Introduction: A Multitude of Laws
Most educated people have heard of God's laws (contentious, confusing, conflicting and confounding), regulations of Gravity, regulations of Thermodynamics, regulations of the Land, Parkinson's law, Murphy's law and so on. The majority are named after the writer 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 used often but most are used rarely).
While the wellness field grows and evolves, perhaps it's time for a REAL wellness law-or many such laws. If so, why not associate as much as possible with one's own name?
Grandiose, perhaps, but if I don't take action, somebody else surely will and that person may just create a mess of it. Wellness in corporate America and elsewhere on earth is described and presented in wildly inappropriate and dysfunctional ways; why not eradicate the babble with several transformative REAL wellness laws? Such laws, should they seem sensible and lead humanity to sounder thinking, might well contribute modestly to improved health and life outcomes.
In addition, one does not need to formulate a law that's named in his/her honor or even be aware of a law to be affected by and to reside in respect with it. We've all complied with Galileo and Newton's laws about gravity, well before 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. Around this writing, I've written 15 books, posted well over 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 least a thousand lecture presentations in twelve countries while spending 43 years (since 1970) dreaming in regards to the approaches to and odds of vastly improved environments and cultures for greater health and happiness.
That has resulted in this moment-the time when I provide 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 of 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 made 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 just about to be under our field of control. Alas, this functional and preferred method of thinking is basically illusory. You can find three far more consequential realities not under your influence in virtually any way. Furthermore, these three factors render the 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 add up to much.
Thinking about the immense black hole power of the very first law, additional such laws play a modest role in efforts to shape life quality and longevity.
But, that does not obviate the case for added laws of REAL wellness. The truth is that the majority of the eponymous laws on the books are useless to many people but are yet of interest and even great for a few. I'm within my eighth decade; I'm not conscious of any occasion when I would have benefited from an awareness of Aitken's law or Zipf's law. I heard of neither until I started the study because of this essay. Ditto a great deal of other laws.
Relative to the very first law above, this law and those who follow do not add up to 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 people enjoy royal lineage or handsome trusts that assure first-class travel in life with minimum significance of labor, we should choose trades of sorts to pay for our way through life. Thus, we are wise to adopt a long-term goal of studying and laboring at a trade which will prove enjoyable and satisfying, as well as properly remunerative.
When this challenge is met, your method of earning a full time income won't look like work.
Thus another law - master a passion. Start by following varied interests and, after years and years if not decades of trial and error, settle into one of them, immersing yourself in it.
Be somewhat realistic but guard against premature realism-while not everybody can get elected, be in the movies or play in the NBA or NFL, a select few can. Focus about what excites talents and gifts. Put in the full time needed 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 the right or strange reason, can pay you to accomplish that which you enjoy doing-because you're so spectacular at whatever it is you have honed to a level 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
Could be the deed ever really done
For heaven's and future's sake.
Ardell's 4th Law of REAL Wellness: Safer to chase after fun than to flee from pain.
Forget an ounce of prevention. That will indeed be worth a pound of cure, but a grain of REAL wellness may be worth a lot of prevention. Prevention is so old school-it's vintage medical thinking focused upon avoiding negative outcomes. Furthermore, there is no fun in working whilst not to experience a negative outcome.
As opposed to preventing something, pursue very good results via proactive initiatives that amuse and satisfy. REAL wellness initiatives guided by reason, exuberance, athleticism and liberty tend to be more apt to be exciting and enjoyable. Such efforts will reinforce good intentions far a lot more than hanging around for negative states not to happen because of preventive strategies!
Naturally, SOME prevention is good. Birth control prevention is good, disease prevention is good-you have the idea.
Ardell's 5th Law of REAL Wellness: Scrutinize the role you played in virtually any scene, good or bad, and make adjustments.
Make personal responsibility your default setting. Yes, initially it is easier, cheaper and more convenient at fault, excuse, deny and/or ignore responsibility than to embrace it. Such are the current default settings generally in most cultures, including our own. In the long if not medium range, however, it is healthier, more satisfying and more effective to assume at least some degree of responsibility. This approach enables you to 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 are not apt to be equally essential for everyone. We're all quite different in so many ways, though we are alike in lots of ways, as well. But, our circumstances, resources, capacities and such vary significantly. Among the most important elements for enjoying life must be the experience of plentiful an active fascination with and life-long openness to new meanings and a commitment to and maintenance of a remarkably fit body. DUI
Therefore, in addition to mastering an awareness and acceptance of the reality of Ardell's 1st Law of REAL Wellness, create a point of always trying to appear on the bright side of life. If the latter seems difficult, take comfort from the words expressed by the mother of Woody Allen's character in Annie Hall. Having just read that the universe is expanding, Allen's character laments that he's too worried to accomplish his homework. "Someday it'll break apart and that would be the end of everything."
"But," his Mother snaps, "you're here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn is not expanding."
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