The Long Game
Who doesn’t love a quick fix? A biohack? The promise of age reversal or the miracle in a pill, lotion, or potion? I believe we gravitate toward these sparkly promises of instant health, instant weight loss, and instant wrinkle erasing because we’re wired for hope. We know there’s a better way, and the beauty of our potential is in the palm of our hands, waiting for its juices to be squeezed into the now.
But like my mom used to say, it’s like easy money—if it sounds too good to be true, it’s most likely too good to be true. And even if you try to ignore your intuition, a ruse can be felt in all of your innate parts.
After 25 years of close relationships with thousands of families in the chiropractic wellness practice which I’ve shared with my husband, Darin, there are specific belief systems and lifestyle choices which seem to be the line in the sand shared by the healthiest families we’ve had the privilege of caring for. In a nutshell, these families embody the following paradigms.
That health is a lifestyle. Just because a shortcut is sexy doesn’t mean it’s not a distraction. If you take a shortcut, prepare for a detour.
Eating well is non-negotiable, and time in the kitchen is always time well spent. Investing in good food, grown as close to home as possible, and forming a relationship with our local farmers and meat purveyors brings excitement to the plate, brings kids around the table, and lets the body know that you’re paying attention.
Moving well should happen daily. For example, we have a genetic requirement to walk at least 20 minutes per day. When we don’t, we move our bodies away from what they genetically require for health and healing, and we begin to move toward degeneration and disease. Unfortunately, there is no stagnant space of in-between.
Thinking well and realizing that we live in a time where we have to protect our attentional space almost religiously. Putting our phones down, turning off the news, waking up in the morning and, from a place of gratitude, affirming the beauty before us and the opportunities of the day ahead. Some may find this to sound ethereal, but it is indeed aligned with the healthiest people I know.
Sleeping 7–10 hours per night (for adults) and 8–12 hours (for children), and making sure this is a habit, allows the body to heal and rejuvenate every day. These families don’t have screens in the bedrooms, and they share an intentional bedtime, not one determined by the time they start to nod off on the couch. Beauty rest is the real thing.
They say that how we do anything is how we do everything, which has me wondering—if I change one thing, how will that one thing trickle down to my everything?
If there are no shortcuts, then we’re left with lifelong commitment, and if that’s the truth, maybe the only option is to fall in love with the pursuit.