My newsletters this year have focused on the well-being pillars of Health, Career, Community, and Relationships – check out this recap if you’d like. At this point I am going to pivot and present the operating model to live well on your terms.
First, a backstory and some context setting.
You are Totally Wise
Nearly two years have passed since I walked 450 miles on my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. It was there where I developed my Totally Wise philosophy that each of us has the inherent knowledge to create a life aligned with what matters most.
Not everyone has a life-changing experience like I did. A toxic work environment, which led to a medical leave of absence and the subsequent walk on the Camino. It was a forcing function for me to prioritize my well-being, and I made the commitment to never again be pulled so far out of my integrity that my health and well-being was put at risk.
Wisdom from my Camino pilgrimage continues to make its way to me and I feel more resolute than ever to fulfill my mission to help people unlock their inner wisdom and live well on their terms.
What Truly Matters
My mission is anchored to well-being because it encompasses a multidimensional and integrated approach to living well. It is personal, meaningful, and contains the facets we need to thrive.
We can learn from people who are nearing the end of life, their reflections often cut through the noise and get to the heart of what truly matters. Here are some of the most common and poignant lessons they share:
Live true to yourself, instead living according to others’ expectations.
Don’t work so hard and spend more time with loved ones and less time chasing career milestones.
Express your feelings often and honestly.
Stay connected because relationships matter more than achievements.
Let yourself be happy and experience more joy and spontaneity.
These insights are not just sentimental, they are deeply practical. They remind us to prioritize what brings meaning, not just momentum. A well-lived life is one that upon reflection you can say with certainty you devoted your time and energy to what mattered most to you.
There is no such thing as Priorities
While reading the book, Essentialism, by Greg McKeown, the history of the word priorities stood out to me. McKeown writes:
The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow, we would be able to have multiple “first” things.
Suffice to say, if you have multiple priorities, you have no priority. The yogi in me would explain you are operating in Maya, the illusion of things, or perception contrasted with reality. The perception is that you can bend reality by prioritizing a lot of things to live a great life, and hey, maybe you can!
I am not here to argue about what a good life is for you, because it is a unique experience for everyone. What I am here to do is to implore you to honestly assess what matters most to you, at the deepest, most visceral level. Then, make it your priority to align your thoughts, choices, and actions to this vision.
Well-being is Essential
If something is essential it means that it is fundamentally important or necessary. Essential refers to elements that are inherent; being part of the nature or essence of a thing and cannot be removed without affecting its character. I know this from personal experience, because when I experienced gaslighting and bullying at work the effects on my well-being were catastrophic and caused me to become a hollow shell of my former self, someone I didn’t recognize.
The term well-being has a rich and evolving history, shaped by philosophy, medicine, economics, and psychology. Over centuries well-being has shifted from surviving to thriving, but the modern world we live in presents unique challenges. The systems we work and live in are not designed for our well-being. These news articles from Gallup paint a grim picture of the current state of well-being in the United States:
New Low in U.S. 'Very Satisfied' With Personal Life
Americans' Life Ratings Slump to Five-Year Low
Daily Loneliness Afflicts One in Five in U.S.
Living well is not easy, but neither is living unwell. Consider what end you are aiming for: a well lived, meaningful, healthy life, or a life where sickness, loneliness, and apathy are the norm.
Well-being is an essential part of who you are, and you have the inherent knowledge for what you need to thrive - let's tap into that!
Unlocking the Path
You already have the inner wisdom to live to your full potential and power, the tricky part is knowing where to start, staying on track, and maintaining focus and resolve. My next several newsletters will help you through this by breaking down my operating model for living well.
I am glad you are here and I look forward to co-creating the path to your well lived life.
Wishing you peace, health, and happiness!
-Sharman
ps. You can always email me to check-in (well-being@sharmanghio.com), or I post well-being centered videos on Instagram if you'd like to connect there too.
As newsletter subscribers you automatically get access to my monthly Well-being Lab community call.
Join Wednesday, July 2 at 8:00am PDT for the free Zoom call with a well-being check-in and discussion.
Zoom Meeting Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/3747681250?pwd=TEVHcm9IZGYzWnNwNW5zMS93dGo0QT09
Meeting ID: 374 768 1250
Passcode: 8GyPJa
