(ThyBlackMan.com) How do we respond to change and challenge? What’s the best way to handle anger? What to do about difficult people? The answer: handle it as ‘well’ as we can. Someone much wiser than me once said life is ten percent what happens to us and ninety percent how we respond.
Wellness is defined by the National Wellness Institute as a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential. Wellness covers lifestyle, spiritual connection and social environment.
We now know more about the mind-body connection than we did twenty-five years ago. One thing is for certain: wellness is a process – it’s a discipline! There are some simple, everyday things you can do to reap its rewards. Use the following attributes to create your 
wellness loop.
Attribute One
Regular Exercise
The studies are unanimous: You cannot be well if you are sedentary. We are genetically and divinely designed to move. As a fit pro I hear it all of the time from people who are contemplating launching an exercise program: I have to get my mind right. Nonsense! The best way to get your ‘mind right’ is to get your body moving. How do we know this? Because the body in motion releases ‘feel good’ hormones into the blood stream, resulting in a sense of accomplishment and euphoria. In other words, when you feel good you look good. When you look good you feel good.
Commit to ten minutes a day of physical activity, even if it’s a brisk walk through the neighborhood.
Attribute Two
Smart Eating
The father of medicine Hipprocrates wrote, Let medicine be thy food. Let thy food be thy medicine. We are what we eat and drink. Smart eating means exercising prudence in our choices; it also means moderation. A ‘smart’ dietary regimen for the apparently healthy individual would include the following among others: five to six meals per day. four to six liters of water. moderate amounts of protein, low-glycemic carbs and healthy fats. reduced intake of red meat and saturated fats. daily ingestion of fruits and veggies.
Attribute Three
Positive Thinking
How is today won or lost? According to one’s thinking! If you get out of your bed negative, you are already defeated. If you get up with a determination to make your life better, you’re a winner. Here’s the bottom line: you cannot begin to think positive until you at first create a positive environment. This means your personal space, your private friends and your social network. It begins with the most prized word in the universe: ATTITUDE! Learn to adjust your attitude that will produce the best results for your given predicament. Think positive and positive will follow.
Attribute Four
Feel Good
The last component is actually the litmus test for the wellness loop. When you exercise regularly, eat smart and think right, you increase your likelihood of feeling good.
Feeling good, though, is intention. Make it your goal to feel good regardless of how your day unfolds. In fact, do not ever use the words “I had a long day”. Instead, acknowledge your day was challenging – but productive!
Although a feeling cannot always be measured, it can be actualized. I like how Les Brown puts it: In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.
Remember, life is ten percent what happens and ninety percent how you respond.
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.
