Creating Your Personal Wellness Signals

I totally made that term up so don’t steal it!

A couple of weeks ago, I read (well listened to on Audible) the book “We Should All Be Millionaires” by Rachel Rodgers. In the book, she spoke about the concept of scarcity signals in our lives. In short, they are things/words/actions in our lives that create or cultivate scarcity based actions or thoughts.

Since hearing her talk about them, I’ve been taking inventory in both my life and house making adjustments to allow for more abundance in my life.

But, as a health coach, I’m always thinking of ways to trick myself into activities and mindsets that are wellness-leaning. This goes back to my belief in taking small steps towards holistic wellness rather than extreme measures as they are more sustainable.

What if we create and set up wellness signals throughout our house and life?

WTF are those, Tiffany?!

I’ve been unintentionally doing this for years, but realize it works when practiced.

Wellness Signals are items, triggers, words, sayings, colors (whatever you intentionally choose), that act as subtle reminders to pour into yourself or your wellness journey.

Getting my nails done a couple weeks ago served as a Wellness Signal. Not going to get the manicure itself, but rather the act of looking down at my nails and seeing them done. Seeing the color, nail art, or improved condition of my nails reminds me of how I took the time to care for myself.

Even more importantly, how good it makes me feel to set aside that time for myself.

I find myself taking a moment to add some extra cuticle oil to my nail beds or using a bit of the luxe hand cream I’ve been loving. This is absolutely not necessary and can be swapped for olive oil for all I care, but it’s the principle that matters.

Another wellness signal/trigger could be the choice to rearrange your fridge to make the fruits and vegetables more visible. I don’t know about you, but I find my family seems to opt for healthier options when they can easily see them. Same for me.

Setting a time to put on your pajamas during the evening can become the mental anchor to wind down for bedtime.

The use of an eye mask when sleeping can become the wellness signal for going to sleep faster. (Spoiler Alert: This totally works for me. I don’t know why I took so long to try one).

Picking out special socks that make you feel great can become the wellness signal to go take a walk.

Gazing at a houseplant for more than 10 seconds can become the wellness signal to do a 60 second breathing exercise to bring calm.

Placing a wide opening straw the night before can be the wellness signal to drink your glass of water as soon as you wake.

I can go on and on.

Smart watches use this concept by pushing notifications to remind you to stand up, take a breath, move around, get your steps, etc.

This concept reminds me very much of Habit Stacking mentioned in books such as Atomic Habits and others. However, the way I’ve mentioned it feels a lot less rigid. It allows for you to set up what works and observe what doesn’t. Plus the term Wellness Signals just sounds less boring. But that’s my opinion.

Making behavioral shifts (or hacks as the young kids say), can be loved or hated. But, with the right approach, they can indeed be helpful. You may not be able to check off a certain number of wellness acts a day. Life happens. And sometimes we (I definitely mean me here too), don’t want to anything and that’s self care too.

But, striving to do at least one a day can help tremendously helpful.

My formula for creating a new Wellness Signal is roughly this: