Be Well Lead Well® is committed to advancing the consciousness and capabilities for more inclusive, well, and wiser leadership. In support of these efforts, Be Well Lead Well® Director and Wisdom Works CEO, Renee Moorefield curates monthly content and resources for The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease, an initiative of the Global Wellness Institute. The goal: to bring together global wellness enthusiasts, from scientists and educators to health experts and business leaders, to eradicate preventable disease worldwide.
Each month, Renee explores wellbeing leadership through the themes of The Wellness Moonshot Calendar. Below is an excerpt from March’s theme, REFLECT.
March 2022 | REFLECT
What Does Reflect Mean to You?
That was my first question to Victor Koo during our recent dialogue about The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease. And who better to ask than a dynamic wellness leader? Victor has dedicated his life and career to advancing wellness, as chairman of Heyi Holdings, which focuses on disruptive innovations in the areas of health, genomics, and food 2.0, and as co-founder of Tianren Culture, a next-generation social platform that acts as a catalyst to foster positive global values and lifestyles. He is also on the advisory board of the Global Wellness Institute and a vital force in spreading The Wellness Moonshot across China with a focus on cultivating harmony between people and nature.
Victor has firsthand experience that as a wellness leader, we’re often on the treadmill of doing. He’s realized that reflection can bring new insight and energy to life and work.
Reflect on Three Levels
To reflect is to look back at your experiences so that you grow from them. According to Victor, you can proactively build reflection into your wellness leadership on three levels:
- Reflect on wellness within. Adopt the principle, Wellness First. Designate a specific time of your year, week, and day to do a holistic wellness check-up, asking yourself, “Where am I on my wellness journey?” Incorporate wellness into your organization’s mission, vision, operations, and decisions—and take time as a team to ask, “Where are we on our wellness journey?” You may be surprised at what you learn.
- Reflect on wellness in the outer world. As the world constantly changes, new health and wellness opportunities are emerging. For instance, innovative technologies, such as care-at-home systems and wellness apps, are increasing individuals’ accountability for wellness wherever they are. And, nature is now being prescribed to counteract our often sedentary and screen-based lives, one study citing that 120 minutes per week in contact with natural environments benefits our health and wellbeing.
- Reflect on your personal and global vision of wellness. The Wellness Moonshot is a grand vision to eliminate preventable diseases; yet it isn’t just a global vision. It’s personal. Your friends, coworkers, loved ones—perhaps even you—may be suffering an illness that can be lessened or healed with wellness strategies. What can other cultures teach you about healthier living? Victor suggests that the Swedish and Norwegian notion LAGOM (meaning “just enough”), the Japanese wabi-sabi (“embracing imperfection”), and Tian ren he yi (“uniting human and nature”) from China are examples of wellness wisdom we all can embrace. This is about a profound shift in understanding our relationships with ourselves, each other, and the planet from a foundation of wellbeing.
