It is human nature to want to strive for better in your life. Everyone is looking for advancement in their career, in their education, in relationships, in their homes and so on. The world is constantly advancing at what sometimes seems like an overwhelming pace. It always seems like bigger is better so we continue to want more. I am a person who feels I always need to be doing more. I need to get more certifications, train more people, further my education, spend more time with my family, redecorate my room, have meaningful conversations with my partner, rearrange my dresser, detail my car, meal prep, laundry… It Never Ends!!! On top of all the things I am constantly working towards daily, I frequently set personal goals for self improvement. One of my goals for 2020 was to get healthier. Many people can relate to this goal, but getting healthier can look extremely different from individual to individual. For me getting healthier meant prioritizing myself in many areas that “I don’t have time for.” So where do I start?
“Healthier” is such a broad and vague term that varies greatly from individual to individual, so to start I had to narrow it down. When I was a lifeguard we often talked about assessing the scene to figure out which situations were more critically in need of immediate care. If there is a person with a gunshot wound lying next to someone who scraped their knee, it is safe to say the lifeguard should care for the gunshot wound victim first. I looked at my health and figured out where the gunshot wound was. This was pretty easy because I had some residual effects from a brain injury I had gotten at the end of 2019. Obviously I needed to care for my brain right? Well, until the COVID-19 pandemic literally forced me to slow down I legitimately thought I did not have time to put in the effort to care for my brain. MY BRAIN. Thats crazy!!! My brain was functioning at like 50%, I was getting daily migraines, regular panic attacks, severe depression and I really, truly believed I didn’t have any time to care for my injury. After I was forced to sit with myself and face how just overall bad I felt, I reluctantly decided I would make the time to go to physical therapy. My physical therapist also recommended I see a neurologist and optometrist for some of my symptoms.
The first couple weeks of physical therapy were both physically and mentally challenging, to put it mildly. It took me about three weeks to actually see and feel improvement. I also got a new glasses prescription (which I hadn’t done since 2015, whoops) and went on medication for my migraines. After about three months of PT along with the other doctors visits I regained function to operate at about 80% capacity. Looking back now it seems absolutely ridiculous that I spent so long being so miserable when I could have just sought treatment earlier. This experience showed me how important my own health is, how I need to prioritize myself.
I hate the term “self-care” but essentially that’s what it is. I thought it was selfish of me to take time away from work, school, studying, relationships to take care of myself. I thought I was fine to suffer through it because I was getting my stuff done. Things I needed to do for myself were last on my to do list and often forgotten about. I thought it was better to give all of my time and energy to other people and other priorities and my health suffered for it. It is not selfish to put yourself first, in fact, oftentimes it is the best thing you can do for the people around you. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, operating at only 50% capacity meant I was not presenting my best self in my daily life. I was half assing my sessions with clients because I was tired, unmotivated and my head hurt. I was just getting by on my school work for the same reasons. My mood swings, fatigue as well as migraines and other symptoms were greatly affecting my relationships with friends, family and my partner. By not allowing myself to get my own needs met I was doing a huge disservice to the people I care about. Caring for yourself is not selfish.
My big goal was to get healthier, and It still is. I think this is a goal that will constantly present itself in different ways that I will continuously need to work on. Getting healthier is a huge and continuous task that can easily fall by the wayside. It’s important to “find the bullet wound,” narrow down the goal and find an accessible starting point. Figure out where to start and get to work. You are important, your health is worth it, your best self will thank you.
It is human nature to want to strive for better in your life. Everyone is looking for advancement in their career, in their education, in relationships, in their homes and so on. The world is constantly advancing at what sometimes seems like an overwhelming pace. It always seems like more and bigger is better so we always want more. I am definitely a person who feels I always need to be doing more. I need to get more certifications, train more people, ruther my education, spend more time with my family, redecorate my room, have meaningful conversation with my partner, rearrange my dresser, detail my car, meal prep, laundry… It Never Ends!!! On top of all the things I am constantly doing I am constantly setting personal goals for myself. One of my goals for 2020 was to get healthier. Many people can relate to this goal, but getting healthier can look extremely different from individual to individual. For me getting healthier meant prioritizing myself in many areas that “I don’t have time for.” So where do I start?
“Healthier” is such a broad and vague term that varies greatly from individual to individual, so to start I had to narrow it down. When I was a lifeguard we often talked about assessing the scene to figure out which situations were more critically in need of immediate care. If there is a person with a gunshot wound lying next to someone who scraped their knee, it is safe to say the lifeguard should care for the gunshot wound victim first. I looked at my health and figured out where the gunshot wound was. This was pretty easy because I had some residual effects from a brain injury I had gotten at the end of 2019. Obviously I needed to care for my brain right? Well, until the COVID-19 pandemic literally forced me to slow down I legitimately thought I did not have time to put in the effort to care for my brain. MY BRAIN. Thats crazy!!! My brain was functioning at like 50%, I was getting daily migraines, regular panic attacks, severe depression and I really, truly believed I didn’t have any time to care for my injury. After I was forced to sit with myself and face how just overall bad I felt, I reluctantly decided I would make the time to go to physical therapy. My physical therapist also recommended I see a neurologist and optometrist for some of my symptoms.
The first couple weeks of physical therapy were both physically and mentally challenging, to put it mildly. It took me about three weeks to actually see and feel improvement. I also got a new glasses prescription (which I hadn’t done since 2015, whoops) and went on medication for my migraines. After about three months of PT along with the other doctors visits I regained function to operate at about 80% capacity. Looking back now it seems absolutely ridiculous that I spent so long being so miserable when I could have just sought treatment earlier. This experience showed me how important my own health is, how I need to prioritize myself.
I hate the term “self-care” but essentially that’s what it is. I thought it was selfish of me to take time away from work, school, studying, relationships to take care of myself. I thought I was fine to suffer through it because I was getting my stuff done. Things I needed to do for myself were last on my to do list and often forgotten about. I thought it was better to give all of my time and energy to other people and other priorities and my health suffered for it. It is not selfish to put yourself first, in fact, oftentimes it is the best thing you can do for the people around you. Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, operating at only 50% capacity meant I was not presenting my best self in my daily life. I was half assing my sessions with clients because I was tired, unmotivated and my head hurt. I was just getting by on my school work for the same reasons. My mood swings, fatigue as well as migraines and other symptoms were greatly affecting my relationships with friends, family and my partner. By not allowing myself to get my own needs met I was doing a huge disservice to the people I care about. Caring for yourself is not selfish.
My big goal was to get healthier, and It still is. I think this is a goal that will constantly present itself in different ways that I will continuously need to work on. Getting healthier is a huge and continuous task that can easily fall by the wayside. It’s important to “find the bullet wound,” narrow down the goal and find an accessible starting point. Figure out where to start and get to work. You are important, your health is worth it, your best self will thank you.
WHEN Fitness 