Wellness for the Win
“Good health is a duty to yourself, to your contemporaries, to your inheritors,
to the progress of the world.” Gwendolyn Brooks
Dax Shepherd and Adam Scott recently sat down for a podcast conversation about family, Hollywood, nostalgia, and growing older. Reminiscing about the golden days of young adulthood while mourning the drumbeat of growing older, the celebrity pals pined about what life would be like if science could freeze aging at 28… few wrinkles, great hair, physical prowess, limited aches and pains, boundless energy. Their conclusions? Well, a funny thing happened in the quest for the Fountain of Youth. The more the guys talked about the pros of being in the prime of their twenties, the more they realized that prioritizing wellness means a good life is accessible at all ages.
I’m a bit beyond 28 these days, and I understand that despite my good health, I am not invincible. In fact, I have back surgery scheduled for next week. Hopefully, the surgery will wrap a bow of recovery around the aches, pains, and therapies I’ve endured. In the meantime, I’m thinking about health… living well… and work/life integration. Are you?
Health is Your Wealth
I’m active. I’m a fitness buff. I care about all the personal connections. Through bad decisions and wonky priorities, I’ve learned how to succeed in business while enjoying the good life. My advice to you? When it comes to wellness, live with intention. Here’s the reality, my friends. Our frenetic existence as business leaders can easily create ragged edges outside of the workplace. One minute, you’re leading strategy meetings from your home office; the next, you’re courting clients in Dubai. Flights… Crappy Food… Sleep Deprivation… Missed workouts… A smouldering parenting issue back at the house? If you plan to manage all the pieces while claiming some deep joy along the way, you must prioritize YOU.
A suitable place to start is a wellness evaluation. Yes, wellness. “Wellness” implies a multifaceted and integrated understanding to achieving and sustaining the good life. While many digital tools are available to guide your wellness evaluation, I strongly suggest a coach. A wellness coach – embodied or AI – brings an outsider’s perspective to your journey. If you prefer to go solo to start, hop over to Harvard’s Human Flourishing Site and explore the program’s tools, research, course offerings, and articles. I also recommend the Self Care Wheel for your consideration. Based on the early 2000s work of psychologists Jane Myers, Thomas Sweeney, and Melvin Witmer, The Wheel promotes optimal health “in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live more fully within the human and natural community.”
Whether you choose coaching or self-help routes, remember that wellness is more than carving bulging biceps and achieving a low A1C lab result. In fact, Myers, Sweeney, and Witmer tell us that wellness is found at the intersection of psychological, emotional, spiritual, personal, professional, and physical health. When one facet is out of balance, all may be impacted. Again, evaluate, get some coaching, and be intentional about following a plan. And remember that the people who look to you for leadership are watching.
Cultivating a Culture of Wellness
Forbes contributor Dr. Marita Kinney recently pinned a provocative piece on wellness in the workplace. On the one hand, Kinney celebrates corporate wellness initiatives, noting, “Today’s corporations are investing heavily in employee wellness initiatives, with common benefits like gym memberships, meditation apps and team-building retreats.” On the downside, Kinney laments, “However, beneath the surface of these well-intentioned efforts lies a silent crisis: Workplace culture is often neglected.” As I’ve written many times before, workplace culture will live or die based on the behaviours of workplace leaders. That’s us.
As you noticed when you began to read this piece, I mentioned my upcoming back surgery. Am I excited about the operating room? No… it scares me. I share this news as an example of culture-building. By publicly revealing some of my wellness journey, I hope to give you some courage to be transparent about yours. If you’re transparent, your team will feel that the workplace culture is emotionally safe… an environment that normalizes conversation about the obstacles and opportunities that arrive on the wellness journey.
Here’s to your wellness, friends, and the good health of your culture.
