What are your big wellness rocks?
Introduction
Throughout this programme you have gained new awareness about the quality of your lifestyle. You have gained new knowledge about how you can leverage lifestyle to influence your health, well-being and performance. And you have experimented with and introduced new habits and routines and experienced the (initial) benefits.
The programme is coming to an end but your “leverage lifestyle to power up your health, well-being and performance outcomes” journey will not of course! A perfect time to pause and reflect and figure out your personal big wellness rocks!
The “get your big rocks in first” analogy
Let’s start by illustrated this with a great analogy. You may have heard of the “Big Rocks” story? Here it is:
“One day an expert guest speaker was speaking to a group of students. He pulled out an large jar and set it on a table. Then he produced half a dozen big rocks and placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone said, “Yes.”
“Really?” he asked. “Let’s see.” He took out some gravel and dumped it in. He shook the jar, causing the pieces to fall into the spaces between the big rocks. He asked the students again, “Is the jar full?”
The students started to catch on. “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Very good!” he replied. He brought out a bucket of sand. He dumped the sand in and it went into all the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Then he asked, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the whole group of students shouted.
“Excellent!” he replied. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it in until the jar was filled to the brim.
The teacher looked intently back at the students and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”
One student said, “You can always fit more things into your life if you really work at it hard.”
The teacher said “That’s true, but it’s not the point.”
He said, “The point is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first…… would you have gotten any of them in?“”
What are your big wellness rocks?
Create some quiet thinking space, think back to your time on this programme and engage with these reflective questions:
What are your three BIG WELLNESS ROCKS? The vital few habits / routines that are most influential in supporting your optimal physical health, mental well-being and (sustainable) high performance? The ones that are foundational and help you to maintain mental and physical balance and vitality?
What conditions need to be in place to make sure these three rocks keep on going into your “jar of life” first? What “environmental” nudges can you put in place to help you make good choices every single day?
Which influences in your environment (people, places, events, temptations etc) tend to pull you away from your big rocks? How can these be removed or mitigated?
What competing demands or commitments get in the way? What beliefs / assumptions pull you toward these competing demands or commitments instead of your big rock commitments?
How will you keep these big rocks top of mind / keep this “bigger yes” burning inside? How will you hold yourself accountable around your commitment to prioritise these big rocks?
You may find it useful to complete the Quick Commitment Check-up as part of this reflection. Writing a “Commitment Letter” to yourself and important others is also an effective way of firming up the commitment to your big wellness rocks. Go well!
