How’s your heart health? You may wonder what I mean by this? Am I talking about cardiovascular health? Or I could be talking about emotional health? Also, it could be spiritual health. I could be asking about your relationships.
There are many dimensions of heart health beyond its physiological aspects and all contribute to overall well-being. Here’s a list of several.
- Emotional Well-being: The heart is often associated with emotions. Emotional health involves understanding and managing feelings, fostering resilience, and cultivating a positive mindset.
- Compassion and Empathy: A “big heart” symbolizes kindness and understanding. Exploring ways to develop empathy and engage in compassionate actions can enhance interpersonal relationships and community connections.
- Passion and Purpose: Following one’s heart relates to pursuing passions and finding purpose in life. We can identify and engage with activities that ignite our enthusiasm and lead to a more fulfilling existence.
- Courage and Bravery: The term “having heart” signifies courage. When we face challenges, take risks, and step out of our comfort zones – this can inspire personal growth and resilience.
- Inner Peace and Contentment: A peaceful heart reflects inner tranquility. Practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and spiritual reflection can help you achieve a state of calm and contentment.
In the last few weeks, I have been talking about new year intentions and creating your personal wellness vision. Today, I’m going to focus on passion and purpose from the above list of heart health dimensions.
Have you ever wondered how aligning your life with your passions and God’s purpose can enhance your overall well-being? Crafting a written Wellness Vision serves as a roadmap to this fulfillment.
Your passion(s) are God-given desires and talents that ignite enthusiasm and drive. Your purpose is a divine calling or mission God has ordained for each individual person. Finding yours begins with exploring your passion.
Philippians 3: 13-14 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
God created us to do the good things he planned for us!
The Interconnection Between Passion, Purpose, and Well-being
We have a choice. If you are driven, like I am, you can push on to achieve goals you set. This is hard work but can be rewarding; however, achieving a goal may not lead to contentment. It may lead to feeling the need to set a loftier goal. Where does that cycle end? Often in exhaustion, possibly health issues and most likely an unbalanced life.
The other option is to align with God’s purpose for your life and it certainly contributes to spiritual, emotional and physical health! Additionally, the added bonus is this leads to a sense of fulfillment and joy that enhances overall quality of life!
Crafting Your Wellness Vision Rooted in Christian Faith
A Wellness Vision is a personalized, faith-based statement that reflects your commitment to your holistic (all encompassing) health in alignment with God’s will.
Steps to Create Your Wellness Vision:
Prayer and Reflection – Seeking God’s guidance through prayer to gain clarity on His purpose.
Identify Your God-Given Passions and Talents. What brings your joy and glorifies God?
Write Your Vision Statement. Write a list of each area of your life that is important to you. In each of those areas, take 3-5 minutes and brainstorm/write what your ideal life looks like in that area of life. Not what it looks like today, but what you want it to look like. Don’t edit, just write, then move on to the next category. When all categories are complete, you have your rough draft!
You will re-read and edit to be concise. Your Wellness Vision now becomes your road map and will remind you what is important and help you make decisions. You read it daily or at least weekly. I printed and laminated several copies of mine and keep them in places I see daily.
Implementing and Living Out Your Wellness Vision
The first step is done and it’s a valuable beginning! You now have the vision is your mind! The next steps involve some intentional planning and goal setting. We break down the bigger challenges to easily obtainable small steps. Having someone to help with this process is really helpful. Not only in the planning stage but also for accountability. I am here for you! Reach out and let’s chat!
Overcoming Challenges
There will be obstacles and unexpected challenges that arise. That is part of life. Part of the planning process is to identify the most likely challenges and craft a strategy to deal with them without derailing your progress. This makes it easier to navigate because your response to challenges is pre-determined and requires less thought, only implementation.
Conclusion
Time is a gift we cannot get back. Time waits for no one. We are each responsible for how we use our time. There is no better time to begin taking charge of your health and wellness than NOW. Regardless of how you do it, now is the time to begin.
My upcoming workshop will teach you the Wellness Vision concept and walk you through creating your own! You’ll leave with a first draft!
How to Create Your Wellness Vision and Thrive by Design!
Hosted live online (and recorded) Feb. 3, 2025, 2:00 pm.
Registration will open later in January.
In love and health,
Terri