PHW Newsletter - Edition 12

A Word from Dr. Marvin

Shifting Perspective

As 2024 comes to an end, it is a good time to reflect on the year. Things that went well, things that could have gone better, and to look ahead to 2025. What goals can we set for ourselves and for our family?

The end of the year can be a difficult time for many of us. I often see people feeling overwhelmed, sick, and cranky. On top of the holidays, we see less sunlight, more illness, and let’s face it – between traveling to see family and buying gifts, our pocketbooks are feeling a little stressed too!

When I find myself stressed and having a pity party for myself, I’m often humbled by opportunities that reveal perspective. In these moments I might find myself thinking, “I can’t do XYZ because it’s too hard right now.” We can apply this to many basic needs. We might say things like, “It’s too hard to exercise because...” or “It’s too hard to make a healthy meal, or go to bed at a reasonable hour because...”.

What I want to do is encourage you to ask yourself the question, “Is this really hard?”. For example, when I’m REALLY NOT motivated to exercise, I remind myself of a few things. One, I’m thankful for being physically able to exercise. If I wasn’t, man, that would be REALLY HARD. I also think about my future self as a grandmother. Do I want to be physically dependent on others in my old age? Not really, that would also be REALLY HARD. In reality, it is NOT hard to exercise, eat well, or go to bed at a reasonable hour. We THINK it’s hard because we are over-scheduled and need to shift our priorities.

Unfortunately for some of us, we may already be in the throes of a chronic disease. Once we reach this stage, it can be extremely difficult to reverse. For example, as we age, it can be increasingly difficult to add and maintain lean muscle mass. This puts us at an increased risk for all kinds of things. Fall and break your hip because you didn’t prioritize weight-bearing exercise and muscle strength? Shockingly, statistics have shown that up to 22% of people over the age of 65 who break a hip, die within the first year [1]. Choosing not to exercise can also increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, depression, and anxiety. Instead of thinking about how exercise can help these conditions, we should shift our mindset to how exercise may help with prevention.

There is interesting research that shows when we CHOOSE to do hard things, we’re happier and healthier for it. I highly recommend the book, “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter. It helps us understand how the many comforts we have in today’s world may actually be the reason why we are not well in our physical and emotional health.

I bet you can think of a few personal examples where you chose to do something hard, and once you did it, you felt really good about yourself! One hard thing I did this year with my family was raise chickens for meat. My husband and I built a brooder box, fed and watered 100 chicks 2-3+ times a day, eventually moving them out to pasture and rotating the electric fence and shelter every few days for about 11 weeks. Then with the help of Dr. Davis and his family, we hand-butchered 100+ chickens! Two long days on our feet, in the elements, procuring our own food for the next several months to come. Though I needed an extra day or two to physically recover, we all felt strong and accomplished.

Let’s finish 2024 strong and look ahead to 2025. Set goals. Be intentional. CHOOSE to do something (hopefully more than once) HARD.