Story: Ikigai < Mindfulness < Wellness

*This is the theme for the chair of Toastmasters, October 19th, 2019.

According to Metro, local newspaper, October is a mental health month. I am in charge of chair of Toastmasters at next meeting. Therefore, I looked for the theme of meeting. The theme should be educational, positive and speakable.

Is the word, mental health, positive or negative? I asked fellow Toastmasters, but it doesn’t leaded positive impact. I stretched it. I came up with other words, ikigai, mindfulness, meditation, zen and thoughtful.

Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment, which one can develop through the practice of meditation and through other training. – Wikipedia

How to focus on present, it is an interesting topic. However, I wanted to give audience more flexible theme. Then I discovered wellness.

The Eight Dimensions of Wellness

How different between health and wellness?
“Health” was defined in the past as simply the absence of disease, which is now very related to the present – day definition of wellness. Wellness is more of a lifestyle – it is a way of living. – Difference Between

Some articles mention only 6 dimensions, Emotional, Environment, Intellectual, Physical, Social, Spiritual, except Finance and Occupation. I don’t agree with that. If we don’t have a safe amount of finance today, that’s a disaster. I don’t think I can even consider wellness at this point. Just work day and night for survive. We don’t have to earn a lot of money, but we should have money for daily expenses to achieve wellness.

About occupation, we normally spend 1/4 lifetime for work. During the work, we can cooperate to other people, achieving a goal together, contribute to society in the end. It’s beautiful and I like to work.

United Nations(UN) set sustainable development goals(SDGs) in January 2016. SDGs shows UN’s willing to achieve 17 goals with whole over the world by 2030. It can roughly divided human rights and climate actions. It is ideal. All country which belongs to UN have to commit to it, but I am not sure we will be able to get done on schedule though the goal is necessary if we desire.

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth. – USDavis.edu

SDGs will bottom up. How about people who live in a developed country? We are blessed.

Why wellness matters?
Maintaining an optimal level of wellness is absolutely crucial to live a higher quality life. Wellness matters. Wellness matters because everything we do and every emotion we feel relates to our well-being. In turn, our well-being directly affects our actions and emotions. It’s an ongoing circle. Therefore, it is important for everyone to achieve optimal wellness in order to subdue stress, reduce the risk of illness and ensure positive interactions. – UCDavis

The Eight Dimensions of Wellness

Wellness is an active process of being aware and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. 8 dimension of wellness is interconnected with the others and all are equally important in the pursuit of optimum health.

Emotional
Understand your feeling. Self-care, relaxation, stress reduction, development of inner resources.

Environment
Safe, positive, calming.

Finance
Impacts health and academics.

Intellectual
Scholastic, cultural, community activity.

Occupational
Work, school, volunteer.

Physical
Increase activity, outdoor, healthy food.

Social
One social connection daily. Healthy friendships.

Spiritual
Disconnect from distractions. Be mindful. Discover what values and beliefs are most important.

What causes wellness | Sir Harry Burns | TEDxGlasgow

– Common wealth has connotations of money and riches and economic growth.
– What is it that makes us well?
– Well-being and wealth.
– Spectrum between pathogenesis at one end and saluted genesis at the other.

Emily Werner and resilience
– Personal attribute: outgoing, bright, and positive.
– The family: having close bonds with at least one family member or an emotionally stable parent
– The community: receiving support or counsel from peers

Core Keyes and flourishing
– They are happy and satisfied: they tend to see their lives as having a purpose; they feel some degree of mastery and accept all parts of themselves.

Ikigai – How To Live A Long And Happy Life

– Even the oldest Okinawans are considered healthy and have the emotional, physical and intellectual capacity to live and function independently.
– Iki meaning “to live” and gai meaning “reason”. Ikigai means “your reason to live”.

How to live long and happy
1. Follow your Ikigai. A reason to get up in the morning
– What do I love?
– What am I good at?
– What does the world need?
– What can I get paid for?

2. Take it slow
slowing down is a conscious choice, and not always an easy one, but it leads to a greater appreciation for life and a greater level of happiness.

3. Don’t fill your stomach. Eat slowly, focus on food, use small vessels
American says I am full, Okinawan says I’m no longer hungry.

4. Surround yourself with good friends
A cultural tradition for built-in companionship.
Friends can affect your health even more than family and people with the most friends tend to outlive those with the fewest by 22 percent.
– What can I do that will help the people closest to me be happier?

5. Smile
It’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities.
– Lowers the heart rate
– Reduces blood pressure
– Relaxes your body

6. Reconnect with nature
A sensse of connection to other people is important, but so too is the individual connection to nature.
– Viewing nature develops openness, creativity, connection, generosity, resilience.

7. Give thanks
A sensse of connection to other people is important, but so too is the individual connection to nature.
– Gratitude journal

8. Exercise
Need to add movement to your day.

9.Live in the moment
No past, no future, your are in your flow.

How To Find And Do Work That You Love (Ikigai)

©The Futur

My digital mentor Chris Do picked up the method of Ikigai. This is a good digital workshop. You can ask yourself, what Ikigai is.

Ikigai = Reason for being.
1. What you love
– Mission(between 1-2)
2. What you good at
– Vocation(between 2-3)
3. What pays well
– Profession(between 3-4)
4. What the world needs
– Passion(between 4-1)

It’s hard to hit a target when you don’t know where the target is. It’s hard to score the goal when you don’t know what the goal is. Once you know the target, once you know the goal, everything comes into clarity into the focus.

Emotion, Stress, and Health: Crash Course Psychology #26

©CrashCourse

Conclusion: Review and maintain

Wellness is not given automatically. You have to build your wellness. When you feel a lack in some dimensions, you have to fulfill it. If you have a good balance of dimensions, you have to maintain it.

In the past 3 weeks, I attended a local meetup. I feel that I have a good score for social right now. At the same time, I could put myself into good environment. I want to give a positive environment to others in the future.

Reference:

Woratana Perth: Ikigai – The secret Japanese way to live a happy and long life