Thinking About Our Health

Another year has come and gone. It seems to be true that ‘the older we get the faster the years go by.’ Now instead of trying to focus on New Year’s Resolutions (which the majority of people have already broken, or will break within the next week), let’s instead talk about a different way of thinking about our health.

Resolutions….Worth the Hype?
I personally think resolutions are overrated, but I do put a lot of value in utilizing the first of the year to reflect back on the past year and see if you are measuring up to where you want to be in all aspects of your life. For me, those areas include physically, mentally, spiritually, financially and assessing my most important relationships. After I have done that, I choose one or two goals from those five areas. I choose goals based on this assessment: If I accomplished ________(fill in the blank)_________this year, that would make it an unbelievably awesome year! Once that is decided, it becomes much easier to figure out what two or three disciplines or daily activities are required to achieve that destination or goal.

Your reason HAS to be BIG:
I agree with the experts that there has to be an awfully big reason why you want to accomplish any goal. For example, maybe you have an upcoming 50-year Class Reunion and you want to physically look younger than your classmates; maybe it’s an upcoming wedding; or maybe you have a family trip planned to Disneyland and you, therefore, are willing to save money by packing your own lunches, etc. Whatever your goal is, if your reason why you want to accomplish that goal isn’t big enough, it is highly likely you won’t have the necessary commitment to see it thru, especially during the hard, mundane and challenging times which inevitably occur.

I had a patient quit smoking because the reward was a new car that would be paid for by the amount of money they spent each month on cigarettes. Another patient quit smoking because a really good friend who smokes had a massive heart attack. They didn’t want the same fate. They wanted to see their grandchildren graduate from high school. I also had a patient who lost his hearing and recognized that he wasn’t invincible. As a result, he became more cognizant of the daily choices he was making and his overall health improved. The key component to these three people’s success was reflection and analysis to see if they were on the path to where they want to end up.

It is my hope that Brad Erikson Family Practice can help each of you have a healthier, richer and more fulfilling 2019.

About the author

Dr. Brad Erikson, DO