Look At What Health Means From A Totally Different Perspective
Let’s face it, there is so much in society and social media that constantly has us looking in the mirror and casting judgment as to whether we are winning or losing. For some of us unfortunately, we didn’t just pick this habit up from magazines or social media, but our own families.
The Hispanic culture is prime example of this. I would always dread the family gatherings or any big church event. It was like I had learned that the comments would be coming, and boy did they come. They would say “Wow, estas gordita (wow, you’re fat).” “Mira que grande estas (look at how big you have gotten).” That one always had me guessing if their ‘grande’ was referring to my height or my width. Or, sometimes they would praise one of the girls by saying “per que bella, es una modelo (but look at how beautiful, she’s a model).” While I would simply get “hola.” I remember on one instance I was at an induction ceremony for the Honor Roll in my High School and as a family member approached me I was truly beaming with pride and knew that as always, my family was celebrating my accomplishment….only to hear them say “Why can’t you be like her? [points to one of my friends]…she is both beautiful and smart.” That comment stung and it is something that has shaped my own self-esteem.
Fast forward to many years and being a wife, a mother to a 4-year old, full-time work and balancing home like…I feel like I can never catch up. But there it was…the question: WHAT am I catching up to? WHAT am I chasing? And WHY?
Recently, God told me that I needed to learn to trust Him, let go, and just follow His lead. In a very surreal and supernatural way, I “bumped” into a friend’s Instagram, Jamil Hairston. Mind you I had never seen him or heard of him…and here God literally introduced us through social media. And when I first spoke with Jamil he asked me the same question I had asked myself: WHY. Tell me your ‘why’. So there I was, asking myself ‘why’. Here is what I came up with: my why is that I need to redefine my definition of what it means to be healthy. All the messages I received say I need to be super thin and that I have to eat a certain way, but that kind of thinking almost took me out. So, my ‘why’ needed to change. And it can’t be based on the scale, it can’t be based on a size of clothing….it had to have a stronger foundation. I loved how Jamil introduced me to the idea that I was doing this to get stronger. So any time Wally would see me doing my push ups or any morning he woke up and I wasn’t there, he knew why….it was because Mommy was getting stronger.
Of course, as life would have it, I had a set back with my trigeminal neuralgia and any movement created excruciating pain in my face. So, I had to change and even stop my workouts. So, again, the question came up of what does healthy look like. What does ‘healthy’ look like for someone with chronic pain. I don’t know?? You see…my I don’t know would usually turn in to my “oh well, not for me.” And that is where I am today. Instead of letting excuses come up I need to keep defining and redefining what health looks like in all seasons of life…not just in the easy season but also in the difficult one. If this is meant to be a lifestyle then how does it look like for me to be and act healthy when I have no pain and when I do. How can I stay consistent to build that discipline. And again, why? My why is because I want to be able to run around with Wally and not be tired. I want to be able to know I did my best to create a healthy life so that I can be present and enjoy all of life’s moments with them for as long as God allows. My why, is because, everything I was taught previously was not education…it was fear. So now, I have the power; I have the ability to choose the words and thoughts that go into my mind; I have the ability to speak better and kinder to myself and know that healthy comes in all sizes. Let’s be honest though – eating chips and bags of chocolate is not necessarily the best choice. For me, it is more of an emotional decision to make myself feel better. So, what happens when I let go of the feelings, pick up a well balanced plan and ask for help to move forward in the journey?
Let me tell you. You DO NOT want to miss this week’s podcast. I sit down with Jamil and his wife, Vanessa. These two people helped changed my view on health in all areas of life. Jamil is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach and body building expert! Click here to listen to the podcast and make sure you don’t miss our event in August where we will go even deeper to how we can build healthier lives.
