Today’s Wellness Wednesday is from return guest blogger Charli Hamlin. She discusses the importance of investing in yourself to support your overall health.
I’ve had a lot of time to think and reflect during our state’s shelter in place, which conveniently coincides with my maternity leave (silver linings). Let me start with the disclaimer that I am not normally one to ever tell people how to spend their money. You do you, and I’ll do me. This stimulus check that most people are receiving may be their saving grace, or it may not make a dent in their needs. I don’t know everyone’s situation, so I’m not going to pretend to. However, with all that is going on in the world right now, it brings firmly to mind a really important topic that lays heavy on my heart: our society’s general health and overall well-being. While everyone is going to get sick in their lives at one time or another, for some, especially right now, a cold or virus can be a matter of life or death. This virus we’re dealing with is a big worry for a lot of people for various health reasons; a lot of them very controllable. I’m talking about heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol; the list goes on and on. I will be the first to say that we, personally, are very lucky in our family that we are still getting paychecks and the stimulus check was not needed to keep us afloat. I know this is not the case for a lot of people. Some are hanging on for dear life for just one more month with it, and next month they’ll have to figure something else out. This message is not for those people.
This message is for the ones who got the check and are thinking “hey, I might treat myself or buy something I’ve really been wanting.” I know way too many people who will buy new clothes or shoes, a purse, a lift kit for their truck, fancy dinners downtown, or a big trip, but will scoff and say “oh, I can’t afford that” when it comes to a gym membership, nutrition plans, a coach, a mental health counselor or therapist, a physical therapist, a consult with a chiropractor, or anything that is an intangible. Why can’t we afford it? Well, a lot of the things that we say we can’t afford actually are things that we can, we just choose not to be able to because they are not our priority. And why aren’t they? Priorities are things that we will sacrifice in other areas to make happen.
One of Charli’s health investments was purchasing the Birthfit Conscious Core program for her postpartum recovery. Pictured here with her daughter, Gray, working through her pelvic rehab.
Our society has fed us this line of “you need this, you need that, buy this new gadget, and go on this big vacation” for so long that now we think we need whatever is being thrown at us in ads, commercials, or online. But you know what we really need? Our health. Mental health. Our physical abilities. We need to be active, to take care of our bodies and our minds, to be able to move, to bend, to lift, and run and jump with our kids for decades to come. We need to learn that living without pain is not only possible, but that it should be normal, and living with pain doesn’t have to be acceptable.
Since when does being strong and healthy put us in the minority? It’s been that way since our society of convenience and ease came around. Almost everyone used to be healthy, because they worked hard, physical jobs, kids played outside and were active, and we cooked real, whole foods almost every night. That was the norm. Being healthy and fit wasn’t an oddity or an unattainable wish.
So if you’re in the camp that’s thinking “I really want to use this money to do something for myself,” why don’t you do something BIG for yourself? And for your spouse, or partner, and for your kids and their kids? Invest in yourself and your health. Give yourself the best chance at sticking around for the long haul. Because you only get one body and one life to live. Take good care of it. An investment in yourself is the best investment you can make.
~Charli
