Balance is an important concept in every pursuit. We seek work-life balance to do our best on the job without sacrificing time for intentional living. We strive to find a balance between what builds us up and what builds up others. When it comes to our total wellbeing, balance is also essential. We use these four touch points to help create that balance. Mindset, nutrition, movement, and recovery require equal amounts of our attention to serve as a stable foundation for creating a healthy lifestyle. Here’s why:

Mindset

You might be familiar with the term, “growth mindset.” As opposed to a “fixed mindset,” those who embrace challenges and believe instead that they are opportunities for learning and growth are exercising a growth mindset. A growth mindset is about choosing to believe that our own potential can be unlocked with diligence and hard work. This can be applied to improvement at work, athletic achievement, weight loss, behavioral change or any other self-improvement goal. While mindset provides the “never-quit” determination to achieve, it needs to be balanced by honest recognition of where we’re starting and what we must overcome in order to achieve our goals.

Nutrition

Everything we take into our bodies can help or harm us. Food can be fuel or medicine, or it can be poison. Part of building a healthy mindset is recognizing that food and hydration can affect our body’s ability to improve, to perform, and it can even affect our mood and mental acuity. The right balance of foods for your body might not look the same as the fuel on which your friends thrive, so finding the food-to-fuel ratio that works for your body requires dedication to healthy living through mindful eating.

Movement

The benefits of movement for a healthy body are unmatched by everything except, possibly, nutrition. Movement increases circulation and lymphatic function, immune system response, and improves mood and brain function. Simply put, the ability to have a healthy brain and body depends on regular movement. That movement requires the right fuel, and a healthy approach to food requires a healthy growth mindset. You get the picture.

Recovery

The body needs periods of rest so it can rebuild. Even recovery is a balance of active and passive recovery and sleep. How quickly the muscles and support systems recover and the body’s quality of sleep depends on stores of essential water, macronutrients and minerals supplied by—you guessed it—balanced nutrition.

Call it balance or an interdependent cycle, healthy living requires all four elements—mindset, nutrition, movement, and recovery—to support continued progress toward health and fitness goals. Some people rely on nutrition alone, or workouts fueled by junk foods and fad drinks, but those approaches lack the balance the body requires by its very nature. A balanced approach to life, work, and healthy living requires a solid foundation that begins and ends with a mindset that never gives up and strives to learn more and do better, every step of the way.

Take your first step to a balanced approach to health and wellness with the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center Fitness Consultation, a service that helps you identify your goals and make a plan for balanced and achievable improvement.