Short Takes on REAL Wellness by Donald B. Ardell, Director
 
What is REAL wellness?  REAL wellness, like regular wellness, is whatever anyone wants it to be and says it is.  Since the concept is so new, people usually are unchallenged defining wellness, real or otherwise, anyway they please, whether to promote a service, remedy, product or point of view.
 
For this reason, I adopted the modifier REAL to promote wellness as a deliberate mindset or philosophy inspired by reason, exuberance and liberty.  the purpose of wellness is achieve, maintain and fine-tune a high quality of life.
 
REAL wellness education, materials or programs do not dwell on risk reduction strategies or varied ways to manage illness and/or disease, though these are important aspects of broader health promotion.  The key areas of REAL wellness are global awareness/environmental sensitivity (a green consciousness), the quest for added meaning and purpose, ethical awareness and fine-tuning, understanding the dynamics of happiness (and experiencing more of it) and thinking critically using reason, skepticism and doubt.