Spring - a time to nourish your wellbeing

“To arise or originate from”.

The meaning of the word Spring literally means to arise up or originate from a source or place. It’s more than just a season or an action. We can relate it to a place inside us that provides a source of meaning to our life as to why we do things the way we do them, and how we do them. The source is called our wellbeing – if our wellbeing isn’t right, everything that springs from us cannot flourish as it is meant to.

Now that we are in spring, it is a good time to focus on your own wellbeing. Take the time to examine your own life. Search for things that can be pruned back to make way for new growth to flourish.

Some questions to ask yourself to begin the pruning process

Habits: What things do you do that are not contributing to growth in your life? Are any of your habits taking up too much time that is distracting you from focusing on more productive things?

Material items: what items in your life no longer serve a purpose? Are these still useful, or could they be passed on to someone else who could benefit from them more than you can?

Communication: Is the way you communicate with others effective and helpful? Does it build people up or bring them down?

Thoughts: When you listen to your own thoughts, do you find them to be more critical or do they support your wellbeing?

Ways you can begin the nourishing process

Relationships: doing a stock-take on the relationships you have in your life allows you to view them as a two-way street. Consider asking yourself “do I need to nourish this relationship more?” and “Is this relationship one-sided? I haven’t heard from them in ages”. It might be time to let it go? Perhaps someone you know is going through a rough time right now – reaching out and asking if they are okay could be just what they need. Sometimes people are afraid to reach out and ask for help. Be that friend.

Health: it is more than just your mindset that needs to be in balance. Are your nutrition, fitness and stress levels in balance? Do you need to prioritise your health more? Sometimes being selfish with your time and making your health a priority can be one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Family time: consider taking a bird’s eye view of your family dynamic. Is everyone getting along or are there tensions that need tending too? Do you all spend enough quality time together? Plan a fun activity for everyone. Making each other a priority is one of the most important aspects of your life.

Environment: your environment can have an impact on your mood, happiness and success. Simply looking at your living or working environment and making small changes such as tidying your desk, adding a plant, or creating an inviting family-feel living area can lift your mood and those around you.

Planting and adding something new

As gardeners prune things back, they make room to plant something new. Planting new things in our lives can also enhance the quality of our lives and improve our wellbeing.

• Plant a new activity in your schedule – is there something you have always wanted to try or used to enjoy but haven’t made a priority?
• Plant a plant, literally – whether it's that plant for your workspace or a vegetable garden to contribute to nourishing your health, reflecting on it as a symbol of growth will remind you of what is important.
• Plant a seed of discipline – it comes as a surprise to many that’s it’s not motivation that makes people prioritise growth, change, or success – it’s discipline. Small intentional changes to habits, behaviours and actions is what does it. Discipline takes you to places motivation can’t.

Take Spring as the time to nourish and nurture your wellbeing. Even if you can only find one thing you can prune, one thing you can nourish, and one new thing you can plant into your life. Start small and plant the seed – it will lead into the natural growth of the seasons ahead.