What did I
agree to this time? Why did I say ‘yes’? Do you ever ask yourself these
questions? I do at times after I commit to something I have never attempted and
I realize what this commitment entails. I credit my sister for offering the
latest challenge – a sprint triathlon in May. From the moment I said yes to this
birthday gift, it gave me four months to train.
Sometimes
we need a challenge to jolt us out of our routine. The beginning of a new year
can have that effect. Lent too provides some prompting. We all know someone who
made a resolution in January to exercise. By February some of these resolutions
are forgotten. The animo wears off and we return to our sedentary
lifestyles.
Sometimes
it’s a health scare that brings us to attention and makes us take action toward
living a healthier lifestyle. My husband had a stroke in December. We took this wake-up call seriously. We started making adjustments in our lives, thinking
twice about the foods we eat and looking at how we could arrange our schedules
to include more exercise.
Why do we
wait for a health crisis to shock us into taking care of our well being? Being a
good steward, includes taking care of our bodies. We have an obligation to care
for the gift of life God has granted. In this Year of Mercy, we are reminded to
reach out to others and help those who suffer. But how can we expect to be of
service to others, to be God’s hands and feet, if our own health hinders us? As
the U.S. bishops note, “As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts
gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with
others, and return them with increase to the Lord.”
It’s easy
to find excuses not to exercise, to promise ourselves we’ll eat healthier
tomorrow. How many mañanas will it take before we take action? Now that
I am 50 I am certainly more health conscious. My husband’s stroke elevated our
consciousness to full alert. To maintain a year-round focus on our health it
helps to sign up for an event, such as the triathlon or other community
sponsored run and cycling activity. They give us a goal to strive toward. I am
thankful the event in May is not a full scale triathlon, but it’s a start.
February, American Heart Month, is a good time to set some goals aimed at
taking care of our hearts and bodies.
It’s
encouraging as well to have a support system. Knowing my sisters and I are all
training for the same event serves as motivation to stay on course, as do their
weekly texts and phone calls. I know we have some exhausting, sweaty moments to
endure, but together they will be joyful.
Another
source of encouragement can come from tracking our progress. Our smart phones
and now smart watches can log the number of steps we take. Most health websites
recommend at least 8,000 steps. They say the average adult walks about 5,900
steps. Once I started tracking my own, I realized how negligent I had become
these past two years. I had even ignored my weight gain, which served as an
obvious clue to how remiss I was with the responsibility toward my health.
Trying to reach a daily goal pushes me to find creative ways to build in
physical activity throughout my day.
Setting
goals is helpful. We need challenges, the carrot, if you will. Goals spur us to
take action. Only by outlining a plan can we take the needed steps to see
results. We also need measureable objectives to chart our progress, or if
needed, to refocus. A friend and I laughed when on the same day our batteries
died, which meant they could not track our steps, our interest in walking that
day diminished.
Training
to bike, run and swim for the triathlon in May are concrete steps for me to
being a better steward of my health. I have had to make some changes in my
life. Some mornings this means waking up an hour earlier. While some evenings
it means cycling indoors at midnight.
There are varied reasons
why we do what we do. Some are fed by obligation, some are doctor prescribed,
some are tied to a challenge. In the end, we each have choices to make.
(Originally published
in February 2016 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper)
