Last night I gave a presentation to a small group on the subject of health. At the beginning I spoke about something that I feel was the main takeaway of the night…values.
Everyone has them, however many of us do not recognize what they are. If you are one of the few whom have actually thought of your values, then I applaud you. Having values is good, knowing your values is great, however I am interested in the exceptional. The exceptional individual bases their life around their values. Where they spend their money, where they spend their time, and where they spend their energy.
One of my top values:
This is my son this summer at the beach. A top interest in my life, and obviously a very important part of my life. In fact, there is nothing that I would not do to provide safety, security, and general well-being for Mason. Most fathers would not argue with me at all about this feeling that we all have for our family. In fact, my highest value in life has Mason as a underlying reason for that value.
You see, my highest value is my health. My health has to be a priority if I am truly wanting my son to be safe, secure, and happy. Simply put, if I do not take care of my health, I will never be able to take care of his.
I challenge you to list out your highest values in life, and find a way that your health does not matter to all of these values. You will see that your health is of the most importance in order for you to provide for the important others in your life.
Behind every action there is a force that will drive our decisions. Sometimes this force is one of a negative nature, other times more positive. Either way, there is always something that drives the decision. Here is an example that might help you make the decisions that you know deep in your gut need to be made.
Not too long ago a patient presented to my office with two different complaints that were related. The first complaint was simple, back pain. The back pain this individual had was not that serious, and was not getting worse. In fact when the patient starting explaining what she had felt, and the amount of years that she had felt this way, she explained it in a very nonchalant manner.
Due to the take it or leave it attitude with is complaint, I knew there was something more. As I dug deeper into her health goals and life stresses I realized the emotional struggle that ensued when she mentioned her grandaughter.
You see, her granddaughter was the love of her life. Her husband had left her years before, and her kids were emotionally unavailable. Her granddaughter, however, was her soul mate. This beautiful baby took up all of the love in her heart. The pull, the love, the feelings she had for this child were so strong, she would do whatever it took to be closer to this child. She truly felt love, and was passionate about this child, that within the first 15 minutes of speaking, I had seen no less than 20 pictures of her. That is when I knew what her force was.
Some of you don’t know what your force is, however it’s easy to find out. Look at your behaviors. You make decisions on it, you spend time, money, and energy on it. Your force is more than a place, a thing, or a person. Once you find out, your decisions in life will be more clear. My patient knew what her force was, and she recognized her actions were based around that little child. She simply wanted to maximize her life experience, as we all do. Prior to this child’s birth, her back discomfort was not that debilitating. However, the minute it became a limitation to her experience with her granddaughter, it needed to be resolved.
