The Deep End

The pandemic has had all of us considering how our lives could have possibly ended up in this unusual period of time. It’s not just a consideration though, it’s a far deeper, thought-provoking experience for most of us at the individual, reflective level. The types of changes we not only want to make, but need to make, are coming to light.

A perfect example of this for me is how this period has forced me to realise, amongst other recent epiphanies, how much I’ve wanted be more creative and work on this blog again by intentionally using technology to serve my needs. As this is an ongoing work-in-progress reflection, I’m going to cover it at a later date.

Today, I want to talk about something fundamentally essential to all of us that’s quickly grown to become, rightfully, the core responsibility of our lives throughout the pandemic: Our health.

We often over-look our own health to the point where it’s absurd. All of us need (amongst many other things) good health to survive on this planet. We marvel at our civilisation and how smart we are as a society, but the fact that we have an unacceptable percentage of the global population going to bed either overweight or obese is the antithesis of our responsibility to our own health and to the health of others.

The pandemic has unlocked in our brains a new consideration: “What am I doing to be healthy in a time when it’s most important?” For some, it’s washing your hands more regularly. For others, it’s taking it a step further and taking action to lose weight. I’m in the ‘others’ basket right now.

I’ve been trying to lose weight for the best part of ten years. It’s gone up and down like a yo-yo over this time, but consistently on average, it’s been on the rise. The pandemic has had me thinking ‘Enough is enough. Lose this weight, and lose it now. It’s not healthy, it’s not who you are and it’s not who you want to be’. It’s kind of ironic how a global event can be the catalyst of such radical change at the individual level.

I started a running routine, which started making a huge difference to my physical and mental health. It started to feel easy! How could I have been holding on to this weight for so long? Perhaps I was too strict and pushed myself too hard…

…because I injured my knee.

About a month ago I finished a run and started experiencing a pain in my knee, and unfortunately that pain hasn’t really faded away. My physiotherapist instructed me to do all kinds of stretches and exercises to try and reduce the tension in the area around my knee, but my greatest concern was that the weight I just worked so hard to remove would start coming back. Thankfully it hasn’t started coming back but that’s only because I’ve continued to have my own health and wellbeing at the front of my mind.

I’ve started dieting and being as strict with food as much as I was with my running schedule. Early days so far, but I’ve realised how these considerations are now an essential part of my way of thinking. My health is at the top of my priority list, and now it’s only a matter of time before I’ll weigh as much as I want to.

We have so many responsibilities in this world, and it’s not getting any easier right now, but ask yourself just as I did: “What am I doing to better my physical self in this world right now?”

You may be surprised by the answer you hear from within.