Intellectual Wellness
What Does Intellectual Wellness Mean?
The way that we choose to organise our thought processes and to receive new ideas and perspectives, can have a significant impact on our day-to-day wellbeing. Intellectual Wellness means endeavouring to maintain good mental health habits, being open to intellectual growth, and striving towards creativity in our lives.
Without Intellectual Wellbeing, it can become easy to get stuck in negative thought processes and patterns, which impede our ability to move forward in life and to become our best selves. Making it a regular habit to maintain our overall health and wellbeing can support this, as can being open to new ideas, perspectives and ways of solving problems.
Intellectual Wellness interacts with the seven other Dimensions of Wellness. Feeling stress within one Dimension of Wellness, can easily disrupt our wellness in other areas of life if not managed. Setting aside time to reflect, being conscious of the information that you are absorbing, and implementing routines to support Intellectual Wellness are essential for maintaining this.
Your goal could be as simple as reading a new book on an unfamiliar subject, or trying a new activity that promotes learning and expands your mind. You may want to make changes to your physical environment that enhance your Intellectual Wellness also, or the changes may be internal and require ongoing self-discipline.
The information we’ll provide you with will help you work towards a more intellectually well lifestyle.
What Are the Benefits of Intellectual Wellness?
There are many benefits to being intellectually well. Some of these relate to yourself and how you carry out your day-to-day activities. Others relate to growth and development opportunities.
Here we’ve listed just some of the benefits of Intellectual Wellness:
- Clarity of thought and focus
- Improved mood and expanded mindset
- Enhanced brain function and learning capabilities
- Ability to plan ahead and minimise stress
- Enhanced organisational skills both in home life and at work
- Creation of new neural pathways to support brain growth
- Growth of personal knowledge and skill set
- A sense of achievement and overall wellbeing
How to Set Intellectual Wellness Goals
While setting out to achieve a new Intellectual Wellness goal may feel overwhelming at first, it’s beginning the journey that counts.
Set small, achievable goals for yourself on a daily basis, and celebrate every step forward. Ask family and friends to support you with your goals where possible, as well as your boss and co-workers if relevant.
Keeping a diary can assist in maintaining a positive mindset also. Writing down any goals, appointments or deadlines that you are aiming to reach, can assist with feeling well organised and clearing your mind to focus on present priorities.
If achieving your goal feels out of reach, create a list or calendar of steps that you can take to move in the right direction. You can also ask a friend or family member to be an accountability buddy, encouraging you to move forward if you’re feeling stuck in a rut.
Below we look at some tips that you may want to consider to set achievable goals and improve your Intellectual Wellbeing.
Intellectual Wellness Tips
There are a range of activities and behaviours that you can implement to improve your Intellectual Wellness. We’ve listed some of our favourites below:
- Eat well: Adequate nutrition is the foundation of brain health, and can significantly impact your ability to learn and focus throughout the day. Foods high in Omega-3 essential fatty acids in particular, can assist in boosting brain health and memory retention.
- Sleep well: High quality sleep is vital for brain functioning, but harder to achieve in our busy modern world. Make sure to have screen-free time for at least an hour before bed, to provide your brain with a chance to wind down for sleep. Make sure to dim the lights and create a comfortable atmosphere to promote full relaxation.
- Read positive content: Between the news and our social media feeds, it’s easy to feel bombarded with negative messages on a daily basis. Make a conscious choice as to what you read and see every day, and watch your mindset and intellectual wellbeing transform. Choose to follow positive content, and switch the news off when events feel overwhelming.
- Try a new activity: In a COVID world, it can be easy to become stuck in a restricted pattern of thinking. Trying something new – such as reading a new book, cooking a new recipe, or playing a new game with your children, can improve intellectual wellbeing. Mastering a new activity or hobby can provide a feeling of accomplishment.
- Travel regularly: Travelling to new places when possible can help us to expand our mind, through exposure to different cultures and ways of being. Planning a trip to an unfamiliar location can provide the opportunity to learn a new language, try new foods, practice local customs, and even to consider new religious perspectives.
- Maintain social connections: Humans are social creatures by nature – something that recent COVID lockdowns have really reinforced. Maintaining social connections throughout times of uncertainty is vital for Intellectual Wellness. It’s important to keep an open mind when in conversation with loved ones, understanding that we all have different perspectives on the current world situation.
The Eight Dimensions of Wellness
Intellectual Wellness is one of the eight “Dimensions of Wellness.”
These are areas where you can improve your mental health and wellbeing.
As you progress towards fulfilling your goals in each dimension, you will experience an increasing sense of achievement and mental wellbeing in all areas of your life.
How Stride Can Help
Wherever you are in your journey and whatever you are experiencing, we’re here to help you create the life you want. We work side-by-side with you to provide specialist mental health services to improve your quality of life.
Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about our work, or use our finder to locate Mental Health Services near you.
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