Jason Steed Certified Primal Health Coach
There's a wellness program out there just for you. I promise.
Take heart. Your body does exactly what it's told to do. No exceptions. You are not part of a rogue gene pool or broken body mechanics. You just need to find your own plan. And you're getting close.
You've tried stuff—lots of stuff. And it's all failed, right? Sometimes you'll gain traction, but ultimately you come back so some level of homeostasis that you're not happy with. Well, each of those attempts is part of your success story. Those things we all call "failed attempts" are actually valuable pivots. Read on.
Picture yourself dropping a pin on a timeline: “You are here!” And that’s exactly where you need to be right now.
July 25, 2020
Sticky Pivots in Health Habits
Can you be happy with where you are? Health and self-control are an up-and-down journey. The valleys make the peaks more permanent.
Four years ago today (April 2017) I decided to join Heather in a 30-day real foods reset challenge. There are sticky pivots in life, and unsticky pivots. Both kinds play a role in moving us the right direction. My @Whole30 experience 4 years ago was a sticky pivot. Essentially it’s a reset program to avoid sugars, processed foods, grains, and most dairy for 30 days. Here are a few other pivots: About 16 years ago our 5-yr-old Savannah challenged me to not drink root beer (It was actually kind of a funny misunderstanding) so I avoided my favorite beverage for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days—that’s a “sticky" pivot.
About 12 years ago I took special note in a Radio West broadcast about eating “real foods.” So I did that…for about 5 days, till I forgot. That’s an “unsticky" pivot. Ten years ago I asked Clayton Stucki how he got onto the podiums at so many triathlons. He said for him it had more to do with what he ate than how he trained. That really stuck with me…for about a week, then I forgot. Yep, “unsticky.” I also apparently did some sort of “no sugar for 3 weeks” challenge that Facebook Memories reminded me about.
Enter: Whole Foods
Back to today's 4-year anniversary with whole foods. I wasn’t really trying to fix something in my life. I’ve always been pretty active. My weekly trail running was my “free card” to eat whatever I darn well pleased. But, unbeknownst to me, after 2 weeks of eating whole foods, my personal pivot revealed a new-found layer of energy and brain clarity vs. the lulls and fog that I had just racked up to “getting old.” I took tally of small aches and pains, sore gums, itchy skin, subtle running soreness that all pretty much went away. And yes, it helped me shed a few “getting old” pounds too. But this new pivot got me delving into books, podcasts, more self-experimentation with the science (science was never really my thing).
Friends, our bodies are mind-blowing! I'll put it this way. Where I used to resent old people for all of their “old people-ness,” (full disclosure) now I honestly look forward to being one of them. Many would argue, at 50 I AM one of them! ;-] Good for me!
The Importance of Fumbling Around
So, in the last 4 years, I’ve become Health Coach Certified, modified my endurance training, made both tough and easy personal daily choices, gotten to know a whole lot more about myself, shifted just a bit from a “DO-er” to a “BE-er,” grown my respect for the myriad of people’s individual circumstances and challenges, found it a little easier to dig my heals in to just about anything, and shown up every day as an entrepreneur.
Being a dad is now immensely more rewarding, as I’m present and can more often match our kids’ energy. And most of all, the doing and being of being a husband. Heather and I have been in this together, finding answers to health issues that sometimes stick, and other times offer no real benefit, or even seem to push things in the wrong direction. But from this all I’ve learned that even the wrong direction can be a powerful pivot. Like I said, ALL the pivots count, and they stack up to make the sticky pivots stickier.
You Are Here
From somebody who’s not very preachy, can I say, “Be good to yourself, wherever you’re at at this moment in time." Some of the important decisions need to age a bit before they become important. Picture dropping a pin on a timeline: “You are here!” And that’s exactly where you need to be right now. And for sure, tomorrow you’ll be at a slightly better place.
