Steps in the Right Direction

I’m a firm believer in getting out of bed each morning to do exactly what you’re meant to do in this world. No, this doesn’t mean sit around all day eating bon-bons and watching reality tv (which used to, by the way, be soap operas). It means hopping out of bed each day in the pursuit of your life’s mission. What you love. Your raison d’etre.

Some people are meant to lead. Some people are meant to follow. Some people are meant to cure. Some people are meant to create. There is honor is all of it, no matter how esteemed. The only thing that matters, in my humble opinion, is if you’re getting out of bed each morning and doing precisely what you love to do.

How do I know it matters? Because, well I do, and because I’ve spent a fair amount of the last few months doing something I don’t love and it is sucking the life out of me. Don’t get me wrong, I was paid well and the work was far less hazardous and unpleasant than what many people have to endure. But, my heart wasn’t in it and I didn’t believe what I was doing would make any difference in the world.

The impact? A slow, certain and consistent drain on everything else in my life. The first thought in the morning is dread. The last thought before the eyes go to sleep is relief. This is no way to live, trust me. I’ve seen the other side, too.

What I know for certain? If you’re not doing what you love to do, it is time to do something about it. You don’t have to quit your job today but I would suggest you take a step in the right direction. If you don’t know what the right direction is, take the first step to figure that part out. When you know what you’d love to spend your life doing, make a list of the 10 things you need to do to get you closer. It is possible that one or more of the things on the list are things that won’t really thrill you (go back to school, start saving more money, change who you spend your time with). I think you’ll find once you’re doing something you don't really love in pursuit of something you really love, the doing the icky part gets easier.

I am not suggesting you resign yourself to toiling away at a job you hate until you make it to retirement. There are plenty of things that can go wrong between here and there and there is really no point to waiting. Simplify your life. Get back to basics. Pursue your dreams.

What else is there?

Cogs of Wellness

Since HealthCamp DC a few weeks back, I've been doing more work on the idea of behavior change and how to help people make the best choices for their health. More and more, the signs seem to point to the importance of "that other stuff" being in good shape so one's eating and exercise habits are also in good shape. Not a new concept but perhaps it would help to look at it in a different way.

I'll pile all of the "other stuff" into a category called quest as in the cause, goal, idea, motive and purpose for what we do. Over our lifetimes, our quest will change and often we're working on more than one quest at a time. Sometimes we work on one quest for the sake of another quest. Ideally, all of our individuals quests compliment each other and work together.

I contend if our quests are in order we are feeling our best -- energetic, happy, excited. And, if we are feeling our best we feel even more motivated to take good care of ourselves, get regular exercise and eat healthy foods. The question is this... if we want to help people get more healthy should we start with diet and exercise or should we start with the quests?

Perhaps the quest is the biggest cog in the sustainable wellness machine.

Mission to Change

At HeatlhCa.mp/DC yesterday, we created a session to talk about behavior change particularly as it relates to health and wellness. Behavior change, and figuring out how to get people to make positive choices for their health, is critical for our future. Diseases and conditions caused by lifestyle choices are eating our healthcare system alive and will take our economy down as well.

Yesterday, we made a quick list of the most obvious reasons people begin to change their behavior:

• Medical diagnosis (diabetes, heart disease being the most popular)
• Death of a friend or family member
• Pressure from our kids (worked great for smoking and seat belt use)

There are more but those, generally, are the biggies. What seldom makes the list are things like: "I know better." Why is that? We know we shouldn't smoke and yet some of us do. We know we should get, at least, some exercise each day and most of us don't. We know soda lacks any useful health properties, yet we drink it by the gallon. Some call this the "intent-behavior" gap. I mean to do the right thing, I just don't.

The holy grail? Figuring out why and doing something about it. I have a theory: People aren't making the best choices for their health because they haven't figured out their own purpose or mission.

To explore this theory, I asked a fellow HealthCamper (Doug from Infield Health) this question, "What got you out of bed this morning?" Doug's answer can best be summed up as wanting to make a difference, in healthcare and for his family. I asked the other group members to think about it, too. And, wondered with Greg from BreadForTheCity if such a question would be an important part of the work he does with their clients.

I contend if you are passionate about life, if you're working on something bigger than yourself and are driving toward your own important mission, you're more likely to make good choices for your own health. Why? Because you have work to do and you want to be sure you'll have the energy and health to see your "project" through to the end.

I'm beginning to think the "mission" part of life is the most important and perhaps more powerful than all of the exercise you can get and all of the vegetables you can eat. Perhaps we're going at this "wellness" thing from the wrong angle all together.

Maybe we need to help each person figure out their own personal mission and then support them to get there. After all, when you're working on something really important to you, there isn't anything that will get in your way.

I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Stress Management

All of the healthy eating and exercise in the world won't help if you're miserable and stressed out. It has only been since 1956 that we have used the word stress to mean something affecting our bodies and feelings (you can thank Hans Hugo Bruno Selye). Stress is a very common response when you ask a person how they're doing... "I'm under a lot of stress" or "I'm stressed out."

People experience stress in different ways. Some feel flushed or hot, some feel nervous or fluttery, some feel tired and worn out. Regardless of your "experience" of stress it may be helpful to think of the experiences simply as messages from your body. Our body only has some many ways to communicate with us and the sensation of "stress" is often your body's way of getting your attention. In times of stress, your body wants you to make it stop and it will keep sending you messages until you get the message and intervene.

Stress Interventions

You have many choices to address stress and, since there is no one size fits all approach for everyone, we suggest you test a few see what works best for you. Here are some ideas:

• Deep Breathing - Often we can feel much better immediately if we take a few moments, get our bodies still and take three deep breaths.
• Nature - Getting outside and into nature is also a great way to take a stress break. Even a 10 minute walk can help separate you from your stressors and give you a new more calm perspective.
• Cardio - Getting your heart rate up and your blood pumping can help you reconnect with your body and alleviate the stress sensation.
• Meditation - A bit more involved than deep breathing, meditation is a great way to turn your thoughts onto yourself and get centered and grounded (See our Relax Breath meditation)
• Yoga - Even a few simple poses, like legs up the wall, are a great stress intervention
• Friends - Sometimes we feel better by just having a few moments to vent. Call a friend and tell them, "I need to vent. Will you listen to me for a few minutes without trying to fix my problem?" Getting it out into words helps and having someone truly listen helps even more.
• Music - Turn on your favorite song and sing along, even if you have to sing silently to yourself.
• Dance - More of your favorite music and get up and dance as boldly as you dare.
• Hot Tea - Hot tea can be a very soothing experience so brew a cup and sip slowly.

You may have other great ideas, too. The idea is for you to recognize stress as a message from your body and take a few minutes and implement the stress intervention that works best for you.