Reset All 7 Dimensions of Wellness This New Year
So, you did it again.
Another holiday season where you agreed to just one more party (or two) when you wanted to practice saying “No.”
You thought, “This year…”
You’d say “No” to gift exchanges with every friend.
You’d say “No” to celebrating with every extended relative.
You’d say “No” baking cookies for every single neighbor.
But when it came down to it, you said “Yes.”
Stress stole the show yet again, when you had intended to make this season about Calm.
Maybe you barked at the kids or were snide with your spouse. Perhaps you were short with some strangers or came down hard on yourself.
But now that the dust has settled, and the last Christmas ornament has been wrestled away from the cat, maybe you’re beginning to make out the shape of your former routine.
Strange white spots are probably appearing on your calendar, and you might be wondering how to best fill them – or how not to fill them – in a way that feels like healthy, intentional rest.
Because in 2025, sitting on the couch watching other people live their lives on Instagram and calling it “rest,” simply won’t do.
In a survey of 2,000 American adults, 47% said they relax for less than 40 minutes a day! What’s more, 42% of those polled cited lack of motivation as a key reason they didn’t take better care of themselves and didn’t engage in relaxing activities.
Let’s not let that be you.
You know that heavy stress shortens life expectancy. But it also just diminishes the quality of your life now. Stress affects every one of the 7 dimensions of wellness.
What Are The 7 Dimensions of Wellness?
If you’ve never heard of the 7 dimensions of wellness, allow me to introduce them to you.
The idea of the 7 dimensions of wellness is that our holistic health depends on our wellbeing in seven areas of life. So for complete and balanced wellbeing, we must practice self-care in each of the seven categories.
The 7 Dimensions of Wellness are:
The Environmental Dimension of Wellness
The Physical Dimension of Wellness
The Mental Dimension of Wellness
The Emotional Dimension of Wellness
The Spiritual Dimension of Wellness
The Vocational Dimension of Wellness
The Social Dimension of Wellness
Most of us pay attention to our physical dimension of wellness, or even to the mental and emotional dimensions as the idea of self-care has gained traction.
But all 7 dimensions of wellness play an integral role in your complete wellbeing. Together they complete the picture of our holistic health.
So if you’re truly looking to reset in the New Year and shake off the groggy, drained, stressed-out holiday-version of yourself, then you’ll want to practice incorporating intentional microchanges into your daily self-care routine to experience a healthy refresh.
Easily Incorporate the 7 Dimensions of Wellness Into Your Reset
It may seem like a lot to pay attention to 7 dimensions of wellness. But after we break down each of the 7 dimensions of wellness and provide some simple self-care tips for each, you’ll begin to see small changes you can incorporate over time.
When you begin implementing these practical tips based on the 7 dimensions of wellness, you can expect to feel more:
Focused
Energized
Relaxed
Patient
At peace
Inspired
Engaged
A fun and comprehensive way to prioritize your self-care in the New Year, after a chaotic season of holiday activities focused on making everyone else’s Christmas “perfect,” is to deliberately set aside a few distraction-free days for YOU in an environment that promotes complete wellbeing in all of the 7 dimensions of wellness.
What better place than The Mountain Top Lodge?
When you give yourself a reset retreat at The Mountain Top Lodge, you’re saying “No” to distractions, excuses, the continuous needs of others – for a focused period of time – to invest in your holistic health and start the New Year with fresh intentions.
As an easy starting point at home, choose one of the 7 dimensions of wellness to focus on each day for a week. Baby steps!
Let’s dive into each of the 7 dimensions of wellness and discover how you can reset each wellness dimension at home in daily life, but also during your self-care retreat at The Mountain Top Lodge.
The Environmental Dimension of Wellness
It’s no surprise that our environment has the power to affect our mood.
How well do you work in a windowless basement office with fluorescent lighting, a musty smelling carpet, and constant noise overhead? Do you feel inspired?
Even if we can’t work in front of a wall of windows overlooking a zen garden, there are simple things you can do to improve your mood and increase your sensation of calm. You’ll be more productive and feel more yourself.
1 - Declutter Your Space
Especially after the holidays, this tip seems like a no-brainer. As you put away the holiday decorations, take the opportunity to declutter further. Identify one decluttering project you can tackle this month, and reacquaint yourself with Marie Kondo. You may notice that your mind begins to declutter along with your home.
2 - Experiment With Biophilic Design
The intent behind biophilic design is to connect humans with their natural environment through architecture and design. When you enter a space that incorporates biophilic design principles, you can almost feel your blood pressure drop. Think calming neutrals, natural textures like wood and stone, and green plant life. Bring a live plant into your home, light a candle that smells like the forest, and welcome in as much sunlight as possible. Bonus points if you can incorporate the sound of trickling water…
3 - Get Outside
Spending time in nature is a cure all, whether that means walking a path in the woods (without using your phone – no listening to a podcast, no talking on the phone, no simultaneous scrolling and walking) or strolling up and down the beach. If you can’t do it daily, then find one day per week to spend an hour in nature. It can be the forest, the beach, or even a public park. Pay attention to your surroundings. Notice the details. Study the pattern on the leaf or the colorful ridges on the sea shell. Brush your hand across the bark of a tree, let the sand slip between your fingers. Connect with nature. Be present.
Bonus: At The Lodge
At The Mountain Top Lodge in Dahlonega, Georgia, you’ll find a cozy, elegant sanctuary in the heart of the forest. You’ll be perfectly positioned to engage meaningfully with nature around you. But even the interior environment has been thoughtfully designed to promote your wellbeing. You’ll find natural textures throughout the lodge, large windows, and serene outdoor gathering spaces to connect you with the environment and promote calm.
The Physical Dimension of Wellness
The physical aspect of our wellbeing is universally understood. Through proper diet and exercise, we can by and large ensure physical health. There are nearly infinite ways you can work on your physical health, but here are a few simple starting points to practice as part of your reset.
1 - Place Importance on Sleep
Sleep is your body’s fascinating healing and recovery mode; it should not be an after-thought in your wellness reset. Excessive blue light after sunset throws off your body’s sleep cycle and makes it difficult for your brain to power down. Try buying an old fashioned alarm clock so that thirty minutes before bed time you can leave your phone outside of your bedroom to charge. Since you won’t be able to scroll yourself to sleep, try reading a book instead!
2 - Fight Back Against the Sedentary Lifestyle
In her book Good Energy, Dr. Casey Means explains that “low-grade activity that occurs frequently and regularly throughout the day” is even more crucial for controlling your glucose and keeping cells healthy than sitting all day and exercising in one session. So if you have a desk job, be intentional about stepping away from your desk every hour for a walk around the house, or up and down the stairs. Do some air squats or some jumping jacks.
3 - View Food As Medicine
You’ve heard “food is fuel” or “you are what you eat.” These expressions are based on the reality that our bodies use the food we eat to generate energy our cells need to do their unique jobs. The rise of processed foods is leading to a host of health issues for those who regularly consume them. The next time you go to the grocery store, challenge yourself to fill your cart mostly with items that don’t have ingredient labels (or labels that show only one ingredient – like beef). The more colorful your cart, the better!
Bonus: At The Lodge
At The Mountain Top Lodge, you’ll be close to miles and miles of hiking trails to get your steps in. Catch up on high-quality sleep in our comfortable beds dressed in luxurious linens. Eat a satisfying breakfast each morning prepared with real ingredients by our outstanding chefs in the lodge kitchen.
The Mental Dimension of Wellness
The mind-body connection is real. So in a sense, caring for your mind’s wellness can also be seen as caring for your physical wellness. Here are some tips for feeding your mind nourishing ingredients, just like you should your body.
1 - Practice Gratitude
Fill your mind with thoughts of gratitude first thing in the morning. Frame your day positively by writing down or holding in your mind three things each day for which you’re grateful. You should never run out of things to be grateful for. Reflect upon even the smallest luxuries, comforts, and things we take for granted, like hot showers or instant communication with loved ones.
2 - Always Be Learning
Your brain is a sponge with a vast potential to learn. Few people stretch the limits of their brain’s learning capacity. You can exercise your mind by reading (or listening to podcasts and audiobooks) about topics that challenge you to think deeply and consider new perspectives. Choose a book on a topic you’ve always wanted to learn more about, and read for just 10 minutes daily. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can get through a book by being consistent, even in small doses.
3 - Recite Affirmations
The way we speak to ourselves is just as important as the words we use with others. Do you have a tendency to beat yourself up? Could you be kinder to yourself? Our perception of ourselves and having self-confidence can shape the way we show up and perform in daily life. If you want to thrive, you first have to believe that you can. Write down three affirming statements each morning to start your day on the right track. For example: “I am capable of doing anything I set my mind on.”
Bonus: At The Lodge
The Mountain Top Lodge is filled with perfect nooks for reading. Bring your own books, or see what we have on the shelf in our library loft! Learn something new and exercise your mind-body connection by attending a wine tasting class at a nearby vineyard. Learn to connect a wide range of scents and tastes to words. Discover the science behind grape-growing and wine-making.
The Emotional Dimension of Wellness
Regulating our emotions is an important aspect of wellness, since our emotions can affect many areas of our lives. Having emotional resilience helps us overcome stress and adversity. But first, we need to be curious about our emotions, identify them, and process them. It’s important to replace toxic thought patterns with healthy ones.
1 - Journaling
Journaling is a fantastic way to process emotions in a safe and healthy manner by getting them out of your head and onto paper. Oftentimes when your thoughts are written down, you’ll find you can better assess whether they’re worth dwelling on, or whether you can just let them live in your journal. When you’re having strong feelings, try identifying them using this word bank. Write them down. As you journal, keep asking yourself “why?” you feel that way. After every answer, ask “why” again to drill deeper and deeper.
2 - Set Limits on Social Media
These days reaching for your phone to check your social media accounts is second nature. When you’re bored, you’re waiting in line, before bed, and throughout the day – you may not even realize how often you open these apps. But to regulate what we ingest and control how everyone else’s content affects us emotionally, it helps to be mindful about the time we spend scrolling. A great way to do this is with tools like the OneSec app. Install this app to get a reminder to breathe every time you click on certain apps. It’ll ask you “Do you really want to open Instagram?” You’ll soon realize that many times the reality is: No!
3 - Breathing Exercises
Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf teaches her Think, Feel, Choose breathing exercise as a practical method for regulating emotion. Dr. Leaf explains that thoughts affect feelings, and feelings drive our choices. Next time you’re flooded with emotion, try pausing for Dr. Leaf’s adaptation of the 5-7 breathing exercise. Breathe in for 5 seconds while you think or say “Think, Feel” and as you exhale for 7 seconds think or say “Choose.”
Bonus: At The Lodge
The Mountain Top Lodge provides the perfect calming space for you to clear your mind and process your emotions. Take your journal outside under the trees, or curl up to write in a luxurious leather armchair. In the library loft, you’ll even find copies of the Shine Your Bright journal to guide your reconnection with self.
The Spiritual Dimension of Wellness
Spirituality shouldn’t be neglected as part of our self-care reset. We are physical beings, but we also have a soul – and just like our body and our mind, the soul needs nourishment too. Even if you don’t subscribe to an organized religion, challenge yourself to contemplate matters of the soul this year.
1 - Silent Prayer or Meditation
Quiet your soul daily through prayer or meditation. In a world that is noisy and chaotic, it does our souls good to sit in silence and simply be. As soon as you wake up in the morning, challenge yourself not to touch your phone or turn on the TV until after you’ve spent at least 10 minutes in silence.
2 - Inspirational Reading
Whether you set aside time to read Scripture, ancient texts, or an acclaimed spiritual book like The Untethered Soul, it does us good to contemplate forces outside of ourselves and ask the big questions. Combine this practice with your morning reading for the Mind!
3 - Engage With Others
Whether you attend church, choose a thought-provoking spiritual book for your next book club, it’s rewarding to discuss spiritual matters with others. Ask them what practices they use to quiet and nourish their soul. Perhaps you can do yoga together or attend a classical music performance that soothes the soul.
Bonus: At The Lodge
The Mountain Top Lodge is a serene oasis for quieting the mind and nourishing the soul. Take a walk through the woods while you pray, or head to the yoga pavilion for soulful movement. Join us in April for our Yoga By Helen retreat!
The Vocational Dimension of Wellness
Work gives humans purpose. It’s why so many retirees aren’t truly retired – they work part-time, stay engaged in business activities, mentor others, or volunteer. So it’s important that we have a vocation.
1 - Brain Dump
Brain dump writing is a great way to clear your head. Over the weekend and throughout the week, so many to-do’s and mental notes-to-self pile up, and can cloud our thinking. Before starting your work day, free form write down everything that’s on your mind – both personal and work-related tasks. You can also write down feelings and worries! You’re essentially creating a place holder so you can focus on what matters now, while leaving yourself a reference to come back to later.
2 - Goal Setting
The New Year is the perfect time to make sure you’ve got a professional or business roadmap to focus your efforts. Use a SMART goals worksheet as a framework to ensure your goals are actionable and attainable. Be sure to add emotion to your goals – ask yourself WHY these goals are important to you, and why the result would be meaningful. How would achieving these goals make you feel?
3 - Hone Your Skills
We’ll never know it all, and there’s always room for improvement. Those who adopt a “Forever Student” mentality tend to get ahead. Whatever your profession or trade, plan to add to your skillset in the New Year. Sign up for a course, join webinars, or simply watch YouTube videos!
Bonus: At The Lodge
If you need time to plan your business goals for the New Year, write resumes and apply to jobs, or do some studying and remote learning for school, you can work in undisturbed peace and quiet at The Mountain Top Lodge. Here at the lodge, we regularly host business and leadership retreats because the environment is so conducive for focused learning and business planning. We have plenty of stellar coffee, and high-speed WiFi. You may even consider hosting a corporate retreat at the lodge for your own team!
The Social Dimension of Wellness
Having too many social activities on your plate can certainly cause stress, but, interestingly, the opposite also causes humans significant stress: loneliness. In fact, loneliness “is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature death.” Having regular, meaningful engagement with others is imperative to our health as social beings.
1 - Pick Up a Hobby
More than even having a conversation with someone, doing activities with others is a great vehicle of connection and bonding. So, maybe it’s time to hop on the pickle-ball train and play a pick up game at the community park. Join a run club, find a book club, get involved in local politics, or join a business networking group. Find something that will give you social interaction at a set time weekly or monthly, versus just participating in one-off events.
2 - Use Resources Like MeetUp
Websites like MeetUp are fantastic for gathering the community – and the resource is free! You’ll find groups for all interests from yoga, to kayaking, to tennis, book clubs, brunch clubs, and just meeting up for happy hour! Many people who attend a MeetUp event go by themselves, so don’t worry about showing up solo.
3 - Volunteer
A wonderful way to get social time while also doing good for your community is by becoming a volunteer. Find a local organization that needs regular volunteers so you’ll be accountable to show up weekly or monthly. Not only will you be making a difference in someone’s life, you’ll also get to know your fellow volunteers over time and form new friendships.
BONUS: AT THE LODGE
Whether you travel to The Mountain Top Lodge with a group or solo, you’re sure to feel connected to others. Our addicted-to-excellence staff cares about getting to know each guest and providing a singular hospitality experience. Meet other guests at events like Thursday craft burger nights in the wine garden, or around the communal table on Fridays and Saturday nights for our intimate 5-course dinners. If you do visit with a friend or loved one, The Mountain Top Lodge creates the perfect setting to reconnect through distraction-free quality time.
Refresh Each of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness at The Mountain Top Lodge
For a holistic wellbeing reset that addresses each of the 7 dimensions of wellness in a way that feels effortless, luxurious, and fun, bring your reset tips together at The Mountain Top Lodge.
Plan a mini 7 dimensions of wellness retreat for yourself (or for you and your friends) that’ll allow you to face the New Year head-on feeling your freshest, most energized self.