I have been thinking lately about a 'well' life. For some reason inputs and outputs, or debits and credits, or payables and receivables come up for me. With my clients sometimes we are talking about such things like happiness, balance, well-being. I think most of us professionals are striving for the good life, where you have a lot of good things going on: money in the bank, a fit body, learning, nice things, pleasurable experiences, sound relationships, solid community involvement, etc. There are so many avenues to pursue that it can become sheer overwhelment at times trying to understand if we are reaching the balance/well-being or not.
Inputs and outputs can be shown in a myriad of ways. Eating 'right' is one avenue to explore. What are you putting into your body on a daily basis? Is what you think is healthy actually healthy? Do you tend to have patterns of stressful eating? Are you pursuing understanding how food becomes mood? For instance, alcohol is a depressant. Now I'm not averse to a drink here and there. But when you see how drinking affects your energy, mood, body even the next day, this is a case of inputs and outputs. You have to pay into the system. If you are eating lots of inflammatory foods and have ailments of certain kinds, you are taking a hit from the inputs you are putting in. It's basic science.
In the emotional or mental world it's not so easy to assess. Thich Nhat Hahn, Zen Master says that watching media and reading tabloids, etc. can create an unruly mind, or agitation. This can be very subtle but again, taking in negativity can lead to the output of negativity or negative states of mind and feeling.
For wellness to occur, I believe we need to assess the various areas of our lives to see what is working and what is not working. A good coach or friend can help you sift through this quagmire. Putting the various pieces of your life out on display, even if it is just on a sheet of paper you can begin to see how you are doing and what is off kilter. Of course I am presupposing that you want to create a life of balance and well-being, mindfulness and health. I talk to clients everyday about some things that are out of balance. I love these candid talks. Nobody really wants stress and I believe it can be controlled by controlling the inputs into the system. Take care of what you read, what you ingest, what you choose to focus on, etc. and you will see an enlightening turnaround I'm sure of it!