Healthy Choices
Thrive in the New Year
Two buzzwords circulating in the wellbeing
arena are resiliency, and beyond that, the concept
of thriving. In these conversations, one of the
overarching themes is the power of stress. Can
we turn stress into growth, instead of crumbling
under its weight?
Resilience is the innate ability to meet stress head on and
transform it into growth. Resiliency is what allows us to
bounce back, learn from the experience and become stronger
from it. When we build our resiliency, we have a greater
capacity to reach the point of thriving, meaning we are
improving ourselves, enlivening our lives and reaching our
full potential.
Unfortunately, too many people just cope with stress and
life, and accept “getting by.” When we choose to operate like
this, we are coping in a negative way, leading to poor health
outcomes. Our society normalizes negative coping strategies,
including excessive alcohol intake, overuse of prescription
drugs, junk food, and detaching from real relationships with
the overuse of social media.
Ask yourself these questions:
• What are you willing to tolerate?
• What are you willing to settle for in both your personal
and professional life?
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• Are you content with where your life is, or do you want
more?
• Do you wake up every day in the same routine, or do
you want to wake up every day with zest and excitement
about how you will live your life to its fullest?
Stress is an inevitable part of life. We encounter a stressor,
good or bad, and there is a response. What happens in
between the stressor and the response determines whether
stress harms our health, or if we can use the stress as a source
of growth.
Our lifestyle and health habits play a major role in how we
deal with stress. People who are engaged with healthy habits,
such as sound nutrition, physical activity, plenty of sleep and
a good support system, fare much better when facing stress
as opposed to people who cope with stress in negative ways,
such as substance abuse, binge eating, etc.
Exercise is a positive way to deal with stress in our lives, and
Clearwater’s recreation centers provide a great way to stay
active through the city’s fitness centers, pools, fitness classes,
organized sports, parks and trails. For more information on
what the city has to offer, visit myclearwaterparks.com.
The National Wellness Institute, a leading organization on
wellbeing, has worked with experts in the field to develop a
curriculum that addresses stress and how we can transform
it into the ability to thrive. For more information, visit
nationalwellness.org.
/myclearwaterparks.com
/nationalwellness.org