I’ve been asking this question, What will it take for Change on so many levels lately. The tragedy in Colorado a few weeks ago rocked me to my core, as I know it did many others; I’ve thought in my mind, what will take for this to change, to never happen again? The incessant mud-slinging of this years politicians have been making me ask myself over and over, what will take for them to change? To see that how they are acting and being hasn’t worked in the past therefore won’t in the future. I’ve been taking a long hard look at myself, my state of happiness with my own health and I’ve been wanting to make changes for quite some time now. Just as many people do on a regular basis, I talk about the desire to start eating healthier and exercising more, but I regularly fall flat with follow through.
Then I heard it, while in the middle of an adjusting shift the other day; a song I have loved for quite some time. It was playing on our radio, and you know that moment when about 100 thoughts hit you at once, making you wish you could put it all down instantly? Yeah, I had one of those moments. The song is named Change, and it’s Tracy Chapman who sings it. The lyrics pose the bold blunt question, “If you knew that you would die today, if you saw the face of God and love, would you change?” Really stop and think about that for a moment. If you truly knew that today would be your last day, would you change? I’m willing to bet that we’d all change, and that we all wish we had changed some things at an earlier point in life, especially when it comes to our health and happiness.
I have a story about a dear friend I want to share with you. His name is Tim and he is in his early 40’s. When you look at Tim you’d think he is average, meaning he’s not grossly overweight but not a finely tuned athlete either. He has always been talking about wanting to lose some weight and get back in shape, but just like many of us, other things in life kept him from that. Tim didn’t eat a horrible diet of fast food, fried everything and only junk; in fact he ate what most people would say fairly healthy, yet he still consumed some normal processed foods while also eating meat, veggies and the like. He was not a couch potato either, he would work around the yard, go on walks, go out for hikes at times. This past holiday season Tim had a huge awakening. He ended up in the hospital due to chest pains and within hours was told he had a 95% blockage to an artery and needed bypass surgery right then. Thankfully, the surgery went smoothly and although his initial recovery was bumpy, he made it through. Since then, Tim and his wife have totally changed their diets and had become even more physically active. He has lost 60lbs since January and still going. Tim had talked for a long time about wanting to eat healthier and exercise more, yet he didn’t make the changes until it was almost too late. When I heard the lyrics of the song the other day, this experience of Tim’s came rushing through my mind.
We hear stories like Tim’s all the time. People do not change their ways until something major happens to them. Why is this? We can all take a more pro-active approach in our lives when it comes to our health, we don’t have to wait until it’s too late or almost too late to change. Every choice we make about what we eat and whether we sit on the couch or go for a walk is a choice we make about how we want to look and feel. That may sound harsh, but sometimes the truth stings a bit. I’m not only saying this to all of you, I’m also saying this to myself. The old adage of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind; this is how our society has lived for many years. Why wait until you’re broke before making changes? When asked, my friend Tim will say he knew he needed to make changes long before he was in the hospital, yet he didn’t. As he puts it, it was a slap upside the head from the universe for not being more pro-active. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to take that chance in life!
Another lyric from the song goes “How bad does it have to get…how many losses how much regret…what chain reaction, what cause and effect….makes you change”. I personally don’t want to know how bad it has to get. I hope none of you do either. If we all take the steps and make the changes we want in our own lives, we will empower those around to do the same. If you don’t know where to begin, we offer many workshops about overall health that can get you started, all you need to do is show up to one and take it from there. Here’s to some awesome changes we will all make!
In Health and Happiness,
Dr Jen
Here is a video of Tracy Chapman performing Change for those who may want to hear it.