Introduction: A Large number of Laws
Most educated people have been aware of God's laws (contentious, confusing, conflicting and confounding), what the law states of Gravity, what the law states of Thermodynamics, what the law states of the Land, Parkinson's law, Murphy's law and so on. Most are named after the author of a succinct observation described by the law. Laws range between 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 utilized 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 don't you associate as many as possible with one's own name?
Grandiose, perhaps, but when I don't take action, another person surely will and that individual just might produce a mess of it. Wellness in corporate America and elsewhere on earth is described and presented in wildly inappropriate and dysfunctional ways; why don't you eradicate the babble with a few transformative REAL wellness laws? Such laws, if they make sense and lead humanity to sounder thinking, might well contribute modestly to improved health and life outcomes.
In addition, one does not have to formulate a law that is named in his/her honor as well as know about a law to be afflicted with and to reside relating with it. We have all complied with Galileo and Newton's laws about gravity, well before we became conscious of them.
Anyone who would like a law to bear his / her name should present some credentials. Mine are modest, simple but adequate for the honor. As of this writing, I have written 15 books, posted well over one 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 least one thousand lecture presentations in twelve countries while spending 43 years (since 1970) dreaming in regards to the ways to and odds of vastly improved environments and cultures for greater health and happiness.
Which has generated 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 built 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 pretty much to be under our field of control. Alas, this functional and preferred way of thinking is basically illusory. You will find three a lot more consequential realities not under your influence in virtually any way. Furthermore, these three factors render the standard 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.
Thinking about the immense black hole power of the very first law, additional such laws play a small role in efforts to shape life quality and longevity.
But, that doesn't 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 the majority of people but are yet of interest and even helpful for a few. I'm within my eighth decade; I'm not conscious of any special occasion when I could have benefited from an awareness of Aitken's law or Zipf's law. I been aware of neither until I started the investigation for this essay. Ditto tons of other laws.
Relative to the 1st law above, this law and the ones 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 fine 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 little if any importance of labor, we should choose trades of sorts to cover our way through life. Thus, we are a good idea to adopt a long-term goal of studying and laboring at a trade that'll prove enjoyable and satisfying, along with properly remunerative.
When this challenge is met, your way of earning an income won't seem like work.
Thus another law - master a passion. Start with following varied interests and, after years and years or even 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. Devote 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 here's that at some point in your career somebody, somewhere, for some great or strange reason, can pay you to do that which you enjoy doing-because you're so spectacular at whatever it's you've honed to an amount of artful mastery.
Robert Frost expressed the thought of this law in his poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time:"
My goal in life would be 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: Better to chase after fun than to flee from pain.
Forget an ounce of prevention. That'll indeed be worth a pound of cure, but a good grain of REAL wellness may be worth a ton of prevention. Prevention is indeed old school-it's vintage medical thinking focused upon avoiding negative outcomes. Furthermore, there is no fun in working so as not to have an adverse outcome.
Rather than preventing something, pursue positive 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 significantly more than ready for negative states not to happen thanks to preventive strategies!
Naturally, SOME prevention is good. Birth control prevention is good, disease prevention is good-you get 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 simpler, cheaper and easier at fault, excuse, deny and/or ignore responsibility than to embrace it. Such are the existing default settings in many cultures, including our own. In the long or even medium range, however, it's healthier, more satisfying and more effective to assume at the least some extent of responsibility. This process allows you to make adjustments independent of actions by others. Estate Your own actions would be the surest steps to supporting your interests.
Ardell's 6th Law of REAL Wellness: Dead, bloated rhino equivalents would be the staff of life.
All areas 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 many ways, as well. But, our circumstances, resources, capacities and the like vary significantly. Among the main elements for enjoying life ought to be the connection with plentiful, a dynamic interest in and life-long openness to new meanings and a commitment to and maintenance of a remarkably fit body.
Therefore, in addition to mastering an understanding and acceptance of the fact of Ardell's 1st Law of REAL Wellness, produce a point of always trying to check on the bright side of life. If the latter seems difficult, take comfort from the language 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 do his homework. "Someday it will break apart and that will be the end of everything."
"But," his Mother snaps, "you're in Brooklyn! Brooklyn isn't expanding."
