As I mentioned in My Back Story, Pun Intended, I have spent the last year focusing on my health and recovery. I have gone to great lengths to stick to an impeccable diet, a physical therapy schedule, and a strength training routine, to reduce my stress and allow my body to rest. I am incredibly proud of the progress I’ve made, but I also feel terrified that if I step off of my health regimen for even a minute, I will reverse that progress. That said, I have recently been reminded that sometimes stepping out of my routine is exactly what I need to do to propel myself forward.
I hold the belief that my body performs best when I go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, sleep for at least eight hours each night, and adhere to an optimal diet for my body type and specific health issues. I’ve formed this belief based on research-backed science and my own trial and error. For the most part, I believe my story is true. However, life doesn’t always fit into neat and tidy boxes. As I’ve mentioned before, I have done irreparable damage to my body from decades of neglecting my health. However, if I could live my life over, I would not have done much differently. I wish I had been informed by some of the science I’m now privy to, but for the most part I filled most of my hours of missed sleep with incredible experiences, which I would not trade for the world.
I met someone this summer who has inspired me to do many things outside of my comfort zone and to test the limits I thought I needed to stay within to be “healthy.” I’m grateful for every experience I have had with this person but, because of the time we’ve spent together, I’ve lost sleep, eaten my meals at erratic times, and fallen off a number of my wellness wagons. I felt certain from that my body would suffer the consequences I’ve experienced many times in the past, but I surrendered to that likelihood and decided that this opportunity was worth it.
Funnily enough, I have experienced very few of those consequences. In fact, I am feeling better than I have in decades. I am not a licensed medical professional, and this should not be construed as medical advice, but, from years of researching mental and physical health for my own benefit, I believe that my body has responded this way for five reasons:
- My hard work has paid off. I do not believe I would have escaped this experience more or less scot-free a year ago, but I have made significant progress, and this opportunity has helped me understand my new limits. This was a good reminder that timing is everything and that sometimes you need to push yourself past your limits to see how far you can go.
- I’ve gone further because I’ve wanted to rather than because I’ve felt obligated to. This person pushed me in a way that has felt supportive rather than forceful. As just one example, we recently did a six-hour hike, which was three hours farther than I thought I could go without aggravating my back. He gave me explicit permission to turn around at any time. Because of our previous conversations, I felt certain that he would have done so without hesitation. I kept going because I wanted to and because my body felt physically able to.
- Purpose and human connection matter. This experience has resulted in perhaps the most meaningful friendship I’ve had to date and the opportunity to be in deep connection with someone who has inspired me to be at my best. I feel reasonably certain that I inspire him to be at his best as well. I often feel as if I am in my Zone of Genius when I am with him. I feel helpful, valuable, and on purpose.
- Mental health creates AND alleviates physical symptoms. Again, I am not a medical professional, but I feel certain that the positive impact this relationship has had on my mental health has made up for the lack of perfection I have achieved with my physical health.
- Sometimes, the anxiety about potential consequences is worse than the actual consequences. I’ve talked about this before, but I believe I experienced less severe symptoms because I spent very little time worrying about what was to come and allowed myself to trust my intuition, which was telling me that I was on the right path.
Going forward, I’m going to try to spend more time seizing the moment while continuing to define my “healthy parameters.”
In case any of this helps you define your healthy parameters, here is some of the most helpful information I’ve found in my journey to find mine.
Onward.
