Often, we all hear about the different components of fitness or what it means to be “well”. But what does that mean? According to experts, there are 6 areas of wellness that contribute to our overall satisfaction and happiness in life. These 6 components are constantly in motion and interacting and it’s up to us to achieve balance in all 6 areas. And then add another person and their own crazy life to the equation. As husband and wife, we’ve had our fair share of difficulties in being harmonious, but after some trial and error, I think we’ve finally made a way to make it all “fit” into our marriage.
1. Physical Health
This one is probably the most obvious for a fitness blog. Of course, diet and exercise play a huge part in our lives, but another thing we try to make sure of together is that we get outside in the sunshine to absorb some good ol’ vitamin D, as well as make sure we have enough overall movement. Neither one of us feels great if we spend an entire weekend lounging around watching Netflix all day.
2. Emotional Health
Each person has their own individual struggles as well as things that they need, but we’ve learned that in order for both of us to feel satisfied with marriage we need different things. My wife usually just needs me to genuinely listen to her and verify her feelings, and in return she’s always giving me positive affirmations reminding me that she believes in me. Something we have found extremely helpful in aiding both of our emotional health is the 5 love languages. If you guys haven’t taken this test and/or read the book, DO IT! Seriously, life changer.
3. Spiritual Health
This one is can be super different for everyone. Whatever helps you with mindfulness or being in tune with yourself helps you achieve spiritual balance. My wife and I find great comfort in our religious beliefs and practices and have weekly and monthly goals to achieve such balance. For others, this can be achieved through things like yoga or meditation.
4. Social Health
I think this one was definitely the hardest for us to figure out and sometimes it’s still a struggle. When we first got married, we never wanted to be apart, do anything separately, or sometimes even go out at all. We had to figure out a way to maintain friendships with other friends by actually hanging out with them, as well as have hobbies that didn’t involve each other. Recently our best balance has been while I go shooting with our neighbor, my wife goes and gets a pedicure with the neighbor’s wife or another friend. It’s been a win-win, and it gets us out of the house and involves other human interaction.
5. Environmental Health
If you’re not comfortable where you are, your cortisol levels are going to be high and you’re not going to feel “well” and this can affect your physical and your emotional health. A healthy environment can be as simple as having music playing where you are, or for my wife, she has to have a clean apartment. Dishes have to be done every night or she doesn’t sleep well and stresses. I have to have background noise going in order to be productive. We’ve had to sit down and talk about things that make us feel safe and secure and then compromise on things we might not agree on. (Dishes being done vs. laundry being folded. Laundry loses almost every time)
6. Intellectual Health
When I first learned about this one, it seemed the most abstract. However, ever since my wife graduated, it’s starting to make more sense because she expressed that she felt like she wasn’t learning anything anymore and had almost lost a sense of purpose. We suddenly started getting more and more amazon packages full of books, and we’ve probably tried more new dinner recipes in the last 3 months since graduation than we have in the last 2 years of marriage because that’s just how my wife ticks. She constantly wants to be improving herself and gaining new skills/knowledge. After some self-reflection I realized I have the same desire but manifest in different ways. I don’t like to read, but I love audiobooks, podcasts, and world news. The cool thing about learning and acquiring knowledge, is that it’s something that no one can take away from you.
Making Marriage Fit 