goal for emotional wellness. How do you want to feel? Some examples of emotional wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Feel confident in everything I do
- Full of energy, not fatigued
- In a state of gratefulness not lack
- React consciously
Now that you have your dream goal in mind, what can you change in order to make this happen?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Write down three things i’m grateful for every day
- Try to see the positive in things
- Meditate to calm my mind
- Recite positive affirmations
3.) Creative Wellness
Think of your creative wellness as the ability to participate in a diverse range of arts and expression. This can include journaling, painting, drawing, writing, singing, songwriting, and many other forms of art.
The creatively well person values all forms of art and enjoys indulging in expressing themselves.
Now, think of your dream goal for creative wellness.
Some examples of creative wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Journaling
- Express feelings through painting
- Composing songs
- Singing
- Participating in more cultural-enriching activities
Now that you have your dream creative wellness goal in mind, what can you change in order to make this happen?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Taking time at night to journal
- Getting involved in community projects
- Writing songs when you feel emotional
- Taking time to slow down and paint
- Drawing emotions
4.) Environmental Wellness
Your environmental wellness is reflective of your home, community, city, and the area you live in. Essentially, it is the world you create for yourself. Any environment you create for yourself affects how you feel.
When we are unsatisfied in the environmental wellness realm, we tend to create blockages that affect our mental health as well. If you do not enjoy where or how you live. take time to initiate change.
Think of your dream goal for environmental wellness. What does your dream environment look like? It could be regarding your home, the actual place you live, your fellow community members, or your natural surroundings.
Some examples of environmental wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Create a more positive and light atmosphere in your home
- Live in a community with like-minded individuals
- Move to an area with lots of trees and fresh air
- Have a clean and tidy home
- Increase chi in your home
- Fill your home with more things that make you happy
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Adding more light colors to your home
- Find a community that shares the same interests as you
- Start saving up to finally make that move to your dream town
- Fill your home with plants or crystals to increase the positive energy
- Leave positive affirmations around your home
5.) Financial Wellness
Your financial wellness refers to your awareness of your budgeting, spending, and saving habits. Do you work towards financial goals or do you just blow through money like it’s nothing?
The financially well person works to adequately to save and budget in order to achieve realistic goals. This is the practice of bringing consciousness and awareness into your financial habits.
Think of your dream goal for financial wellness. Sure everyone wants more money to spend, but why do you want more money? Be specific and detailed.
Some examples of financial wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Reaching a higher income level
- Paying off debt
- Not having to worry about spending money
- Being able to spend more on vacations
- No worry about paying bills
- Having the ability to buy things for others
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Setting up a monthly spending budget
- Setting realistic monthly income goals
- Deciding what habits lifestyle activities you can drop to save money
- Record weekly reports of what and how you spent money
- Attracting an abundance mindset
6.) Occupational Wellness
Your occupational wellness regards your life’s purpose and soul mission. Why are you here? What do you want to do for the rest of your life? This could also be called “Dharma wellness”.
Dharma is each individual’s ability to fulfill their life’s purpose in order to serve both themselves and others. Living in accordance with your Dharma correlates to occupational wellness because it is what you will do for the majority of your life.
Think of your dream goal for occupational wellness. Do you have a dream job that you feel is meant for you? What’s your dream in terms of how you spend your days?
Some examples of occupational wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Working from home
- Having a job that gives back to the community
- Enjoying going to work every day
- Knowing that my job benefits other people
- Having time to meditate and take time for me in the mornings
- Being able to be my own boss
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Creating my own online business
- Looking for more satisfying and fulfilling jobs
- Finding out what makes me most happy and creating a career around that
- Taking classes/courses on a topic you’re passionate about
Living in accordance with your Dharma, or on your life path, will result in your life being fulfilling and gratifying.
Now on to social wellness7.) Social Wellness
Your social wellness is how you spend time with and communicate with others. This could make up your network of people you associate yourself with online and in person.
The socially well person has a supportive network based on trust, respect, and has awareness of the feelings of others as well as themselves.
Think of your dream goal for social wellness. What does this look and feel like? Maybe you meet new friends who provide love and support. Maybe you find a community of people interested in the same things as you.
Some examples of social wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Spend more time with friends and family in person
- Establish stronger more understanding relationships
- Find new people who are interested in the same things as me
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Reach out more
- Consciously talk through problems
- Get to know new people
- Step out of my comfort zone socially
8.) Spiritual Wellness
Your spiritual wellness constitutes your overall balance and harmony with yourself by exploring the depth of your human purpose. Self-reflection is a large aspect of spiritual wellness.
In self-reflection, you dive into discovering your true life purpose, who you are as a person, and what constitutes you mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Think of your dream goal for spiritual wellness. How do you want to improve spiritually in aspects of your life?
Some examples of spiritual wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Meditate more often
- Take time to self-reflect through journaling
- Connecting with higher divine powers more often
- Connecting with my higher Self more
- Learn more about energy work
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Meditating once before bed and in the morning
- Self-reflecting at the end of every day
- Listening to my intuition (gut feeling)
- Doing more research on energy work
- Reading one book about spirituality a month
9.) Intellectual Wellness
Your intellectual wellness covers your ability to utilize critical thinking, moral reasoning, develop new worldviews, and participate in education for the sake of expanding your knowledge.
Anything you take in via conversation or media will process in your mind and affect your everyday life actions. Therefore it is important to protect what information you feed your mind.
Think of your dream goal for intellectual wellness. How do you want to improve your overall intelligence or information you are feeding your mind?
Some examples of intellectual wellness goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Fill my mind with more positive energy
- Surrounding myself with intelligent individuals
- Grow my knowledge in a specific area of interest
- Read more books
Now think of what you can do in this very moment to work towards that goal. What can you change/start doing today?
Some examples of how to initiate change include but are not limited to:
- Avoiding negative media accounts/platforms
- Checking my relationships to make sure they are bringing me up
- Start taking more courses/classes in an area of interest
- Aim for reading one book a month