CULTIVATING HEALTH AND WELL-bEING

Before you get down to discovering your purpose or achieving what the psychologist, Abraham Maslow, called self-actualization, you need to establish your foundation. In 1943, he published a paper called “A Theory of Motivation,” where he postulated that there were five basic human needs, each built upon the other. They include physiologic needs (food, shelter, warmth), safety needs (security), belongingness (intimacy, friends, community), esteem (accomplishment and prestige), and self actualization (achieving one’s full potential). You may have seen this concept organized as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Although the diagram illustrates a pyramid, you do not have to completely solve one level in order to go on to the next. I find it helpful to imagine the pyramid as a continuum, where I exist at various stages of development on each level. Having your physiologic and safety needs are certainly important for you to do creative work, but how many writers have written incredible songs or poems, fulfilling their creative potential, while still suffering from loss of connection or prestige or health? That being said, I am not suggesting that you become a tortured artist.

What I do encourage is that you start to think of the ways you can enhance your journey by cultivating excellent habits. This means focusing on the fundamental requirements for a long, healthy life: eat well, sleep well, and exercise. By providing your body with a clean source of energy, establishing a rhythm to your day, teaching your body to withstand physical stress, I promise you will learn the discipline required to succeed at your life and goals.

In fact, numerous studies have established that eating well, sleeping well, and getting exercise have shown incredible benefits in sense of accomplishment, improved memory, sharper focus, a stronger body, higher confidence, and a greater ability in adapting and responding to stress. When I was in college, I slipped into the self-neglecting cycle of staying up late, eating too much junk food, and skipping out on exercise which led to poor grades and worsening self-esteem. Years later, I look back and wonder, “What was I thinking?!”

Speaking of thought, the concept of mindfulness, or the practice of being present and aware, has existed for millennia in Buddhist and Hindu teachings. On some level, it exists in every culture through the practice of meditation or spirituality.

James Clear, a popular blogger and author, aptly stated “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” If you want to become healthier, more creative, a harder worker, more loving, more mindful… then you will have to practice it. I challenge you to work on improving some part of yourself a little bit every day. And watch how the benefits compound after a couple of years.