Introduction: A Multitude of Laws
Most educated individuals have been aware of God's laws (contentious, confusing, conflicting and confounding), the law of Gravity, the law of Thermodynamics, the law of the Land, Immigration Parkinson's law, Murphy's law and so on. The majority are named after Mcdougal of a succinct observation described by the law. Laws vary from A (i.e., Aitken's law - describes how vowel length is conditioned by environment) to Z (Zipf's law - a linguistic observation a few words are employed often but the majority are used rarely).
Because the wellness field grows and evolves, perhaps it's time for a REAL wellness law-or many such laws. In that case, why not associate up to possible with one's own name?
Grandiose, perhaps, but when I don't take action, someone else surely will and see your face may just create a mess of it. Wellness in corporate America and elsewhere in the world is described and presented in wildly inappropriate and dysfunctional ways; why not eradicate the babble with a few transformative REAL wellness laws? Such laws, when they sound right and lead humanity to sounder thinking, might well contribute modestly to improved health and life outcomes.
Incidentally, one does not need to formulate a law that's named in his/her honor as well as be aware of a law to be afflicted with and to reside in accordance with it. We have all complied with Galileo and Newton's laws about gravity, ahead of when we became conscious of them.
Anyone who wants a law to bear his or her name should present some credentials. Mine are modest, simple but adequate for the honor. As of this writing, I've written 15 books, posted more than a thousand essays at Seekwellness.com/wellness, 74 eight to twelve-page hard copy wellness reports commencing in 1984, 657 weekly electronic REAL wellness newsletters, at the very least a thousand lecture presentations in a dozen countries while spending 43 years (since 1970) dreaming concerning the approaches to and likelihood of vastly improved environments and cultures for greater health and happiness.
Which has led to this moment-the time when I offer the universe Ardell's two laws of REAL wellness.
Ardell's 1st Law of REAL Wellness: Random Chance, Natural Selection and Contingencies Trump All Else
Life's largest events often follow random, seemingly inconsequential small actions which we remain unaware.
Secular rational freethinkers place stock in knowledge, commitment, reason and persistence in shaping and fine-tuning lifestyle habits. We embrace perspectives and behaviors on matters existential and otherwise designed to render positive states of enjoyment and well-being. We consciously seek happiness, freedom, physical fitness, love, mutually satisfying relationships and multiple skills. What matters most, what affects our successes and outcomes, appears more or less to be under our field of control. Alas, this functional and preferred means of thinking is essentially illusory. There are three much more consequential realities not under your influence in just about any way. Furthermore, these three factors render the product quality and duration of one's existence unpredictable and unknowable. They are: 1) random chance or fortune; 2) natural selection; and 3) contingencies.
Ardell's 2nd Law of REAL Wellness: Relative to Ardell's 1st Law of REAL wellness, other REAL wellness laws don't total much.
Considering the immense black hole power of the first law, additional such laws play a moderate role in efforts to shape life quality and longevity.
But, that does not obviate the case for added laws of REAL wellness. personal injury The truth is that all the eponymous laws on the books are useless to most people but are yet of interest and even great for a few. I'm in my own eighth decade; I'm not conscious of any occasion when I could have benefited from an awareness of Aitken's law or Zipf's law. I been aware of neither until I began the study for this essay. Ditto a lot of other laws.
Relative to the first law above, this law and those that follow don't total much. Nevertheless, I hereby offer a few more, just the same. They can't hurt.
Ardell's 3rd Law of REAL Wellness: Finding your passion is okay but keep going-become great at it.
Since few of us enjoy royal lineage or handsome trusts that assure first-class travel in life with minimum requirement for labor, we must choose trades of sorts to cover our way through life. Thus, we're a good idea to adopt a long-term goal of studying and laboring at a trade that will prove enjoyable and satisfying, as well as properly remunerative.
When this challenge is met, your means of earning an income won't appear to be work.
Thus another law - master a passion. Start with following varied interests and, after years and years if not decades of trial and error, settle into one, immersing yourself in it.
Be somewhat realistic but guard against premature realism-while not everybody can get elected, be in the films or play in the NBA or NFL, a select few can. Focus on which excites talents and gifts. Put in enough time necessary to qualify for Carnegie Hall (i.e., practice, practice, practice-take account of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours rule).
The goal listed here is that sooner or later in your career somebody, somewhere, for good quality or strange reason, can pay you to complete everything you enjoy doing-because you are so spectacular at whatever it is you've honed to a degree of artful mastery.
Robert Frost expressed the thought of this law in his poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time:"
My goal in life is to unite my vocation
with my avocation.
As my two eyes make one in sight.
For just where love and need are one
And work is play for mortal stakes
Is the deed ever really done
For heaven's and future's sake.
Ardell's 4th Law of REAL Wellness: More straightforward to chase after fun than to flee from pain.
Forget an ounce of prevention. Tax That will indeed be worth a pound of cure, but a grain of REAL wellness is worth a lot of prevention. Prevention is indeed old school-it's vintage medical thinking focused upon avoiding negative outcomes. Furthermore, there is no fun in working in order not to have an adverse outcome.
In place of preventing something, pursue good results via proactive initiatives that amuse and satisfy. REAL wellness initiatives guided by reason, exuberance, athleticism and liberty are more apt to be exciting and enjoyable. Such efforts will reinforce good intentions far more than holding out for negative states not to happen because of preventive strategies!
Naturally, SOME prevention is good. Contraception prevention is good, disease prevention is good-you get the idea.
Ardell's 5th Law of REAL Wellness: Scrutinize the role you played in just about any scene, good or bad, and make adjustments.
Make personal responsibility your default setting. Yes, initially it is easier, cheaper and far more convenient at fault, excuse, deny and/or ignore responsibility than to embrace it. Such are the present default settings in many cultures, including our own. In the long if not medium range, however, it is healthier, more satisfying and more effective to assume at the very least some degree of responsibility. This process lets you make adjustments independent of actions by others. Your personal actions are the surest steps to supporting your interests.
Ardell's 6th Law of REAL Wellness: Dead, bloated rhino equivalents are the staff of life.
All facets of REAL wellness aren't apt to be equally very important to everyone. We're all quite different in so many ways, though we're alike in many ways, as well. But, our circumstances, resources, capacities and such vary significantly. Among the most important elements for enjoying life should be the connection with plentiful DBRU equivalents, a dynamic fascination with and life-long openness to new meanings and a commitment to and maintenance of an incredibly fit body.