Radical Responsibility… Taking ownership of our wellbeing

Radical Responsibility… Taking ownership of our wellbeing

In 2020 the global wellness economy was valued at 4.4 trillion US dollars (5% of global economic output). Personal care & beauty; nutrition, healthy eating & weight loss and physical activity being the top 3 segments. By 2025 (just 2 years away) this figure is estimated to increase to 7 trillion! Whilst this surge in growth over the next few years is seen as positive as people are paying more attention to their health, the sector will also be more competitive with even more choices available to us at the tips of our fingers through our smartphones. With all this choice and variety, consumers will have an even harder time making decisions on what, where and how to spend their hard-earned cash. While spending on goods and products will continue to grow, there is an increasing trend by consumers looking to spend more on wellness services that address physical and mental health needs.

Over the last few years, health and wellbeing has gained a much greater level of importance in our minds and our day to day living. The industry is certainly becoming more mainstream, and consumers are focusing on personalization, price and functionality to meet their health and fitness needs with a bigger focus on sustainability and authenticity from the brands they intend buying from. Consumers are researching and getting their information predominantly via Google and social media and are more willing to use digital/virtual platforms and apps to workout at home and track their health to build a solid routine. So, let’s look at some of the wellness trends for 2023…

Exercise recovery
Spiritual wellbeing and meditation/mindfulness
Biotech wellness tools/apps
Micro workouts
Hot/cold therapy
Mouth taping/breathwork
Circadian rhythm and sleep health
Sober curious lifestyles/reducing alcohol consumption
Functional mushrooms
The importance of protein in the diet
Mobility training
Spending more time outdoors
Natural remedies and supplements

There are endless ways to improve our health and wellbeing and it will look different for each of us. It all depends on your starting point, your current state of health and personal goals and desires. Regardless of who you are or where you’re at, unless you take ownership of your health and become interested and engaged with the process, you’ll probably feel like you’re bouncing from trend to trend, not managing to get ahead, and thus not achieving a balanced life full of energy and vitality. It’s great to use apps, go for massages, follow a meal plan and seek the help of a coach/therapist/dietician, especially to get started, however, if you are simply relying on these things/people to tell you what to do, it will be much more difficult to keep up with once you’re on your own, and that’s when most people fall off the wagon so to speak and sink back into previous habits.

Your wellbeing is a lifelong quest, a journey of self-discovery, connection and empowerment. Success or failure depends on you and you alone. There are many roadblocks, challenges and surprises along the way, but this is not unique, this is LIFE itself. Exploring, discovering and taking risks are all part of the process. Gathering information, learning, sharing, comparing, implementing and making adjustments from time to time are necessary to steer oneself in the right direction. With more and more information, apps, noise, influencers and companies vying for your attention out there, it is becoming increasingly important to discern what is valuable and what is not. Worry less about what others are doing and pay more attention to what’s happening in your own life. Take care of your commitments and responsibilities and take care of yourSELF too!

I have really valued some ancient Toltec wisdom from a book called The 4 Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz, and he lists these 4 simple codes of conduct to live by:

Be impeccable with your word.
Don’t take anything personally.
Don’t make assumptions.
Always do your best.

Obviously, as with all things simplified, they must be taken within context of particular circumstances etc, it’s a nice little book to read if you come across a copy. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Yamas and Niyamas? If you practice yoga, you probably have! They are the first 2 limbs of the 8 fold Yogic path, next being asana (postures), pranayama, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana (meditative states) and samadhi (enlightenment). So, alongside our goals in health, nutrition, fitness and wellbeing, we benefit greatly from having morals and values, a systematic approach, a guidebook to living well so to speak. Yoga practice is one such path or method to gaining a deeper understanding of one-self. I’ll leave you with the list of Yamas (universal spirituality) and the Niyamas (personal observances). Study them, study yourself, hold yourself accountable, practice daily gratitude, care about others, the Earth, be kind, and take radical responsibility! Because if you don’t, who will? There’s no magic pill.

YAMAS