Balancing More Aspects of Life

Last week, I commented on the six core dimensions of wellness and what steps we, as college students, can take to improve and maintain these areas. I would like to extend that conversation to now focus on the three remaining aspects that I couldn’t then touch on. These are emotional, financial and spiritual wellbeing, and though they may not be talked about as often as physical, mental, and social health, they still need to be addressed.

Emotional Wellbeing

This area of living sees a lot of overlap with mental and social wellbeing, and this is by design. Our emotions, the feelings that we’re feeling, are shaped by our mindsets and the connections we make. To care for our heads and our relationships is to care for our emotional wellbeing. Therefore, a lot of the ways in which we care for our mental and social health can most certainly be applied here. So, as I said last week, give yourself time to decompress from the stress of school. Find an activity that you can fall back on when you need a mental reset. Or nurture some relationships with the people around you. But above all, the best thing you can do for your emotional health is to recognize your feelings and respond to them accordingly. There’s always been a negative stigma surrounding certain emotions like sadness and anger, but that’s not to say they ever lack validity. Feeling sad? Find a way to express that emotion and avoid repressing it. Unhappy with a friendship? Voice your concerns. Emotional wellbeing and intelligence, when strong, will set you up to become resilient to what life will throw at you, so small steps such as those listed above will help develop that intelligence.

Financial Wellbeing

Financial wellbeing isn’t the most obvious dimension of living, but we see its importance on a daily basis. Job security supplies an income, and simply put, money makes the world go around. All of our basic needs are covered by what we make and what is in our bank accounts, but income can also be a factor in how we treat and indulge ourselves. To maintain financial wellness, one needs to be mindful of spending habits in relation to personal earnings. Practicing responsible money management is the easiest way of staying financially healthy. Keep a budget and stick with it. Don’t rely on credit cards to pay for everything, especially small purchases. Additionally, find cost-effective ways to achieve your desired end goals (grocery shop for generic brands over name brands or go to a thrift store rather than a retail store). Being frugal can help hold onto what’s in your wallet, but do treat yourself every now and then.

Spiritual Wellbeing

Out of all the aspects of wellbeing, I’m of the opinion that this is the one that has been disregarded the most in the modern day, especially among the younger generations. The world has definitely shifted focus towards the secular and away from the sacred or spiritual. As someone who comes from a religious background, I view religious practice as a means to fulfillment and a way to supply some purpose and intention to how I carry out my life. Though people may disagree with specific aspects of religion and spirituality, all forms of these practices provide a sense of solace and something to fall back on when practitioners are met with obstacles in life. Prayer and meditation can be used as grounding methods, and practicing spirituality or religion can lead to forming relationships with like-minded peers. NDSU has so many different organizations that emphasize spiritual life, such as Bison Catholic and Chi-Alpha. No one has to arrive at the same conclusion with spiritual life, but any effort can do some good.

What I will leave readers with is the reminder that none of these aspects, from this week or last, exist in vacuums separated from each other. These areas of living are intersectional and overlap with one another almost completely. When we make decisions with one dimension in mind, we’re going to affect the other aspects of living as well. Hopefully these pieces of unsolicited advice are found useful when you find yourself in the trenches of college life.