Creating your wellness team and health network
Sometimes knowing where to start is the hardest part of a new journey. When it comes to navigating the world of health and wellness, it can feel particularly daunting. The world of health and wellness is changing and evolving all the time, and finding the right people to help you navigate your ever-evolving wellness journey is essential. But how do you know what kinds of wellness and health professionals to include in your wellness team and support network?
Identify and understand your wellness goals and needs. This is the most crucial step to getting started in building your wellness team, because your goals cannot be achieved if you first and foremost, don’t understand what your goals are, and second identify what kind of help you need. Think of your goals as the destination and your wellness team as the road map. Without a destination and a road map you won’t be going anywhere. Start by identifying your goals. Maybe you know you need to focus on reducing stress in your life, maybe you want to have more energy and know your not nourishing yourself the best way you can with foods, maybe you know you should be adding daily movement into your life but can’t find the motivation. Whatever your wellness/health goal, once you identify your wellness/health goals, you can then begin to understand the kind of help you need and begin building a wellness team who will help you work towards achieving your health and wellness goals.
Identify your wellness team baseline. What I mean by a baseline is identify your primary care physician or the first person you would speak to regarding health concerns and build your team from there. Your primary care physician may not be able to answer every one of your questions, but you two already have an established relationship and they can help to recommend or refer you to other professionals. Your primary care physician will also be the first person any of the other wellness team members will likely advise you to contact with any changes you make to your wellness program. Whether it’s recommended supplements, new nourishment approaches, new exercise programs, all of the professionals that you seek to help you with these new changes will most likely recommend that you run these new wellness approaches by your primary care physician to mitigate any risks. The last thing any reputable health coach, dietician/nutritionist, personal trainer, or any other wellness professional wants is for anyone to be injured or put at risk. Notifying your primary care of any new changes to your wellness and health program ensures your health and well-being are always a top priority.
Consider what has worked for you in the past. Maybe you’ve really liked attending group fitness classes, maybe you really like joining healthy eating challenges, perhaps at home workouts work best for you, maybe you’ve noticed significant changes in your wellbeing after utilizing meditation apps. Whatever and wherever you’ve seen success before, identify your successes so you can share that information with your wellness team members. Knowing what works for you and sharing that informations allows your wellness team members greater ability to help you create achievable and successful wellness solutions.
Consider the challenges that have persisted throughout your life. Have you consistently noticed a lack of motivation when it comes to adding movement to your life? Or perhaps you struggle to incorporate healthier foods into your nourishment plan? Or maybe you simply can’t hold yourself accountable to making time for yourself? Are you doing everything you think you should be doing but still not seeing results in a certain area? Keep these challenges in mind so you can share them with your wellness team.
Know that everyone is different, and there’s no right answer, except the answer that is right for you. Your wellness team will very likely look much different than someone else’s wellness team, and that’s totally ok! There’s no right answer to the question “Who makes up your wellness team?”. Focus on the kind of help you need and seek out those professionals. Is eating healthy a challenge for you? Maybe you need to speak with a dietician or nutritionist. Do you find it really difficult to get motivated to work out? Talking with a personal trainer can help you to figure out what workouts make the most sense for you. Are you still feeling lost simply defining your wellness goals? It might be really helpful to speak with a health or wellness coach who can help you gain clarity about your wellness journey.
Once you’ve identified what your goals are, who is your baseline wellness team, which kinds of wellness and health professionals you need to help you with your goals, your past successes, and the persistent challenges you’ve faced throughout your life, your wellness team and health network will begin to take shape!
Building your wellness team and health network can be crucial for achieving your health and wellness goals. Some people will argue that you can do a lot of this work yourself, and you certainly can go this road alone so to speak. But as Helen Keller said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”. It takes a lot of courage to ask for help, especially where our health and wellness are concerned. But with that help comes the ability for great and powerful change, and your wellness team and health network will be there to support you every step of the way.
