Create. Connect. Contribute. Care.
I am a fork.
What I mean, is that when I think about an object that would describe me, it is a fork.
This fork represents my path to wellbeing. Wellbeing is more than eating better, getting exercise, monitoring habits, following recommended sickness and disease management and prevention. It’s bigger than that.
Wellbeing is tethered to our human ambition and desire to thrive and flourish. It is about being engaged with our purpose and be present for the moments of our life that matter most. It is about a journey to find meaning and what makes us come alive. It means finding that exact place where our gifts meet what the world is asking from us.
So, yes, it is all of the above, but more. It means exercising our mind as much as our body, and feeling our heart as much as our muscles. It means that even in sickness we find vibrancy and joy. It means that we respond to the enduring human desire to live a life of fruitful adventures and mystical travels that deliver the richness of life, woven and contoured by the thrills of our highs and rebuilding from the broken parts of our lows.
Wellbeing isn’t a fixed state. Rather, it is the process where by we grow from exploring creativity, contributing to people and the greater good, being connected to my life and others, and caring for myself, for those I love, and those I can reach.
To learn more about how to cultivate a wellbeing journey to find your meaning, purpose, and connection to joy, check out my book, “Highway to Well: A Punk Rock Journey to Making Meaning and Coming Alive.” Available here and on Amazing, December 2.
Highway to Well Podcast
About Derek
Derek Bell, MS, CWP, loves whammy bars, soccer, peanut butter, and testing the boundaries of life as an amateur athlete.
Derek is a nationally recognized wellness leader with more than 25 years of experience helping individuals and organizations cultivate greater wellbeing, meaning, and purpose. He has served as executive director of the National Wellness Institute, held executive leadership roles in the wellbeing and mental health fields, including as the Director of Wellbeing & Joy of Practice in the Ascension Health Center of Excellence, and as the VP of Solutions and Clinical Operations at VITAL WorkLife, Inc.
As a voice for expanding our traditional ideas about wellness and wellbeing, Derek brings his sense of finding our deep gladness to his teaching, where he is a faculty member of the Sentry School of Business at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, teaching “Finding Meaning & Purpose In Our Work,” (Organizational Wellness), in the MBA program.
Through his coaching, trainings, and leadership development work, Derek is helping people find highways to discover the things that bring us joy - and cultivate practices that enhance those pathways. He believes a happy and fruitful life requires being CONNECTED, CARING for yourself and others, CONTRIBUTING to your community, and exploring your CREATIVITY.
Derek received his bachelor’s degree from Knox College and his master’s from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.
In addition to leadership and wellbeing, Derek’s other passion is soccer. He was named the United Soccer Coaches Association, "High School Coach of Significance," for the state of Wisconsin in 2020, and has been a club, high school and college soccer coach for over 30 years.
With more than 20 years of experience in leadership, health promotion and wellness, Derek has worked with some of the best minds in the field. At the core, we are ignited where the human experience intersects with wellbeing. It is there were we find joy. It is Derek’s purpose to help people find theirs.
Check out Derek on Instagram, @derekbellwellness
Podcasts available on Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/show/4mwsBM7t95k3u7IKexKaJx?si=02nUrC2TQsyWUy5X-Ukdsg
