Life to the fullest
Disclaimer: If you are reading this and dealing with ANY health related problems I am NOT recommending you take the same unconventional approach as I have in my battle with Crohn’s disease. Any changes you wish to make in your care plans should be done in partnership with the team of qualified healthcare providers who treat you.
What inspired me to commit to permanent lifestyle change?
At the start of 2017 I was tired. I was frustrated in my career, frustrated that I couldn’t stay healthy, frustrated that I couldn’t live life like everyone else, and frustrated at how many good years of my life had been stolen because of Crohn’s disease. I was unable to be the person I wanted to be and the person I knew I was meant to be. It was disheartening.
I began to open up my eyes to the world around me and as I did I saw two very different types of people in life:
1) I saw people, very much like myself, who were doing everything they could to move up the corporate ladder but as I looked closer it seemed as if these people were more often tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. I remember walking the halls at my office looking at others around me who seemed burnt out and thinking, “There has to be more to life than this!”
2) But I also saw people who seemed like they enjoyed life. They were happy and positive, always jumping into some kind of adventure, and doing all that they could to get the most out of life - most often times living life on a very tight budget. I remember thinking, “What makes them so different? What do they have that I don’t?”. They inspired me.
I began to think a lot about priorities and who I wanted to be in life. I stopped thinking my life had to look a certain way (the way that I had been told life should look) and started to think about what I really wanted my life to look like. I started challenging myself to put my health first - spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
I realized that if I was ever going to have the energy to be the person I needed to be to those around me that I had to first put in the work to get healthy myself. I’m always reminded of how an airplane stewardess tells you to put on your own mask in an emergency before you put one on your child. If you aren’t healthy you won’t be able to be the best person you can be to others around you!
Could good health be a key to enable true happiness and success in life? I had seen the impact poor health had on my wife, my kids, my and my team at work so I knew this was a question that I needed an answer to. And based on my own personal experiences it wasn’t a stretch to see how health (physical, emotional, spiritual) could be a distinguishing factor between the two types of people I saw in life. It was time to make permanent lifestyle changes.
Update: September 2023
Years later and I still push to be just a little bit better version of myself every day. Life is hard and it's easy to get frustrated - we age and our bodies break down; our parents age needing more care daily; our kids get sick (which should never happen since they are young!); and our life and careers never go as planned - but the one constant for me has been "how can I continue to improve myself in this moment?" I'm never going to be anywhere near perfect but what can God teach me today that will help the people I care about in the future? Now if that isn't life to its fullest then I don't know what is!
Original note:
I am constantly trying to challenge myself to keep priorities right in life. It is a daily battle because it is easy to focus on things that aren't really important. For someone with a chronic condition this is even more important. You've only got so much energy to give. You have to keep stress low and determine what will you use your time for.
The question I ask myself and others is if I gave you a list of these six items how would you prioritize them in terms of most important to least important? (there is no "right" answer)
- Work
- Spouse / Significant Other
- Kids
- God / Spirituality
- Self Needs
- Self Wants
After putting these in the order that you believe to be the most important then do your best to calculate the time you spend on each during any given week and order by most time spent to least time spent.
Did your two lists line up? What actions can you take to make your desired priorities line up to reality? I still have not gotten to the place where my reality equals my desired but at least I'm aware of the problem and try to be more deliberate about where I invest my energy.
Granted for me this is still a work in progress. I've been able to change those areas where I've had full autonomy. I still need to see improvement in those areas that I can't control without greatly impacting those around me. I've learned that we compromise our dreams because we value those closest to us and want them to be able to live their dreams too. But, how can I find ways to still live my dreams while respecting the dreams of those I care about? Work in process...