Release Your Inner SAGe—Apr. 27
April 27, 2025
Sunday SAGe Newsletter Volume 32: Release Your Inner SAGe
Here is this week’s installment of Sunday SAGe, an email communication that shares wellness inspiration from The Wellness Ethic to help people thrive during the coming week (and beyond!).
Our focus this week is on a foundational component of the Wellness Ethic: striving to be a Self-Actualized Genius (SAGe).
Release Your Inner SAGe
An excerpt from The Wellness Ethic:
According to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, people are motivated by five needs: (1) physiological necessities (food, water, shelter), (2) safety, (3) love and belonging, (4) esteem, and (5) self-actualization, the highest state. A self-actualized person realizes their full potential in life. As Maslow wrote in 1943 (please excuse his antiquated masculine prose): “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy. What a man can be, he must be.”
To expand upon this concept, a self-actualized person—or Self-Actualized Genius (SAGe) in Wellness Ethic-speak—prioritizes thriving in their life. Wellness, to the extent that it can be influenced, is the natural outcome.
What It Means
Your SAGe represents your best self. It is your internal guiding force that nudges you to promote well-being. When your SAGe steers your life, you:
know your life purpose and move forward in that direction with passion, confidence, and resilience.
tend to your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
feel connected to the universe and develop loving relationships.
have a positive, value-centered approach to life that honors your autonomy and authenticity.
choose love-centered responses to your circumstances.
pursue experiences that bring love, happiness, and fulfillment to your life and the lives of others.
minimize suffering because you understand that impermanence is an inescapable reality of how the universe works.
accept the perfection of your imperfect existence.
I wrote The Wellness Ethic to guide you in activating your Self-Actualized Genius to boost your wellness so you can thrive in an unpredictable world. When you nurture your inner SAGe, you’re better equipped to bring more happiness and fulfillment into your life. You keep a life-affirming perspective on the stupid things that happen to all of us. Simply put, you put yourself in position to get the most out of your life, no matter what happens around you.
Your Call to Action
Be a SAGe this week. It won’t be perfect—none of us ever achieve perfection—but keep that objective at the forefront of your mind. You can start by looking at the bulleted list above. Which attributes are already a part of your life? Continue doing them. Which ones could you improve upon? Focus on those and move forward.
Should you start going on a daily walk? Do you need to bring more love or joy into your life? Should you focus on creating healthier relationships? Take action, even if it’s a baby step at first. Just move forward towards realizing the promise of your life. It’s how you thrive.
Strive to thrive this week! Be a SAGe!
