What do I mean by “meaningful health”?
What does health mean to you, and why, specifically do you wish to be in a state of good health? Your detailed answer is your personal definition of meaningful health. What good is good health without the “why” behind it?
If meaningful health is something you crave, read on.
Yesterday, I summited South Sister for the first time. It was my 43rd birthday, and one of my favorite things to do is hike up mountains, so that is the present my hubby gave me!
Enjoying the summit views.
Along the way, I thought about how the important tenets for success on that hike are very much the same for finding and living a lifestyle that fosters your best physical and mental health.
Knowing yourself
Like I just mentioned. I know myself pretty well. I am in touch with my physical capabilities. I like big physical challenges. It was a fitting birthday goal to hike up an unfamiliar mountain.
How well do you know yourself?
What are your top life values? What are your strengths? What are the things that bring you joy? What types of tasks do you usually follow through? The answers to these questions are valuable in defining the actions you take toward your best physical and mental health.
Physical & Mental preparation
While I might not be in top shape physically, at the moment, I knew I was in decent enough shape for summiting. If I needed the extra push, I knew that my mind was certainly made up that I would summit yesterday.
Let’s do this!
When it comes to developing healthy habits, education is a great starting point. It is important to learn about health and well-being from credible sources. When setting a goal, assess your motivation to complete that goal. Is your motivation waning? What will it take to feed your motivation?
“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t - you’re right” -Henry Ford
Mindset is everything. Henry was right. Optimistic thinking is helpful here. Take control of the choices you have, because you have choices. Choosing to do nothing...that is a choice. Take responsibility for your choices. When something bad happens to you for reasons that are not in your control...don’t blame yourself. Look at what you can control and make a choice. That, my friends, is power.
Mental preparedness is the inner support you need for any sort of physical preparation. This covers everything from cleaning the house and preparing a meal, to hiking a local trail or running a 5K. Meaningful health is a lifelong goal requiring a lifetime of keeping your mind in the right place to facilitate your desired actions.
Dedication & Perseverance
Without the strong commitment to my goal of summiting yesterday, I might not have made it. There is a flat meadow about three miles in that has great views and makes a very nice turnaround point (as you look at the very steep trail ahead). Dedication kept me focused on my goal. Though there were times I needed to stop to either catch my breath or eat (oh my goodness I was so hungry!), I attended to my needs, and then continued forward.
Close to the halfway point of the hike, realizing the real climb is about to begin.
Focusing on your goals, along with being sure that your goals fall in line with your values, is important with lifestyle change. A commitment to consistent, small tasks, emerges as habits.
There are many things competing for your attention. The ability to focus on those things that you value most can be difficult even when you are very clear about your priorities. It’s either up to you to provide yourself the accountability for staying focused on your goals (apps, reminders, lists), or to find someone else to help you with the accountability necessary to keep you consistent and moving towards your goals (friend, group, professional).
Enjoying the journey
The final three miles of the South Sister summit trail, is a slow slog through very steep, sandy, rocky terrain. Yesterday, add to that some pretty blustery sustained winds, and you get fun times!
Without delving too much into perspective (that’s for another post), I did take a moment to remind myself to enjoy the journey, yesterday. I was grateful for every part of that hike. My joke to Derek was that the wind came out in full force to sing me Happy Birthday! Even though stopping on the steep trail was a bit of a challenge, I did my best to secure my footing every now and then, in order to stop and really enjoy the incredible surroundings. Taking the time to enjoy and appreciate the journey, adds meaning to both the journey and the goal, and reinforces those values you are living.
Continuous action
I did not summit yesterday without continuously moving, or preparing to move. If I would have stood there in the middle of the hike, dreaming about the top, or beneath several paths that went up, pondering which one to take, or looking back down, wondering how far I’ve come, replaying how I could have done things differently so far, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere closer to the top. Taking steps forward (literally) was how I got to the top (and then back down, an often important overlooked part of a summit hike).
Keep moving forward! Bonus points if you do it with a smile on your face :-)
If you have a goal that is important to you, you have to keep taking steps toward that goal. If you just keep planning and dreaming, then success will remain a dream. Deadlines become important here. Yesterday, my goal was to be back to the car before sunset. Goal accomplished.
In closing
This advice could apply to so many areas of our lives. I plan to use my own advice on a few projects I’ve been dreaming about. I hope that you find some value in the words above, and that you enjoy your journey!
-M