This mornings subject line Relax or Die is pretty direct and it comes from a family medical emergency we had to deal with.
Last Tuesday morning my very active Dad’s 63 year old body said ‘enough’ and blew a fuse; he had a stroke. I can assure you he isn’t going to die and will hopefully come back to 100% over the next few months. Being stuck in a bed isn’t suiting Dad at all and we are looking forward to the intensive rehab he will have to get him moving again.
However, it has occurred to me that he could be a lot worse off because he keeps trying to get out of bed instead of resting. This really got me thinking about my lifestyle and habits.
Personally I don’t like weekends – sometimes I wish the business working week was seven days because there is just so much I want to do. Us workaholics need to think about this: Terri Guillemets said, “When an illness knocks you on your ass, you should stay and relax for a while before trying to get back up.”
What this has shown me is that we, even my Dad, need to relax a lot more and keep ourselves fit and healthy. Then when we get knocked down we need to stay down and relax for awhile. Take the 8 count like a boxer to give yourself a breather and compose yourself before launching into the next round.
The other main thing though is consistency of fitness. Big bursts of activity and then nothing for six months serve very little purpose. The 30 minute walk, four or five times a week is going to be a lot better for your health and your stress levels.
Make a plan to be more consistent with your fitness and health this year and you will have a great and healthy year.