Our bodies are highly complex machines. And though we feel like we can go day after day with little to no issues, the truth is, you can just as easily break down or not be at your best if you neglect the little things that actually keep you going.
There are three main areas you should focus on when thinking about personal preventative maintenance that will serve you best. Your mind, your body, and your spirit. Let's start with your mind first.
Your mind is the main computer for your entire system. Without it, you would not be able to do the daily actions that keep you alive. Many functions of your mind work in conjunction with your body with little to no conscious involvement on your part. Breathing, your heart beating, etc. But, your mind needs to be exercised too, and with that, needs a break from time to time. So, how do you do that? Some of the things you can do are reduce screen time, read a book, play simple games that will focus on your cognitive abilities. You can also practice meditation or mindfulness. Anything that stimulates your brain and creates activity within it. You also want to eat good sources of nutrition. This also helps with your body.
Your body is the framework for your machine. In order to keep it functioning at its best, you need to take care of it too. As mentioned, good sources of nutrition are a key part to you functioning at your best. Food is fuel, and without it, you will feel sluggish. You have to be aware of what you are eating though. I am not one to promote excessive nutritional changes or restricting what you should or should not eat. But, I will tell you that knowing what fuels you, what helps you from the inside out, and what limits you, will have positive or negative long term effects. I recently learned that I possibly have gout in my knee. I was told to help prevent those flare ups, try altering my nutrition. Reduce alcohol consumption, avoid a lot of red meats, eat more veggies, and consider anti inflaming foods. So, that's what I did. For the past 4 months I have had no issues. A couple of small instances I started to feel early signs of a flare up, so I evaluated what I had eaten 3-5 days prior, and sure enough, it was an excessive amount of the foods that I shouldn’t have eaten as much of. But, what else can you do to be preventative with your body?
Exercising regularly. It doesn’t have to be extreme. 15-20 minutes a day is all you really need. You can do more than that if you prefer, but a little bit of movement and resistance training will go a long way. Stretching regularly. I will be the first to tell you that my flexibility and mobility are not what they used to be. And the more I neglected that, the harder it was on my body. Certain activities were harder than they should have been. I’d injure myself trying to exercise because I wasn't warmed up well enough, or not hydrated enough. Or I would push too hard, thinking I could make up for lost time. That never works. When that did happen, that is when I would feel depleted and start going down that rabbit hole of negativity and unproductive self-talk. That leads me to my final thoughts…your spirit.
You can call it your spirit, your soul, your state of being. Whatever resonates with you. That is the glue that holds it all together. I don’t know about you, but I’ll go through spurts where my own negative self talk gets in my own way. I’ll feel deflated, uninspired, overwhelmed, and on and on, to the point where I won’t want to do anything. If you're not careful, that’s exactly what happens, and then you’re really stuck. So, what can you do? Discover or rediscover what makes you happy. What brings joy into your world. What puts a smile on your face, warms your insides up and just “feel alive”! There are several things I like to do to feed my soul and put myself in a better place. Some of these include going on a walk by a creek or in the mountains. If I lived near the beach, I would definitely be doing that. Reading a good book for fun. I read way more personal development books than fiction. Maybe that's a hint for me. Journaling - getting your thoughts down on paper. Sometimes that helps give you focus and direction, freeing up space in your mind. And of course, exercising. Something about getting a good set in or running just makes you feel alive. There are plenty of other avenues you can consider as well. Some prefer meditation to calm the mind and spirit. Some find peace and replenishment when going to church. Some like to draw, paint, or create something. There are numerous possibilities. You just have to find what resonates with you and explore that.
I hope this gives you some ideas of what you can do to do a little preventative maintenance for yourself. As you can see, all three of these areas, in my opinion, fuel the others and work hand in hand with each other. Keep in mind, these are just my suggestions, but over the years, I have found these simple practices to be very helpful and rewarding. They might just be for you too.
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