Wellness is always talked about as a state to get to, like reaching the peak of a mountain, and once you are there you are somehow well. But how do you stay well once you’re up there? When one gets to the top of a mountain, what’s the next step? (I mean, after you do your victory dance and test the echo up there.) How to get down, right? And getting down often means undoing all the things that helped you get up there in the first place.

But what if I said that wellness is not a state of being – it’s an action. Wellness is something that you do – like going on a journey – and not a destination. Let’s turn wellness from a noun into a verb. Anything that you do toward feeling healthy, however small, is wellness. That 10 minute walk around the block? That’s you doing wellness. Those thirty seconds spent taking deep breaths to calm down after your kids were driving you up the wall? That’s wellness too.

And remember to pat yourself on the back for doing the things that make you feel healthy and well. That’s very important too. Be your own best cheerleader – especially for the small stuff.