As a kid, did you ever play The Game of Life® by Hasbro®?
You’d spin the wheel and move your game piece along the highway of life, hoping to land on payday and collect $200 from the bank. Other times, you might land on a space that indicated “you just had twin girls,” and suddenly you’re adding pink pegs to the back of the car and paying the hospital $100.
Every time you spun the wheel, you knew you were playing a game of chance, hoping for a good life. Unfortunately, many of us approach our health and wellbeing the same way—spinning the wheel and hoping things turn out okay.
When we were young, we believed we were invincible. We thought our habits and lifestyle choices wouldn’t catch up with us. Fast forward 20 or 30 years, and some of us still hold onto that illusion. We eat late-night pizzas or carne asada fries like we did in college, then drag ourselves to the gym the next morning to off-set the indigestion we experienced all night. We work late into the night, just like we studied for exams, then expect to show up at work with the energy we need to effectively lead a team.
If we want to break free from this unhealthy (and slightly delusional) mindset, we need to begin to notice when we’re just “spinning the wheel” with our lifestyle choices and pretending like we are immune from the consequences.
There IS a Better Way
The truth? There is a better way. A preventative, personalized, integrative approach to wellbeing that acknowledges the unique nature of our mind and body—while recognizing the lifestyle choices that shape our health.
Here are a few powerful facts:
- Many lifestyle choices we make directly impact how we age and the quality of life we experience.
- Up to 80% of heart disease, 40% of cancers, and 90% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle modifications.
(Sources: American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, NIH) - A balanced and optimized mind and body will look different for each of us.
The decisions you make today will shape your aging tomorrow. Will it be healthy aging—or another spin of the dial?
Health and Wellbeing = Joyful Life
Making conscious choices that support your health is the surest path to a joyful life.
Wellbeing isn’t just physical. It shows up in every area: sleep, emotions, mindset, career, finances, relationships, and spirituality. True wellbeing means tending to both your inner and outer world—what you see and experience daily, as well as what you feel within.
3 Keys to Holistic Wellbeing: Preventative, Personalized, Integrative
If wellbeing matters to you, then you have the responsibility—and the opportunity—to consciously create it.
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Preventative
It’s your job to listen to the natural wisdom of your body. It gives you signals when something’s off. At first, it’s a gentle tap: a headache, low energy, an ache, a rash, unusual weight changes.
Most of us ignore that tap. We tell ourselves, “I’m too busy,” and keep pushing. Eventually, the tap becomes a stronger knock, then a “smack on the shoulder.” We go to the doctor, get a prescription, and then fall right back into old habits.
If ignored long enough, the smack becomes a “sucker punch.” That’s when we’re faced with something serious—cancer, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune conditions.
Preventative wellbeing means listening to the first tap and responding with care. That’s when change is easiest and most effective.
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Personalized
There is no one-size-fits-all plan. What works for others may not work for you. Why? We all have different psychology, biology, genetic makeup, and life experiences.
Some people thrive on six hours of sleep. Others need nine. Some can eat spicy food with no issue. Others get heartburn. Some handle stress with irritation, others with anxiety or withdrawal.
The key is to know yourself. Journaling can help: track your choices and notice their impact. How do you feel after a few glasses of wine? After a late steak dinner? After scrolling social media until midnight? Your mind and body keeps score. Pay attention.
Personalized wellbeing means making choices that balance and optimize your unique tendencies.
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Integrative
Integrative wellbeing sees the whole picture. It means tending to your body, mind, emotions, and spirit—the seen and unseen parts of yourself.
Everything is connected. Emotions affect the body. Unresolved anger, fear, or grief can lodge inside us and eventually show up as illness.
Integrative wellbeing also looks at external factors. Do your relationships, job, or finances nourish or drain you? What triggers your stress response? Is it an inner critic, or an external pressure?
Nothing gets left out of the conversation when it comes to holistic wellbeing.
Choosing a Wellbeing Support System
So how do we apply these 3 keys to wellbeing? We need a system that support us in taking a preventative, personalized, and integrative approach. Ayurveda is one such system.
It’s a 5,000-year-old approach to health and wellness rooted in the Laws of Nature. Ayurveda helps us understand our natural tendencies, so we can restore balance and strengthen every layer of our being—mind, body, and spirit.
In part two of this three-part series, we’ll explore Ayurveda’s elements and how they map the mind-body connection. Stay tuned.
