Editor’s note: One of the nine expectations in our training program for leaders and employees is to Champion (if you are a leader) and Own Your Health, Wellness and Safety. This month’s article focuses on health and wellness and challenges readers to reflect on their personal habits, which impact the quality of their interactions at work and home.
Embrace Wellness: A Journey to Owning Your Health
I have the answers to becoming and staying healthy! Everything you need to know about feeling better, having more energy, and possibly even losing a few pounds, is all right here. But first, let me bore you with a bit of my own story. Just hang with me for a moment and we will get to the great reveal.
I was raised by a mother who was always pursuing health and wellness. I remember her dropping me off with my grandparents three mornings a week so she could attend her aerobics classes. Then, after dinner, she would take long walks and be gone for a good hour or so. She played tennis, golf, and even swam laps when she could. We never, hardly ever, were given sugar cereals, bags of chips in our lunches, or anything in a Hostess wrapper. As I grew up, I realized how much discipline this required. The sad part was, I’m not sure she was doing it for herself at the end of the day. She wanted to portray an image as my father was an executive at a large company, and the thought of being overweight or unattractive was her motivator. I didn’t know this until the past five years. My disciplined mother has decided she is done. Since then, she has basically been chair bound and does not have the drive to do anything physical; even her desire for healthy food has disappeared.
All of this has caused me to take a look at my own health initiatives. Why am I exercising daily? What motivates me to shop for and cook clean and healthy meals? What are the voices inside my head when I restrain myself from indulging in a brownie that I think I really want? Will this be me when I am older and decide that I am done?
After much self-analysis, I am relieved to find that I AM doing this for myself. Please don’t hear me wrong: we all have an obligation when we take vows to our spouses to be there for better or worse, in sickness and in health, and you know the rest. This doesn’t just mean that when I’m sick, my husband has to bear whatever comes with that. It also means that if we love each other, we will take care of ourselves so we are not a burden to one another; as much as it’s up to us. I also answer to the one, true, living God that created me for His purposes and with that I want to be physically and mentally available for whatever He has for me. For you, it may be that you want to be a positive example with a healthy lifestyle in your children/grandchildren’s lives. Or maybe, you have suffered from a condition that is greatly improved by nutrition and exercise. Perhaps consequentially, your family history of disease has put you on alert because your risk factors are increased due to your genetics. Whatever the motivator is, own it. What we eat and what we feed our bodies is solely up to us. It is one of the only things we have complete control of - no one force feeds us.
So, I promised to share the answers to becoming and staying healthy! And here they are: eat whole/nutritious foods, move your body, get appropriate amounts of sleep, and stay hydrated. Sorry, the formula hasn’t changed in centuries. But what can change at any point is you. Practicing healthy habits should not be striving and straining if you have decided for yourself that this is your life.
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