Wellness - Dec.05/08

The catch word in offices across the country...wellness. How do we improve the wellness of the people that we work with? My manager has been talking about this for the past two years, casually. He has added it to a list of goals for the year, sort of at the end and not very enthusiastically. At first, I wasn't really paying attention to what he wanted, I was doing my own thing. I was taking care of the needs of the people on my team and in my unit. I was actively listening to them and trying to meet their needs, in hopes that they felt cared for. I was teaching, in my suicide prevention workshop, that it is important that we take care of each other, as no one else really understands what it is like to deal with suicide attempts as much as we do. I had no idea that I was helping the centre reach it's goal by exploring ways to promote wellness.
I recently joined a wellness committee and much to my surprise, I was surrounded by a dozen people who had the same goal as I do. Improve the wellness of the people around us. It was a very exciting first meeting, we talked about how to stop the negativity and discourage mediocrity. We talked about how to talk to people, in the moment, when faced with negative comments or a lack of drive to do a good job.
We planned a Christmas party of the staff and their families. We always focus on how to make Christmas a good time for our clients and their families, we seldom focus on the care givers ( that's us).
Everyone at the meeting was enthusiastic and eager to start the new year with positive acts towards others and a strive towards mastery. I believe that I am in the right place.
As this is an old journal entry, I can add to it. We did manage to throw a Christmas party for our workmates and their families. It was surprisingly easy with about six people chipping in some of their spare time. The results were amazing. I have never received so many positive comments about an event before. People were amazed that we threw a party just for them, no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive, just a party. They were also really excited about what they could do to improve the wellness of the people that we work with. This feels just like the acts of kindness project that I am working on. I am telling people about my goals to partake in acts of kindness and they want to do it too. In that same vein, I am telling people about improving the wellness of others and they want in. I see great things happening in the new year with the promotion of positive thinking in my work place and at home.