Written By: Iris Montero, Kayley Stack, and Charles Giacona;
WellCats Group Exercise Instructors Department of Physical Therapy Graduate Students
It is easy for life to become monotonous and automatic. Do you ever feel like every day you are on auto-pilot? It is important to seek out revival to be able to flourish and revive the spark of life. By definition, revival is to become active and flourish again. It is a restoration to life, vigor, and strength. Revival assumes that there is an aspect of life that needs rebirth. The first step of revival is reflecting upon one’s life and discovering areas to improve and become empowered to discover where your full potential lies. To progress to thriving, there must be vigorous growth and progression towards a life goal. Survive to revive to thrive. This is a continuum that should be a continuous goal.
How can you revive your life? The best way to invigorate your life is to thrive together. Experiencing life with encouraging, like-minded people not only brings more joy to life, but also helps each individual have the support needed to reach their goals and flourish together. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Utilize the outdoors!
The benefits of being outdoors are countless. From sunshine to fresh air, being in nature is truly a reviving force. More specifically, being outdoors has widespread effects on our mental and physical health. For example, studies have shown that being outdoors lowers cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress. Chronic exposure to cortisol can lead to many unwanted effects such as weight gain, anxiety, and depression. Lastly, the outdoors is a useful meeting ground for activities with friends while maintaining a COVID safe environment! Here are some ideas for fun group activities to do outside:
- Going on walks
- Picnics
- Going to the park
- Experimenting with Sports (i.e. Golf, Disc Golf, Tennis)
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get outside and have some fun!
Seek out a positive support system
The American Psychological Association has performed extensive research upon the importance of a support network, concluding “Emotional support is an important protective factor for dealing with life’s difficulties, while loneliness has been associated with a wide variety of health problems including high blood pressure, diminished immunity, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.” It is social support that builds people up during times of stress and often gives them the strength to carry on and even thrive. Community not only leads to positive health and emotional outcomes, but also can lead you closer to your goals. Who is your support group? Do they lead you towards becoming a better version of yourself by keeping you accountable? How can you inspire
others to reach their goals? A positive community is one that gives and receives support. In fact, research suggests that providing social support to friends and family may even be more important than receiving it, leading to longer life and better health! Reach out to a friend or a loved one today to see how you can support each other this week!
Participate in group activities
Group activities provide a wide variety of benefits. From mutual motivation and accountability from exercise classes to the endorphins released from a good joke, groups can play a beneficial role in our wellness. By participating in activities together, not only are we helping ourselves mentally and physically, but helping support others and building relationships along the way as well! The following paragraph dives a little deeper on how to utilize the effectiveness of group gatherings in an all-inclusive approach with COVID-safe considerations.
While COVID is still very prevalent in our society, there are many alternatives when it comes to joining in group activities! There are various WellCats classes that are available on Zoom that enable you to participate in group physical activity all within the comfort of your own home or office. Another potential idea to maintain companionship and build up your peers would be to send weekly emails of new activities that you’ve accomplished or books that you have read. In this way, you are able to see what your friends have been up to and continue to keep holding each other accountable! Lastly, Netflix has even come up with ‘Teleparty’ – a new way of watching some of your favorite shows together while being distanced! While we are in the midst of the pandemic, it is understandable to acknowledge the concerns and hesitations some may have with being face-to-face with groups of people. These options are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is possible to continue to connect with others and help one another flourish! Which one of these options spark your interest?
Led by wellness experts within our campus community, Wellcats is your FREE employee wellness program designed to help you improve your overall health and well-being. Visit the Wellcats website to learn more!
Sources:
- https://www.pachamama.org/personal-growth-and-development
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-stress-hormone-rdquo-cortisol-linked-to-early-toll-on-thinking-ability/
- https://www.teleparty.com/
- https://www.verywellmind.com/social-support-for-psychological-health-4119970
- https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/manage-social-support
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12807404/