One of the best
pieces of advice I can offer to support lifelong health is, “don’t let a health
set-back become a new health set-point.”
Healthy habits aren’t
just a one-time choice. They’re a series of small choices made day after day,
week after week, month after month to build a foundation for well-being.
Sprinkled in are the big choices you make in the face of adversity.
Life Changes and Challenges
Think about that
for a minute. Life continually ebbs and flows.
Sometimes it’s hard
to get started on the path to well-being, other times it’s easy to get started
and hard to be consistent, and still other times – those wonderful times where
you feel empowered and a little smug, perhaps – you’re consistently making good
decisions that support your healthy lifestyle vision and goals.
But often, when
you’re really in the flow – life
intervenes with an illness or injury, work or family pressures that derail your
great habits. This type of health set-back is a critical turning point, a fork
in the road, and the direction you choose will determine your future health
trajectory.
A Path to Recovery
In 2017, as part of
a commitment to myself to be as fit and healthy as possible on my 60th
birthday, I choreographed and performed a high energy dance piece with a local
dance company. I was lean and fit, having fun, and feeling healthier than I had
in a couple of years.
Then in early 2018,
I hurt my back trying to maneuver a water tank that was far too heavy to
manage. That started a year-long process of pain management, fits and starts
back into a fitness routine, waking up feeling tired and sore, and hobbling
around in frustration!
For the fist time
in 10 years I had to pull out of the dance concert.
The whole year was a really interesting experience. I’ve always known that it’s easier to stay in good physical condition than to start from scratch and get into good shape – but that year I lived it.
It’s also easier to encourage positive aging expectations when you feel pretty good most of the time! Trying to navigate through both sleep and activity with pain and stay upbeat about retaining a healthy active lifestyle – regardless of age or challenges – was a lesson in humility.
Sometimes I felt
like just saying, “To heck with it, I’ll just downsize my life!”
The Crossroads
Gratefully, I
recognized this moment as a health crossroads and persisted with physical
therapy and physical training until I could start fully reclaiming my lifestyle.
Knowing what it
feels like to be physically strong and flexible motivated me through the
initial discomfort of moving my body every day in ways that improve strength,
mobility, and endurance. I recognized how much harder it would have been if I
had never known how it felt to be physically fit.
I share this with
you as both a confession and encouragement. I understand that consistently
making choices that support well-being isn’t usually the easiest path. I also
get how much determination it takes to navigate set-backs that threaten your
vitality and independence.
This is especially
true after 60 when family members, friends, and others seem more prone to offer
a narrative along the lines of “well you’ve had a good run but it’s time to
give that up.”
Conscious Choices
Absolutely no
judgement if in response to a challenge, you choose to take something out of
your life. But make sure it’s a conscious choice measuring the pros and cons –
not just a default into “easier” or buckling under common negative expectations
of what’s possible as we age.
I was back in rehearsals for the 2019 dance show, with a few concessions: perform one dance rather than two, warm-up longer, cool-down and stretch afterwards, and be more conscious of body mechanics every time! Both perseverance and adaptation have been key to continuing to do what I love!
I would love to
hear your story.
What health
set-back are you negotiating? What keeps you moving forward? Have you felt like
giving up? What strategies could you use to regain fullest function possible? Please
use the comments below to share with the community.
