5 A.M. wake up. Hours spent in the gym or workout classes. Meal prep. Meditation. All part of social media’s pervasive wellness campaign claiming to make you a better, more well-rounded person. Apparently, the best version of yourself can be achieved through strict discipline and routine. But the entire premise seems counter intuitive. Wouldn’t the best version of yourself be one that is happy and free? It turns out, the obedience to wellness culture and its rigid rules may not be the key to a happy, healthy life like we’ve been sold. 

So much of the health and wellness space has leaned into the industry of consumerism instead of the good-natured environment it sought out to be. There’s nearly a product for everything, something that can be purchased to fix a problem, a solution to be bought. Yet, wellness at its very core is the ongoing, holistic practice of finding fulfillment, contentment, and happiness in the balancing act of life. Unfortunately, however, we humans crave a quick fix, a simple solution to the most complex problems, something positive psychologists have worked hard to combat. Happiness cannot be achieved once and for all, instead it is an ongoing practice subject to the ebbs and flows of life. So no, wellness cannot be completed using the right combination of serums, or by the number of hot yoga classes you attend, or even by starting your morning routine at 5 A.M. with a journaling session and an hour of cardio. In fact, there isn’t a benchmark for wellness or health achievement. Like happiness, it is an ongoing practice, a state of being rather than an achievement to be met. 

Wellness, Really

Positive psychologists have spent the last three decades working to define and quantify wellness in a way that can be measured through experimental design yet comprehensible to the layperson, and it’s been nothing short of a tall order. Popular media has misconstrued wellness to fit whatever narrative it is trying to push. It often gets confused with words like “discipline” or “in-shape” or “strict”, yet wellness in its true form is far more nuanced than these definitions allow. Wellness is the holistic approach to health and well-being, something the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, describes using his PERMA model. The acronym encompasses the different areas that make up an individual’s total well-being, and it stands for Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. Using his framework, wellness is the balanced positive possession of all five of these tenants, not the newest health fad, like collagen powder or a vibrating plate. 

Wellness as Close as it Comes

How can we foster our health and wellness if not for the products and practices promoted to us? One tenant from Seligman’s framework provides an overwhelmingly clear answer, social connection. Positive relationships are strong indicators of both physical and mental health. To learn more about how positive relationships impact health, you can click here and read on. Focusing on routine and self-discipline may have its benefits, but a schedule rigidly planned around optimizing one’s health leaves out a key factor of wellness; socialization. With this mentality, it may be possible, and likely is according to the work of positive psychologists, that skipping a part of your wellness routine, like a workout class or meal prep, in favor of a hangout with friends is actually better for you than missing out on social connection. Getting dinner and drinks. Scheduling long phone calls. These hangouts don’t have to be extravagant, in fact they shouldn’t be. The easier, least amount of pressure, the more accessible. 

Hangouts and socialization can incorporate other healthy practices. Like going for a walk, attending a yoga class together, or allowing yourselves to be fully engaged in a new activity, like pottery or a cooking class. Creating spaces where healthy practices coincide with social events. Maybe a book club or a running group. Wellness doesn’t exist without community, and creating social connections is one of the most significant steps towards health you can take. 

Is Health and Wellness Bad?

Some of the trends promoted by health and wellness influencers and the industry are undoubtedly beneficial. Establishing a solid morning routine can increase productivity and create time for practices like physical exercise or meditation, both of which have been studied by psychologists as productive wellness exercises. Eating a diet concentrated on whole foods does improve physical and mental health via the brain and gut connection. While yes, these things are true, it’s the quick fixes, the promises that seem ‘too good to be true’ that gives the wellness industry a bad name. So instead of purchasing the newest trending product off of Instagram or TikTok Shop, ask yourself, have I spent quality time with my family or friends lately? Is this product going to make me happy? Will it give me meaning? What is something I can do instead with the resources I have available? And I guarantee you will find something more worthwhile, something better for you, and something more ‘well’ than the quick fix promised to you online. 

Are you in favor of early morning routines, or will you try finding social wellness? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!