Introduction: A Multitude of Laws
Most educated folks have heard about God's laws (contentious, confusing, conflicting and confounding), the law of Gravity, the law of Thermodynamics, the law of the Land, Parkinson's law, Murphy's law and so on. The majority are named after mcdougal of a succinct observation described by the law. Laws range from A (i.e., Aitken's law - describes how vowel length is conditioned by environment) to Z (Zipf's law - a linguistic observation that the few words are used often but the majority are used rarely).
Whilst the wellness field grows and evolves, perhaps it's time for a REAL wellness law-or many such laws. If so, why not associate up to possible with one's own name?
Grandiose, perhaps, but when I don't do it, another person surely will and that individual might just produce 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 couple of transformative REAL wellness laws? Such laws, if they sound right and lead humanity to sounder thinking, might well contribute modestly to improved health and life outcomes.
By the way, one does not need to formulate a law that's named in his/her honor as well as know about a law to be afflicted with and to call home in accordance with it. We've all complied with Galileo and Newton's laws about gravity, prior to we became alert to them.
Anyone who desires a law to bear their name should present some credentials. Mine are modest, simple but adequate for the honor. As of this writing, I've written 15 books, posted above 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 very least one thousand lecture presentations in several countries while spending 43 years (since 1970) dreaming in regards to the ways to and chances of vastly improved environments and cultures for greater health and happiness.
All of which has led to this moment-the time when I provide 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 pretty much to be under our field of control. Alas, this functional and preferred means of thinking is largely illusory. There are three far more consequential realities not under your influence in virtually any way. Furthermore, these three factors render the quality and duration of your existence unpredictable and unknowable. They're: 1) random chance or fortune; 2) natural selection; and 3) contingencies.
Ardell's 2nd Law of REAL Wellness: In accordance with Ardell's 1st Law of REAL wellness, other REAL wellness laws don't add up to much.
Considering 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 will not obviate the case for added laws of REAL wellness. The truth is that all 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 alert to most occasions when I could have benefited from an awareness of Aitken's law or Zipf's law. I heard about neither until I began the research because of this essay. Ditto a great deal of other laws.
In accordance with the 1st law above, this law and those that follow don't 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 fine but keep going-become great at it.
Since few people enjoy royal lineage or handsome trusts that assure first-class travel in life with little if any dependence on labor, we must choose trades of sorts to pay 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 a living won't look like work.
Thus another law - master a passion. Begin 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 everyone can get elected, be in the movies or play in the NBA or NFL, a select few can. Focus on what excites talents and gifts. Place in the full time necessary to qualify for Carnegie Hall (i.e., practice, practice, practice-take account of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours rule).
The target here is that at some point 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 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 always to unite my vocation
with my avocation.
As my two eyes make one in sight.
For only where love and need are one
And work is play for mortal stakes
May be 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 a whiff 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 really old school-it's vintage medical thinking focused upon avoiding negative outcomes. Furthermore, there's no fun in working so as not to experience a poor outcome.
Rather than preventing something, pursue good results via proactive initiatives that amuse and satisfy. REAL wellness initiatives guided by reason, exuberance, athleticism and liberty tend to be more probably be exciting and enjoyable. Such efforts will reinforce good intentions far more than ready for negative states not that occurs thanks to preventive strategies!
Naturally, SOME prevention is good. Contraceptive prevention is good, disease prevention is good-you obtain 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 the culprit, excuse, deny and/or ignore responsibility than to embrace it. Such are the present default settings in many cultures, including our own. Estate In the long if not medium range, however, it is healthier, more satisfying and more efficient to assume at the very least some degree of responsibility. This method lets you make adjustments independent of actions by others. Your personal actions will be the surest steps to supporting your interests.
Ardell's 6th Law of REAL Wellness: Dead, bloated rhino equivalents will be the staff of life.
All aspects of REAL wellness are not probably be equally essential for 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 ought to be the connection with plentiful, an active fascination with and life-long openness to new meanings and a commitment to and maintenance of an amazingly fit body.
Therefore, in addition to mastering a knowledge and acceptance of the truth of Ardell's 1st Law of REAL Wellness, produce a point of always trying to look 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 complete his homework. "Someday it will break apart and that could be the end of everything."
"But," his Mother snaps, "you're here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn isn't expanding."
