Spiritual Fitness
Helping students’ find meaning and purpose in their daily tasks and life.
The subcategories (or wellbeing ‘constructs’) within each Knox Total Fitness pillar are informed by a rigorous review and meta-analysis conducted by the Science of Wellbeing researchers, and inform evidence-based interventions that staff and students can adopt to improve ‘fitness’ in each wellbeing domain.
Acceptance and Awareness
Experiencing the present moment (awareness) in a non-judgemental way (acceptance) are hallmarks of mindfulness (Dekeyser et al., 2008). Furthermore, they are essential for self-compassion that significantly protects against psychological illbeing (Marsh et al., 2018). Mindfully using language to describe and not judge also enables a cognitive detachment between thought and literal meaning (Hayes et al., 2006) that allow experiences to occur without the need to avoid them.
Gratitude
Gratitude can be defined as a virtue or an emotional state resulting from recognition of future, current or previous benefits received (Emmons and McCullough 2003). Research indicates that expressing gratitude strengthens relationships and enhances positive emotion and wellbeing (Khanna and Singh, 2019).
Meaningfulness and Purpose
Meaningfulness is a feeling of belonging to and serving something greater than yourself, while living a purposeful life is focusing on the things you value most (Seligman, 2011). Meaning and purpose can be fostered by religion, charitable affiliations, club memberships or family that together foster a deep and enduring happiness.
