Sometimes we don’t realize how everything we do impacts our health. We also might not realize how what we do also affect the other things we do in our lives. When your diet consists of only junk food, high sugar content, and greasy food, you will find yourself feeling sluggish and unmotivated. Your exercise routine will decrease with low energy, as well as your ability to stay organized. Without fueling your body with the nutrients it needs, you end up not having any energy for your daily activities. This scenario is just one example of how one area of your life can affect all of the others. This concept is best explained in the wheel of wellness. The wheel of wellness is a circular model of seven key areas in your life that are in some way connected. What you do daily will fall into one of these seven areas, and ultimately impact your overall health. By understanding the ways life can impact your health, you can make the best decisions for your well-being.

How is Your Emotional Wellness?

How you are doing emotionally in life can impact your health. The wheel of wellness has a section of the wheel dedicated to emotional wellness. You might ask yourself if the majority of your days are filled with you feeling stressed, anxious, and lacking motivation. Or, ask yourself if you are feeling mostly happy, energized, and have feelings of worth. Feeling stressed and anxious most of your days may impact your social life, your job, and your physical body in a negative way. You might find yourself feeling less productive, less organized, and overall less enthusiastic about life. On the other hand, if you are happy and energized most of your days, it’s likely that you will find yourself leaning into your support system, taking on new responsibilities within your work, and staying on top of eating well and staying hydrated. Of course, you’ll experience a mixture of emotions throughout your life, but assessing how you are feeling most of the time is important to understand how your emotional wellness is impacting your health. 

How is Your Financial Wellness?

Your financial wellness can have a large impact on your health. Although money might not equal happiness, it can affect your overall well-being. Are you able to pay your bills on time? Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Feeling stressed about your financial state can keep you awake at night and not give your body the rest it needs. Without the right amount of sleep, your body will not be able to function at its best, leading to you not having the energy to get everything done that you need in a day. If you aren’t meeting your financial goals, try creating a budget that lists all of your expenses and where you want your money to go. This can keep you from overspending in some areas, and putting money in other areas you desire like retirement savings. When you look at the financial area of the wheel of wellness and are satisfied with the state of your finances, you can see the positive impact it has on your life. You’re most likely putting your money where it needs to go, such as your mortgage, student loans, and nutritious groceries. 

How Is Your Environmental Wellness?

You might not realize the impact the environment around you has on your health. When you think of the environment you might think of pollution, trash, and global warming. Although those are environmental things, the wheel of wellness is pointing you towards your immediate surroundings. Is your dirty laundry covering the floor of your bedroom? Are dishes piling up in the sink? Is your desk at work unorganized and full of clutter? When the environment around us feels chaotic, it can impact our health. If the kitchen feels like a mess, you might go and pick up greasy food in the drive-thru instead of cooking a healthy meal. The clutter on your desk can lead you to feel overwhelmed at work and less productive than normal. By staying on top of keeping your environment around you clean and organized, you can see an improvement in mood, production, and taking care of your physical body. According to the wheel of wellness, your environment can impact your overall health.

Life Has an Impact

By looking at just three areas in the wheel of wellness, you can see how your emotional, financial, and environmental wellness can impact your health. You can also think about how spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social wellness can impact your health. By taking a look at these areas in your life, you can see which ones may be lacking more than others. You can then prioritize two or three places where you can apply the immediate change in order to positively impact your health. Then, if necessary, you can find other ways that may need some planning and goal setting in order to positively impact your health. Use the wheel of wellness to discover how the areas of life are impacting your health.