How to Design a Wellness Program

Wellness is a state of being in which your physical, mental and emotional health are balanced and sound, and you experience satisfaction with yourself and your life. There are many approaches to wellness programs at the corporate, family or individual level. You can contract with a trained wellness coach to develop a wellness program, but it is not necessary to hire a professional to develop a program for yourself. Optimizing your health and cultivating personal well-being will be the hallmarks of your wellness program.

Instructions

1

Take Inventory: Ask yourself the following questions and answer on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being poor, 3 being average, and 5 being excellent. Record your answers in your notebook.

How is my physical health in general in terms of medical conditions?
How is my physical health in terms of fitness and activity level?
How is my physical health in terms of weight and nutrition?
How is my mental health in general in terms of psychological conditions?
How is my mental health in terms of stress levels?
How is my mental health in terms of intellectual stimulation?
How is my emotional health in terms of self-worth and confidence?
How is my emotional health in terms of healthy relationships?
How is my emotional health in terms of living environment and finances?
How do I rank my feelings of satisfaction and contentment?
How do I rank feelings of joy and inspiration?
How do I rank feelings of purpose and fulfillment?

2

Assess Your Starting Point: Review your inventory answers and look for numbers 1 and 2. Make a new list of these topics in order of most to least urgent per your own wellness objectives. These are the areas you will focus on as you create your wellness program.

3

Prioritize Your Action List: Write two different, specific actions you will take to address each topic on your list. For example, under "stress levels" you might write "meditate daily for 15 minutes" and "speak to boss about workload". Under "weight and nutrition" you might write "avoid all fast food for the rest of the year" and "consider a Mediterranean style diet."

4

Do Research: Review your action list for anything requiring further research. Do the research and revise your actions to reflect what you learned. For example, if you wrote "consider a Mediterranean style diet," you might borrow a book on it, and then decide to change your action list to read "follow a Mediterranean style diet for at least three months" if you like it. Or, "join a weight loss group" if you learn a Mediterranean diet is not for you.

5

Identify Professional Needs: Review your action list for complex or specialized needs you won't be able to meet on your own. Determine what kind of professional help you will seek and change your action list to reflect your decision. For example, if you wrote "quit smoking," you might decide you need to see your doctor to identify ways you can successfully break your habit. Change your action list to read "see doctor about smoking cessation program."

6

Make Appointments: Review your action list for any appointments you can make to complete the action, and make those appointments now. For example, if you wrote "speak to boss about workload," you might set up the initial meeting for Friday and a follow-up the next Friday if needed.

7

Schedule Program Timelines: Go through your entire list of actions, research and appointments, and place all the deadlines and dates you have scheduled on your calendar.

8

Follow the Program: Refer to your calendar and action list every day, until you have addressed all your 1s and 2s. Stay on schedule and keep your appointments.

9

Reassess and Revise: When you have completed actions on your list, reassess your inventory to learn if you feel your 1s and 2s have moved up to at least 3s. Ask yourself if you will benefit from adding new specific actions under your prioritized wellness topics, to further boost your well-being. Revise your lists over time until you have reached 4s and 5s in all areas.

10

Stay Well: Surround yourself with the tools and supportive people you need to meet and maintain your wellness program objectives for the long term. Review your personal inventory whenever your sense of well-being is compromised, or when you feel out of balance in any aspect of your physical, mental and emotional health.