This is our second spring living in Atlanta and it’s lovely. The lush, green trees and bright colored flowers are blooming, the sunshine is back and feels warm on the skin, and there’s an excited energy in the air that new life is near. The change of a new year, birthday, or season is the perfect time to reflect on life and what you want out of it.
As a physical therapist I help my community overcome injuries and minimize pain. I do this by understanding where my client currently is and what their goals are. Then we design a path to get there. However, humans are not machines and our mental health is very much intertwined with the physical. For example, if we are chronically stressed, this activates our sympathetic, “fight or flight”, nervous system which results in a cascade of biological responses such as increased heart rate, shallow respiratory rate, decreased blood flow to our digestive system and increased muscle tension. We are ready to fight the bear or run away! How can we turn down the gauge and return back to our rest and digest state of homeostasis which is so essential for repair? This is especially important as we are physically healing from an injury, managing chronic pain, or even building muscle to compete or perform at a higher level.
Most people cannot quit all responsibilities, sell the kids, and live on the island of care-free land (although doesn’t that sound kind of nice?). That being said, using this time of changing seasons as an opportunity to spring-clean our minds is a useful strategy to shift from the negative to the positive. Here are suggestions from your one and only, moi.
Take a look at your routine and habits. It’s easy to get lost in the daily grind - alarm, coffee, commute, work, dinner, news, sleep, repeat. The grand picture of our life is simply individual puzzle pieces fit together by tiny daily decisions. The book Atomic Habits by James Clear describes how habits form the type of person you are. Every once in a while, take a magnified glass to your days. Clear shares a strategy to form good habits by what he calls The Habit Loop. The Habit Loop is a 4-step process of how we can change or create good habits: 1. Cue - make it obvious, 2. Craving - make it attractive, 3. Reward - make it easy, 4. Response - make it satisfying. For example, let’s say you want to start walking daily for the multitude of desired benefits. Set the specifics - “I will walk the Henderson Park trail path Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work at 5pm (Cue). I will either get to listen to my favorite podcast or catch up with my neighbor Sue (craving). I won’t have to drive to a gym and Sue and I agreed to hold each other accountable (reward). After our walk, I can still catch my favorite show on TV (response).” Don’t forget to celebrate the small wins along the way.
Reassess your relationships and people around you. Have you ever noticed the energy in the room changes when a person walks in? How about your mood after talking to a family member or friend? They say you are who you surround yourself with. It’s worth taking inventory of the people you spend the most time with. You can still be a good, kind person and have standards and boundaries.
Re-examine the information you consume. Ever notice how you feel scared, worried, or angry after watching the local news? What we allow in our mental space is important to consider. We live in a day and age of 24/7 global news coverage which doesn’t focus on the positive. A constant news stream can leave us feeling drained, depressed and outright paranoid of our neighbors and the world at large. Look at your news source with a critical eye and even explore more positive options. Reading versus watching non-bias current event coverage is a great way to stay informed yet emotionally safe. Aside from news, reassess the other sources of info - talk radio on your commute, books you read, TV shows you watch. Make sure you don’t let just anything into your mental sphere.
Check your ‘tude. Before my grandfather passed, he gave me a little piece of paper with a description of the importance of attitude. Attitude, it says, is more important than social status, wealth, intelligence, or appearance. It can change a fun day at the park to a dreadful time; or turn a horrible tragedy into a timeless life lesson. No one is perfect and sometimes we all have a bad attitude. However, be aware of your own attitude and what you’re giving off in this world and get that glass half full.
Lastly, think big picture. Here’s a personal life hack: if you’re feeling overwhelmed go to the highest spot in your city, ideally hike up there. Once you make it to the top, take a look below and see how your problems shrink with the perspective of the buildings, cars, and people below. Another way to change your perspective is to ask yourself if a problem, circumstance, or dilemma will be as impactful in 5 years, 10 years, or even over the course of your lifetime. The perspective shift can make a molehill out of a mountain.
Try one or all of these life perspective-improving strategies along with your exercise program and take note of the physical changes. Enjoy the the cool mornings and sunny 70-degree afternoons. Before you know it, we’ll be in the middle of the summer heat.
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