The purpose of this study was to create a theory about how people create wellness. This study generated a substantive theory of Personalizing Wellness, which explains a personal approach to creating a wellness lifestyle. The study utilized the classic grounded theory (CGT) method. The results from CGT generate a substantive empirical theory that explain a pattern of behavior, which is why CGT was the method selected to address the topic of creating a wellness lifestyle. Eleven data sources were collected from interviews, a diary, and field observations. Analysis of the data sources included coding and constant comparative analysis. The resulting theory conceptualized behaviors and actions of individuals and identified a three-stage pattern of creating a lifestyle of wellness.

Stage 1, Awakening a Vision of Wellness, initiates change through experiencing disruption and personal discovery. Stage 2, Integrating Strategies, involves actively taking responsibility for one's wellness by prioritizing wellness and handling complexity associated with one's inner and social life. Stage 3, Living Wellness, signals mastery levels of personal responsibility that are maintained through lifelong learning, sustaining energy resources, radiating vibrancy, and sharing wisdom.

Although Personalizing Wellness introduces a process involving key concepts from multiple theories (e.g., transpersonal crisis, personal change, self-agency, experiential learning, self-directed learning, self-determination, flow states), these theories had not previously been explained in the literature in ways that reveal how these theoretical concepts integrate. The theory of Personalizing Wellness generated in this study illustrates the pattern of behavior that explains creating a wellness lifestyle that is not explained elsewhere in research literature.

Future implications of this study point to future practice and scholarship in examining key hypotheses related to personalizing wellness and: (a) mental health and substance abuse, (b) spiritual development and wellness, (c) self-help and independent learning, (d) leveraging behavioral change through personalizing wellness, (e) flow states and motivating wellness behavior, and (f) educating health and wellness professionals.