Feeling Well Changes Everything
I learned this during a period of my life when I didn't feel well at all. I was raising two boys, rebuilding my career and dealing with a lot of change. I knew I was tired, but eventually I realized it was more than that. I felt depleted and, in some ways, disconnected from myself.
Working with a functional medicine practitioner helped me understand what was happening physically and, over time, I began to feel like myself again. The experience made me curious about health in a way I hadn't been before and eventually led me to study integrative health with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
What interested me most was not simply that I had more energy. As I began to feel better, I felt more connected to myself. I could hear my own thoughts again, but it went beyond thinking clearly. I had better access to the quieter things: my instincts, my curiosity, what interested me, what I wanted more of and what I didn't.
I think about that a lot now.
When we don't feel well, so much of our energy can go toward simply getting through the day. It can be difficult to notice the things that might otherwise catch our attention: an idea we keep returning to, something we'd love to try, a change we've been considering, or that feeling of being pulled toward something we can't quite explain yet.
For me, health became less about trying to get everything right and more about creating the conditions that allow me to feel present in my own life.
It's much easier to hear yourself
when you feel well.
Health As A Foundation
Of course, there are things about our health we can't control. Bodies change as we age. Genetics matter. Illness and injury happen. I've become more respectful of that reality as I've gotten older.
I've also become more aware of how much the ordinary things matter. What we eat. How we move. Whether we're getting enough rest. The people we spend time with. Being outside. Laughing. Having something we're interested in. Feeling connected to other people.
I don't do any of this perfectly. I don't think that's the point.
What I've become better at is noticing what I need now, because it isn't always what I needed ten or twenty years ago. There are times when a hard workout feels wonderful and others when a long walk in the woods is exactly what I need. Sometimes being with friends restores me. Sometimes I need to be alone. I'm much less interested than I used to be in what I should be doing and more interested in paying attention to how I actually feel.
What does my body need from me now?
It's a question I come back to often.
Part of the Whole
When we think about what we want from the years ahead, it's easy to focus on the visible things: work, relationships, where we live, what we'd like to experience or change. I think how we want to feel in that life belongs in the conversation too.
I want to have the energy to be curious. I want to feel strong enough to try things and rested enough to notice what interests me. I want to be present with the people I love. And I want enough space, physically and mentally, to hear myself when something begins pulling at me.
That's what wellbeing has come to mean to me. Not another area of life to optimize, but part of the foundation that makes everything else possible.