Solving the Health Puzzle

When I was younger, I looked at health as the composite of two things. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise. If you did these two things, you would be healthy. Mother Fran and Papa Jack took care of the healthy diet for everyone in my household so all I had to do was get plenty of exercise. Wait, they helped ensure that as well. My parents were always kicking us out of the house to go and play, go weed the garden, go shovel the dirt around the pond. Plus my siblings and I loved to shoot hoops, ride bikes, climb trees and play catch. Getting exercise as a kid growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s was easy.

Now that I have Embraced the Gray, I know that living a healthy lifestyle is about so much more than food and movement. These two things are absolutely critical but they are only two pieces of a larger puzzle. I have done a ton of reading on this topic and listened to many podcasts and audiobooks that it is time I summarize for myself (and for anyone else interested) what a more complete health puzzle looks like. This is important to me because energizing others to choose health is part of how I live my life strategically!  

An incomplete health puzzle…

Continue reading “Solving the Health Puzzle”

Can You See Your Life?

2019 is in full swing and it is time I finalized my annual goals. I try to live my life strategically, spending as much time figuratively and literally in my happy place (My Little Blue Kayak) where I make my best decisions in pursuit of health, wealth and happiness. When sitting in my kayak, I can really see my life. I can see how it mirrors the life I want to be living and where it comes up a bit short! Writing annual goals is one way I try to make course corrections to keep me on my path. I use health, wealth and happiness as my goal categories and loosely define them as:

It doesn’t have to be blue!

Continue reading “Can You See Your Life?”

Persistently Yours!

My job as an Occupational Therapist at a Nursing Home has taught me to be persistent. If I am scheduled for 75 minutes with a patient, my boss doesn’t want to hear that I only got 60 minutes. Sometimes, I want to listen to my heart when someone starts complaining that they didn’t sleep or are in pain or that they have company. Quite often though, I have to listen to my head.

Getting out of bed may sound like the worst possible torture to someone who doesn’t feel well, but in reality, it is often exactly what they need. So, I often need to go back to see the same person 3x during the day in order to get my 75 minutes. I have to bother them despite the fact that they have tried to refuse me, I have to ask them again to get out of bed, to sit on the edge of the bed or to lift some light weights while in bed. Some days, I walk in someone’s room and before I even introduce myself they groan or roll their eyes. They know I am a therapist before I say a word and they know I am going to be pushy.

My patients give me looks like this!

Continue reading “Persistently Yours!”

We Really Can Do This!

 

I spent one day recently engaged in completing some Strategic Planning exercises to help me clarify how I will use my Health Coach Certification. The exercises I completed were helpful and fun and by the end of the day I had written a mission statement and a list of actionable steps to get me moving in the right direction.

Mission Statement: “To energize adults living with chronic disease to maximize their health, wealth, and happiness by adopting new habits, embracing positive attitudes, removing barriers, and focusing on what brings them joy.

Lake Girl@mylittlebluekayak.com
What new habit are you thinking about embracing? Let me know in the comment section below!

Continue reading “We Really Can Do This!”