don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

My run for mayor of Tampa as a wellness promoter is focused on quality of life issues. My campaign theme is "a well city that is fit, fun free and functional." I tell people that, as mayor, I would be a booster for self-management skills such as fitness, environmental sensitivity, emotional intelligence, individual accountability and other characteristics related to wellness qualities. It seems to me that a community known to value personal excellence and related self-management initiatives is one more likely to attract new business opportunities. My point is that a well city would be a more prosperous city. I believe the four elements of a well city would strengthen the economy, attract jobs to the area and ultimately permit more investments in the arts, recreation and the like. In short, my campaign suggests that a wellness focus reinforces community well-being.

That's the theory, in any event. However, it is not the easiest case to make without evidence to back it up. Well, fortunately for me, some new evidence has just come along that makes this case very nicely -- on a national level. This development could put me over the top!

The evidence comes from an organization called "The Progressive Policy Institute." The Institute recently ranked the fifty States in terms of strengths and weaknesses in "new economy" qualities. While individual cities were not assessed, Tampa's home state of Florida was. It did not do so well. Massachusetts was ranked first, followed by Washington, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Delaware and New York. The Institute researchers also offered a roadmap leading to future success in the new economy. As you might guess, this map looks a lot like the "well city" that I'm promoting in the campaign for mayor!

Five categories describe the essence of the new economy -- knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism and competition, the transformation to a digital economy and capacity for technological innovation. All require communities that support world-class education.

The Institute urged states to concentrate on quality of life -- which is exactly what I want to do as mayor of Tampa. The report concludes with a wellness-oriented message worthy of a fit, fun, free and functional city. "Developing a vibrant New Economy is not an end in itself; it is the means to advance larger progressive goals: higher incomes, new economic opportunities, more individual choice and freedom, greater dignity and autonomy for working Americans and stronger communities." Just so.

In a related study, over 4000 people took part in a "Healthy Community Agenda Campaign." This entailed 300 community-based dialogues designed to stimulate healthier communities and to identify what creates health and improves quality of life. Seven patterns emerged which, no surprise, are all of a wellness lifestyle nature. These elements are ongoing dialogue, the embrace of diversity, a focus on the future, self-awareness, leadership, networks between people and resources and a sense of community. As with the Institute study on the new economy, the Healthy Community Agenda Campaign showed that wellness issues do matter in the shaping the forces that affect the prosperity of a city.

It's always a good thing to find studies that support positions you want to promote anyway! Be well and always look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of applied wellness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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