Let health be your anchor

Elan and Eric are working toward writing a daily email containing short insightful tips and ideas around living a healthy lifestyle. Subscribe here.

When things go badly in life, people often do the exact opposite of what they need to do.

Our first instinct is a knee-jerk reaction. We seek comfort or try to numb the pain.

This may help in the short-term, but it often causes more damage or suffering in the long-term.

For example:

• You may have a bad day at work and then snap at your partner when you come home – when ideally you should be seeking their support and aid instead.
• A loved one dies and suddenly you, as an ex-smoker for years, relapse – when ideally you should be doubling-down on your commitment to stop so that you aren’t next.
• You feel self-conscious and insecure about your body, so you soothe your feelings with junk food – when ideally you should be taking care of yourself with healthy food.

It’s easy to feel good and take the right actions when life is going well. But when things go badly, that’s exactly when you need to make the conscious decision to double-down on your health.

The truth is that life is messy. Life is never only calm waters. If you can only take the correct actions when things are going well, what hope of success do you have?

Eating well, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, taking care of our mental health, practice self-care … It feels good. It moves us forward. We know it does, but sometimes we forget.

Let health be your anchor, in both good times and bad.

Cheers,
Elan (get to know me better over here)