With the cognitive economy and performance efficiency of habits ( 9), the brain can conserve self-regulatory strength to focus on the important decisions in life ( 9), and free us to engage in thoughtful activities, such as reflecting on the past and planning for the future. As Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business says, “Any behavior that can be reduced to a routine is one less behavior that we must spend time and energy consciously thinking about and deciding upon” ( 7). Habits, in contrast, require very little energy ( 7, 8). We naturally have our own priorities, approaches, and aspirations, including our own views of what it means to live life fully. We should aim, instead, to strive for a “personal harmony” that feels most authentic to us ( 1). They do not, however, have to be equally balanced ( 1). Attention must be given to all the dimensions, as neglect of any one over time will adversely affect the others, and ultimately one’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Wellness encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental ( Table 1) ( 1). Sufficient self-care prevents us from harming those we serve, and according to Green Cross Standards of Self Care Guidelines, no situation or person can justify neglecting it ( 3). In order to ensure high-quality patient and client services, we have an ethical obligation to attend to our own health and well-being ( 3). For those in the helping professions, such as ourselves in veterinary medicine, wellness is a professional as well as personal responsibility. Wellness necessitates good self-stewardship, for ourselves and for those we care about and who care about us. Although it always includes striving for health, it’s more about living life fully ( 1), and is “a lifestyle and a personalized approach to living life in a way that… allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow” ( 2). Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit ( 1). People often think about wellness in terms of physical health - nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc., but it is so much more.
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