Social Wellness

The three things that stand between you and it

Let's face it; social wellness is a fuzzy term. For one thing it means different things at different stages and phases of life. The social dimensions of a teenager or college student differ substantially from that of a young urban professional or a farmer. Those differ from a newlywed, empty nester, widow(er) or retiree. Secondly, our own social quotient is dependent on specific personality types such as introvert, extrovert, HSP.
Third, other life factors come into play, such as ages and number of children, demands of work, overall economy, resources, and the like.

That said, there is a common thread. Remember the top three criteria for business success? Location, location, location.

For social wellness the top three are connection, connection, connection.

You may be financially secure and have oodles of time that you spend doing volunteer work in your community. You may be up to your ears raising a family. You may be grieving over the loss of a loved one or out building your own business or working two jobs. You can still find social fulfillment in your life because it has nothing to do with quantity.

How much contact you have with others is NOT where the rubber meets the road. It meets it at how stable, solid and healthy your social connections are - whatever they may be.

So what's in the way of the ideal socially healthy life you want?

1. The cocoon

Here's the stumbling block for many of us. Most of us on the planet live in urban areas. To protect ourselves from the push and pull of commutes, work, school, hustle and bustle and anonymity of city life we tend to wrap ourselves in a cocoon. That's okay when you're riding a subway. It's not okay when you talk to friends, go out with your buds, cope with family live, chat with relatives or go bowling with colleagues.

How many times do we do that and stay in our cocoon? The way to social health, wellness and well-being is to do like a butterfly and break out of what can way too easily become our comfort zone and primary mode of interacting. We need to check in with ourselves and make sure we are really showing up. That we are completely present and 100 percent accounted for. That we are connected.

2. Life in the fast lane

As paradoxical as it may seem we can easily fill our social calendars with lots of people and lots of activities and stay totally busy mixing with other people. At the same time we can make sure it is all at a 'safe' distance, we can be right there and still keep the world at bay. We tell ourselves we are too busy to call our friends, go on a vacation, spend time in Nature, help out a friend or work on a community project. We can even do some of those and remain at a completely superficial level that keeps us disconnected from what's truly of value. We need to pause, evaluate, get rid of the busy, busy mentality and reach out. In a word, connect.

3. Life crises

Someone we love dies. Or is shipped off to war. We are laid off. We can't afford school anymore. We lose our home. We have a health issue. This is only a partial list. Some say those are the times we wade through until it's time for us to become socially well again. We beg to differ.

The worst of times can also be the times of deepest connection. With our loved ones, our friends and family, our support system, our spiritual advisors. It can also be an opportunity to find a lot out about Number One and connect with ourselves in meaningful ways.

Sure these flip easily from social wellness into spiritual, intellectual, and emotional wellness, but that's why it's all part of a big circle. Dare I say, it's all connected.

What does 'Social Wellness' mean for you?

Feel free to scream, disagree or tell your story. We're always happy to listen. We love the connection!