Another Article on Health and Fitness
Well, this title is cliché isn’t it?! So, what would I have to offer that’s different than what you’ve always heard or read? We all want it but the question is HOW to attain and keep it. It seems so fuzzy and unreachable. What is “it”? My goal here is not to give you bullet points on what you should do. My goal is to address the usual elements on the “better health” list and then allow you to expand on them and discover YOUR own way.
Basic Human Needs
We all know we need the following: exercise, healthy food, sunshine, water, less stress, life balance, etc. But I think I’ve learned a few things along the way (and still learning) that I want to share with you. Hopefully it will inspire you and bring a little clarity for your own life, yet make it simple. One thing that we’ve learned from the year 2020 is that we all had to get back to some simple truths and recognize our basic human needs (can you say toilet paper?). Okay, maybe not EXACTLY a basic human need but first-world countries aren’t used to this one! Frankly, we panicked and bought out the local Walmart! But seriously, perhaps God was teaching us something. You will find my faith interwoven in this blog article because for me, that is the very foundation of my life. Regardless of where you are spiritually, I believe you can glean something here for yourself. Allow me to unpack some of the ways to increase health and fitness in your own life. I hope it inspires you to think of other ways to attain a healthier lifestyle. It is simpler than you think!
As a health and fitness professional for 20+ years, I have come full circle in my own journey of what that means. What used to be linear for me (“If I do this, this and this, I will feel and look like this…”) is no longer a truth. Indeed, the key word here is “journey” (also cliché) but please stay with me. Oh, I’ve read and heard a million times that life is a series of “ups and downs” but this past year, personally, it felt like there were more downs than ups! Some days I felt crushed.
Health, Peace and Well-being
We want to be healthy and at peace, don’t we? Why? The answer to that question is perhaps the first step for you. Is it so we can enjoy life or loved ones? I think we need to fine-tune what that means for each of us. I think we need to clarify “it” more, which is why I want to discuss the common points of attaining health and wellness and how it applies to your own life. You will find the common points familiar (diet, exercise, etc.), but I want to help YOU figure out each in a personal and simple way.
We get caught up in the latest trend only to be disappointed with its unattainability. We get bored with it or it costs money or worst of all, it offers little result. (Think the latest diet craze or exercise plan – been there, DONE that!) Plus, our lives change. Here’s the caveat: I’m sorry to inform you, there is no magic or perfect diet, pill, vitamin, exercise, job, family, etc. Our life plan changes as we change. But there are simple consistencies for lifelong health and wellness. Notice I am not using the term “fitness” now. I’m beginning to believe it is an overused term and has lost its meaning. I like health and wellness better.
Before we begin, let me first state that there is NEVER a state of perfection; here in this life anyway. Secondly, we must give ourselves grace and acceptance with where we are in life. Health is not a number on a scale or BMI chart. I think this is often where it stops for many of us. We WANT to be healthier physically, mentally and spiritually but how do we know when we’ve “arrived?” It seems so hard to get there. Actually, we don’t arrive. We go through the journey of life. I’ve known cancer survivors who were “healthier” than their fellow human beings who have not experienced this particular life difficulty. Health is not just a state of physical well-being, but of mental and spiritual as well. One affects the other in a deep, subconscious, transcendent way. In other words, we cannot beat up our body without consequences to our mental and spiritual well-being and vice-versa.
It’s really rather simple. In the next few weeks I want to help you unpack each human need on the way to better health and wellness and figure out how to apply it to your life so that it becomes part of you. The first in this blog series is Less STRESS! Ha! I bet you thought I’d start out with diet or exercise, didn’t you?! I actually believe that this first one may be the most important.
Less STRESS!
This gets an exclamation point because we all relate and it is often the very roadblock to finding other ways to increase health and well-being. But how do we lower our stress? We know it’s not good. Studies have consistently shown that chronic stress causes physical ailments – gastric issues or headaches; even worse, heart disease and cancer. Our bodies are one being with a variety of parts. The parts work together for balance, which gives peace. Science calls this homeostasis. Laymen may call it life-balance. Now, let me be clear, acute stress – the butterflies before a job interview or public speaking is sometimes okay; perhaps even motivating. No, I am addressing chronic stress; the kind that causes distress at best and illness at worst. It will literally eat you alive.
Chronic Stress – Slow Burn
How, just how, do we reduce chronic stress? We can’t get rid of the kids (or spouse) or automatically cure illnesses that deliver a hard blow to our friends and family or control when we lose a loved one. Life happens and it’s often not pretty. We WILL have to go through the fire at times. There are some things we just cannot control, nor should we try. These things belong to God. We aren’t meant to carry all burdens. But God also gifted us with a mind, body and free-will. He gave us the responsibility to remain balanced in our own lives so we could help others. There ARE things we can do to make changes. The very first step is to recognize when we are so stressed that it affects the very things/people we love. This is unacceptable – to us and to God.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27).
Small Steps
Now what? Well, take another step. It may be into the unknown, which is why we remain stuck. Fear is the culprit here; one I am very familiar with! It is frightening because sometimes we view situations in life as something we cannot control at all. Not true. Instead of thinking we have no recourse, take a moment to write down all the options there might be (no matter how crazy) toward a more rewarding and peaceful life. Allow dreams to flow, write them down and then figure out if there are one or two small steps you can take toward those dreams. I am working on this very thing myself, so I understand, my friend.
Is there one small change you can make to change your job situation, your living situation, your relationships – all for the sake of that critical peace and well-being? I say “critical” because it is. One small thing I usually do is take an extra day off after a travel vacation to unwind and regroup. I did not do that this week and I rather suffered for it. Also, SCHEDULE a vacation; even if it’s only a day or two! I can’t tell you how very important this is.
What about your job? Does it give you peace? Or does it bury you? If so, what are some small changes that can be made? What about the kids and their schedule? Can one or two things be taken off the schedule? Are you doing something each day toward your personal passions? They motivate and help relieve stress. I truly believe that if you feel too busy to take a 20-30 minute walk, something MUST change! This is true regardless of your circumstances.
Prioritize
So, okay, I did not give a “9-steps to de-stress” listing here, but I know you get what I’m saying. Make one or two small changes in an aspect of your life that is chronically stressful to you. That’s it. It’s less scary and may inspire you to make another and another. We’re not upsetting the apple cart here; just perhaps taking out a few to lighten the load. Only YOU can decide what small change/changes can be made in an aspect of your life to help decrease the stress that is slowly killing you. This may or may not be a “tongue-in-cheek” statement! What isn’t a dramatic statement is if you don’t, you, and those around you, will indeed suffer unnecessarily. Prioritize your life and health over all else. It’s the only one you have. This is where we, women, get into trouble. We tend to prioritize others over our own well-being and lose grip on who we are. The result of doing that is not being healthy enough to do anything for the others we so love. But that’s another article.
So, my friends, the first on the list of human needs toward better health and wellness is less STRESS! What can you do NOW to change one or two things toward that goal? Write it down. It’s worth every minute of effort to figure out how. Stay tuned for the next blog in my series on health and wellness. My hope is that this series on health will inspire the creative juices to flow and get to be a healthier YOU. God bless you and yours!
Tonya Noren
July 24, 2021