@bethvogt
I was talking with my daughter-in-love, Meagan, when she said, “Healthy is hard.”
Her three-word statement was one of those “This is so true!” moments.
You know what I’m talking about, right? You’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and they say something that reverberates inside you as if someone hit a massive gong with a hammer.
No matter what kind of healthy we’re striving for – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – achieving our goal is going to be a challenge. And sometimes more than one health goal can be woven together: Physical and emotional health. Mental and spiritual health. This reality makes what we’re trying to accomplish all the more difficult.
Are there any steps that make getting healthy easier?
- Becoming healthy means saying yes. Sometimes we choose to start off by adopting new, positive habits on our way to changing our behavior. I decided that during the COVID-19 lockdown that I wasn’t going to watch my bathroom scale go up, up, up. But to do so, I had to stop my evening snack routine. What can I say? I can be super-diligent all day long and then – bam! – 7 p.m. rolls around and I’m a walking, talking snack machine who can’t say no to useless calories. It’s not that I don’t eat anything in the evening. Doing that would be all about saying “no.” Instead, I’ve discovered better foods I love and want to say yes to after dinner.
- Becoming healthy means saying no. It’s a simple, and yes, as hard, as that. Let’s be honest, we don’t like to say no to ourselves. We want what we want when we want it – be it a book by a favorite author or a too-expensive pair of shoes that blow our budget. We also don’t like telling other people no, especially family members, no matter how unhealthy they may be to our emotional and mental well-being. As the medieval proverb states, “Blood is thicker than water.” Well, sometimes blood is just a bloody mess and we need to be the one to tie the tourniquet and stop the hemorrhaging.
- Becoming healthy means you be yourself while you allow others to be who they are. Soon after we got married, my husband decided to break me of my habit of drinking Coke on a daily basis. How much I drank was in proportion to my stress level. Reality was, my husband’s good intentions were not my own. I stopped drinking Coke six years ago because I wanted to. We’re choosing healthy for us. Maybe we’re in a season of becoming stronger emotionally or progressing in our faith journey. We focus on that – not on someone else’s unhealthy choices. It’s not up to us to demand anyone else get healthy the same way we do, even if we know they need to make better, wiser, more beneficial choices. Sometimes the healthiest things we can offer someone else are daily doses of grace and prayer.
- Becoming healthy means not being a perfectionist along the way to achieving what you hope for in the future. On our way to physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual well-being, we’re going to blow it. Make poor choices. So what happens then? We try again. Healthy doesn’t happen all at once, it happens when we make the choices that are best for us, consistently, not perfectly.
I’m willing to accept that healthy is hard – and it’s worthwhile. Care to join me?
Recognizing That Healthy is Hard https://bit.ly/39tCe9b #Choices #Challenges Click To Tweet 'A sad soul can be just as lethal as a germ.' Quote by John Steinbeck https://bit.ly/39tCe9b #health #perspective Click To Tweet
Comments 14
Healthy doesn’t matter;
healthy isn’t true.
All you have will shatter,
and there’s only what you do.
Healthy’s an illusion;
death lurks ’round the bend,
so, friend, put down confusion,
and face your coming end,
but know the choice is in your hands
every single day
to stand upon these burning sands,
to look at God and say,
“Health is neither state nor mind,
but the love I leave behind.”
Author
Andrew, my friend:
I understand your point of view, but I also disagree — with all due respect.
Health does matter, although I recognize health of any kind can be lost. That’s why it’s so valuable.
Beth, I think what I was trying to say, and did not say well, was this:
“Don’t try to have health; it’s a chimera, and cannot last. BE health, instead.”
Author
Andrew: I understand what you’re saying, my friend. I know health, all types, can be lost and regained … and our value is not changed based on our health status.
Yes! Yes! Yes! To all of this! Like you, I’ve determined not to add the “Covid 19” to my body weight. And getting healthy has been hard. I’ve had to say yes to things that benefit my body and soul and say no to choices that don’t. Currently, I’m working through making some changes to my eating choices because those empty calories don’t benefit me. I’m not giving them up completely, but I am cutting back on them. Thank you for this post, Beth. It’s exactly what I needed to hear today. <3
Author
Lisa, I’m so thankful this post encouraged you. And yes, choices we make often benefit both our bodies and our souls. You can do it!
Good practical steps that bring good results. I’m glad that you’ve implemented these healthy changes for your own benefit–plus being such a good example for others.
Author
Dee: I’m watching over my emotional and spiritual health, too, and those are hard to achieve … to maintain, too. But so, so valuable and so worth the effort.
Why yes I do care to join you in a healthy journey!
Author
You put a smile on my face today, friend!
Or being healthy when you’re unhealthy. I have three autoimmune diseases which are incurable, non-fatal, and are treatable. But, I have a threshold of “healthy” within my unhealthiness. I can control what I’m able to do, and I’ve made peace and have learned to live with my diseases rather than letting them dictate my everyday–within reason.
Sometimes, one has to give in and deal with symptoms after being asymptomatic for a while. I was very sick earlier this year, socially distancing before it became a thing, and I finally turned the corner in June. Hoping to stay that way.
Stay as well as you can.
Author
Denise: I hear you, friend. I’ve dealt with chronic pain issues at times, and dealt with vertigo for 3 years. I’m thankful to be in a good place right now. But I understand being thankful for health when you have it and adjusting as needed. You never know what someone is facing. What adjustments they have to make to make it through their days. Praying for you today.
Yes, ma’am. It is hard. But everyday is a new day and a new start, thankfully. (And I’ve got my three bottles of water beside me so that I won’t have to look at the soft drinks in the ‘frig when I get thirsty. )
Author
Angie: Choices. Choices. It’s all about choices. And one day at a time.