If you follow my blog regularly, you may have noticed I didn’t share a post last week.  It was one of those weeks when unexpected stressors were being thrown at me quicker than I felt I could deal with them.  We all have them.  It can be any number of things; an illness, a difficult communication, something going wrong, an extra task coming your way when your diary’s already full.  When the stressors start hurtling towards you, it can quickly become overwhelming.  It can feel difficult to pick yourself up if the next knock blows before you’re fully upright.  You feel thrown about by stress with a disconcerting lack of control.

But does it have to be this way?  You can’t always take away the stressor, but you can find ways to stand still.  Rather than being thrown around by a wave, you can plant your feet firmly in the sand, sway slightly with each wave, but maintain your footing.  This takes self-awareness, strength and deep reserves of well-being.

I knew I had to take action last week, so I pressed pause before I was fully flattened.  My first step was to spend time practising mindfulness.  I needed to gain perspective and consider my choices so that I could respond to my situation in a more helpful way, rather than react out of a panic state or get caught up in a swirl of catastrophic thinking.  My practice enabled me to take a step back so I could observe the situation, rather than being thrown about in the midst of it.  I realised there wasn’t one simple thing to address.  In the same way as it was a combination of factors that were causing me difficulties, it was also a combination of factors that would help me feel better.

I discovered the idea of a well-being wheel.  The wheel is divided into sections, or spokes, that each contribute to an overall feeling of well-being.  The spokes may vary from person to person, but they represent a holistic approach and give an immediate visual prompt for any areas that may need a little extra nurturing.  The spokes in my wheel are physical, emotional, social, personal, intellectual, financial, environmental and spiritual.  I considered what I need to fill each spoke and rated how full they currently are.  I’ve found it a very useful pre-goal setting tool and a clear way to help myself maintain a feeling of well-being, whatever may be thrown my way.