Categories of Holistic Living that Apply to Everyone
It’s deeper than sage and crystals
No one even really knows what living a holistic life means.
A holistic approach means providing support that looks at the whole person, not just their mental health needs. The support should also consider their intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
These are factors that play a massive part in your overall self. Everyone has different needs, and I emphasize the holistic lifestyle because it allows one to look at things in the grand scheme and not only focus on one part, like mental or physical health. We all know the self-help community has risen because everyone desires to live a good life.
In college, I took quite a few philosophy courses and learned to love Aristotle’s philosophy on living a good life. Aristotle believed that the ultimate goal for humans is to achieve ultimate happiness. According to Aristotle, the good life is the happy life, as he believes happiness is an end in itself. For humans, Aristotle develops a theory of the good life, also known as eudaemonia. Happiness looks different for everyone, so when we think of “happiness,” there is not only one way to be happy. But that’s another article in itself, so for now, I want to talk about holism.
If you desire happiness, looking at life to see what brings you absolute pleasure is essential. I speak about happiness in holism because you have to take time to get to know what makes you happy (Your WHY) in a general sense so you can see where work is needed.
This article aims to bring awareness to these categories of holism so we can learn to love more and take care of ourselves and each other.
Different Categories of Holistic Living
Intellectual
Lacking intellect means being ignorant, foolish, or uncultivated. It’s effortless to seem naive if you’re not careful about what you express.
There are life-enhancing ways to boost your intellectual health.
Develop good study skills and time management, become a critical thinker, read often, learn a language, and lowering screen time.
Any mentally stimulating activity should help to build up your brain. Read, take courses, and try “mental gymnastics,” such as word puzzles or math problems. Experiment with things that require manual skill and mental efforts, such as drawing, painting, and other crafts.
Physical Health (as we know)
It’s no secret that we need adequate exercise to maintain our body, but if you didn’t know, exercise is tremendously beneficial to your mind. Even if it’s not a full workout, you can still gain momentum for the day, contribute to your summer body, and use it to relieve stress. Keep in mind that there are other ways to work out besides going to the gym. You can do other things to exert, like bike riding, yoga, walking, and playing soccer, and there are a few more that I will go into detail about in another article, so stay tuned.
Emotional
Being emotionally grounded gives you a clear conscious mind and allows you to make clear, concise decisions. Many people are not emotionally stable and don’t even know it. Signs of being emotionally unstable include; indecisiveness, feeling lost in conversation, having weak friendships that aren’t suitable, and inability to express their feelings. There are many other examples, but this is to touch base. Someone who is emotionally stable has no problem making decisions, can easily express themselves, and has a higher level of intellectuality because they can better analyze and admit when they’ve done wrong/ navigate through emotionally heavy situations.
Emotional health is a bracket I’m still working on because although I’m very mindful and connected to my intuition, I struggle with indecisiveness and decision-making in general.
Social
Times are constantly changing, along with society, so people leave social health alone for various reasons. A few examples of having positive social health are: recognizing how other people influence you, the ability to disagree with others respectfully, listening to others without judgment or blame, and sharing your feelings honestly.
A few examples of negative social are having negative outbursts, being overly critical of others (judging before you know someone), and having a Limited ability to connect with others. Feelings of depression and anxiety. Toxicity in relationships. Poor ability to maintain personal boundaries. Unwanted feelings of loneliness and solitude.
There are ways you can improve your social behavior, though; you can do things like surround yourself with good people. Although finding your tribe may be a process, it will be so worth it once you find people who (genuinely) care about you. Simple things lead to positive social health, like listening more than you speak, being polite, remembering someone’s name, or even decreasing your number of complaints.
Spiritual
There are three main elements of human spirituality; mind, body, and soul (spirit). These three elements compose who you are as a person. Your body — physical health, what you eat, your hygienic practices. Your mind — the way you think and talk to yourself, your future goals, and your soul — your religion, beliefs, and self-healing practices.
Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine.
Different kinds of spirituality:
- Prayer
- Connecting with nature
- Religious practices
- Meditation
Final Thought
I advocate for a holistic lifestyle because you’re more in tune with your mind, body, and soul. There’s nothing more refreshing than being mentally grounded and feeling good about yourself. I don’t say you’ll achieve perfection, but living wholesome will bring more peace. Even if no one else knows about your integrity, it will feel good internally because you know you’re always aiming to be your healthiest self. Who doesn’t want peace and happiness? I feel like holistic living applies to everyone. Hopefully, you learned something new.
Chow for now!
Always,
Sunny
