Wellness. It's certainly a buzz word in today's corporate America. And there's certainly no lack of companies jumping on the wellness bandwagon. Every week there seems to be a company touting their new wellness program. That's not the case for The Mark Travel Corporation (TMTC). For this travel giant, wellness has been a core value for over a decade. It has become so important and critical, TMTC brought in its own Wellness Ambassador to work with team members on an ongoing basis. Since becoming part of the fabric of the company, wellness has enriched the lives of many, has become a distinctive point of difference for TMTC from other travel providers, and has contributed amazing bottom line benefits to the organization.
And yet…
With all this talk and discussion about wellness, there's still a great deal of misunderstanding. Far too often people think about the term too narrowly and only in the terms of diet and weight loss. But it is so much more. Here is the truth about wellness and the key elements that make it up.
1) Balance: In order to live well you need balance in your life. It is so easy to get consumed in the day-to-day details of work and running a business that agents forget to look out for themselves. To get enough sleep, eat enough and the right things and manage their emotional well-being.
Over time a lack of balance can impact the quality of work and relationships. But balance also implies looking at what you do and trying to focus your time, efforts and talents on your unique abilities. In other words, those items that you enjoy and are good at. For proper balance in your life, you should strive to spend 75 percent of your time on your unique ability.
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2) Purpose: What things do you want to accomplish? What things bring you pleasure, enjoyment and fulfillment? Ask family or friends that question and few have an answer. And those that do, rarely if ever, have a plan for accomplishing their goals.
That's why part of wellness revolves around focusing on you and those things you want to do. And we stress this because purpose provides meaning. Purpose anchors us, gives us direction and ultimately leads to satisfaction and happiness. Therefore, it's important to take time out of your day (every now and then) to think about those things that make you happy and the steps you need to take to get you there.
3) Eat Well: Of course, wellness involves eating right. But it's not going to happen all the time. David stresses the 80/20 principle. That is, 80 percent of the time, make the right choices and allow 20 percent for those times when you want more of an indulgence. You know what they are.
Also make sure to eat enough during the day. This is often counter to what people believe, but keeping your body fueled with the right kind of food can definitely improve your energy and add to your productivity during the last few hours of work. To do this, I recommend a healthy protein snack around 3-4 in the afternoon.
4) Movement: Once of the biggest and easiest things to do on a daily basis to achieve a well-balanced life is to move. Too much of our day, every day is spent typing in front of a computer. Make it a habit of getting up and walking around. Every 20 minutes or so, get up, walk around, stretch your legs do something to get the blood and oxygen flowing. You'll find you once you get back you are able to focus better and your mind is sharper and able to process details, critical for those of us in business.
Today there are so many demands and pressures placed on us, both professional and personally, it's impossible to do it all. But what we have seen at TMTC is by making wellness a part of our company, it has improved the overall working environment and increased our overall productivity. As you consider the areas for improvement in your life and business, join us in making wellness a part of the equation.
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