Whole Person Wellness Series

This article is part of a series explaining in detail a complete model of whole person wellness.   If you’ve come across this article before reading my introductory piece The Six Components of Whole Person Wellness, I encourage you to refer back to this article as a starting point for the definition of whole person wellness, and an introduction to its six components.

The second article in this series is your career:

• Health
• Career
• Relationships
• Personal Growth & Development
• Finance
• Enjoyment

Whole Person Wellness – Your Career

When presented with a model for wellness, few people immediately think of career as one of the most significant aspects to affects their overall wellbeing.  Usually we think about our physical wellbeing, what we eat, how much we exercise, and perhaps how much stress we experience as the major components.  When one becomes truly interested in committing to a lifestyle of whole person wellness, that individual is willing to look beyond the results of the decisions they’ve made to face the more difficult and pertinent questions that affect their overall wellbeing.  This means that its worth examining your career to ensure that it provides you with the fulfillment and satisfaction you deserve.    

The process of examining your career is a simple one.  Generally, most of us know if we enjoy the work we do.  We know if the hours we spend are reasonable and fit in with the overall vision we have that includes our time for self, family, fun and the ‘rest’ of life that we want to enjoy outside of work.  We know what mood we come home in each and every day we return from work.  We know if we are satisfied with the pay we receive.  We know if we feel we are missing out on something by not working in a different field. 

For those of you picking a major in school, or just starting work in a career, it may be a little less clear to you what you are getting into.  I can’t emphasize how important it is to do your homework, learn about possibilities in the field you are researching.  Learn about the lifestyle, and become clear for what it is you want in life and see how that fits in with the decisions you are making.  As you’ll see, its not impossible to switch careers midlife, but making a choice to pursue a career is one of the biggest decisions you can make, and a lifetime of wellbeing may be hinging on that decision. 

Change Takes Courage

For those of you entering a new line of work, or contemplating a significant change, rest assured that change takes courage.  In 2005 when I decided to leave a stable and well paying job in the software industry to ‘find myself’, I entered a period of uncertainty that was like no other I had experienced in my life.  I had nearly a decade invested in a skill set that I no longer cared to pursue as my calling had shifted from previous years.  Regardless, I felt that if I did not follow my heart, my passions and desire to start my own company in a field that my life had been pointed towards, then the question ‘what if’ would have haunted me forever.  Similarly, I knew that for my health, the best thing I could do was to leave the industry which had overwhelmed me and taxed me both physically and mentally. 

While I do not recommend for all the readers of this article to pack their bags and quit their work tomorrow, I do recommend that you examine your options if you are not 100% happy with your career and its affect on your personal wellbeing.  At a minimum, you should be able to see a clear trajectory in the job you have today towards the job you want in the future.  Whether you know it or not, the seemingly small daily stressors that never seem to go away (like those we experience when we do not love what we do), are the ones that impair our physical health the most (not to mention mental health).  Often we think its the big life events that cause the most stress, but the reality is that it is the unfinished business and low grade frustrations that cause the biggest impact – imagine the cumulative effect of doing a job you don’t love for 20 years! 

Questions for Self Inquiry: 

• What do I love about my job?
• In what ways do I know my job affects my overall wellbeing (positively or negatively)?
• How do I feel when I come home from work?
• What does the career path look like with the career I currently have?  How does that make me feel?
• What is the lifestyle of people in the job I aspire for?  Does it align with my personal vision?
• What would I be doing if I could pick any career and not have to worry about money?
• Can I be happy with the financial potential with the career path I am currently in?
• How do I notice myself talking when I speak about my job?  Am I full of energy, anger, excitement, despair?  How would you describe it?
• What would others say about the state of your work/life balance?
• What observations can you draw from the questions of self inquiry above?

In Closing

The results of having a career path that is aligned with your spirit and soul can be seen in every day living.  To be less abstract, this person feels full of energy when they return from work.  They are excited to speak about what they do when others ask.  They feel as though the day goes by quickly, and work doesn’t necessarily feel like ‘work’.  They don’t complain about the hours on the job and the sacrifices they are making.  The career is simply an extension of who they are and an outlet for expressing this to the world. 

I know first hand the challenges of working in the wrong job and its affect on physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing.  I know the difficulties of shifting gears.  I know how hard it can be to give up a steady and significant paycheck for an unknown future.  Most importantly, I know just how much I’ve loved every day since I chose to embrace a career which allows me to contribute who I am with the world, and I know that as a result of the decision I’ve made, my life has entered into a whole new state of whole person wellness. 

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Be Well

Related Articles:

• The Six Components of Whole Person Wellness
• Whole Person Wellness Part 1 – Your Health
• Developing the Vision
• Being Comfortable with Uncertainty