Are you investing in your wealth but not your health?
We all know that we should be saving for retirement – that magical time when we will no longer have to work and can live off those pockets of money we’ve been setting aside each month and wisely investing over the years. Whether or not you’re doing it yet, you know you need to start, preferably as soon as possible.
How do you hope to spend your golden years of retirement? Playing in the yard with your grandkids? Tending your prize winning garden? Playing 9 holes of golf every day? Personally, I see myself traveling to foreign countries, walking all day down sunny, cobblestone streets, wandering through farmers markets, hiking in lush forests, and let’s be honest, taking lots of naps.
If you’ve been setting aside enough money, you should have the financial resources to do those things with ease. But will you have the physical resources? Have you been investing in your health every day, month, year? Doing the work necessary to make sure your body bank account is full and ready to carry you through your golden years? For some reason we ignore our body for 65 years while we hustle to provide for ourselves and our families, and then when we finally have time to do whatever we want with ourselves, we end up spending a good chunk of that time going to doctor’s appointments, complaining with our friends about our aches and pains, or having to take frequent breaks or even abstain entirely from activities we enjoy or want to explore.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “I know, I know… I should be taking care of myself better… but it’s just so hard!” I get it. Life is busy. Maybe you don’t have time to spend an hour at the gym every day, or you’re too focused on taking care of your family to think about taking care of yourself, or you just can’t work up the motivation to stay on track with your health goals.
I have felt the same way. Fortunately, I have a lifestyle that allows me plenty of time to engage in healthful activities. And I teach movement, so I definitely have the skills and knowledge to make good choices for my body. But even so, I find it really hard not to get distracted and let the whole day go by without doing the thing that should be top priority: investing fully in my health and happiness. So, have I just given up and resigned myself to a life of aches, pains, and lackluster energy? Of course not! What I did do was create a “self care chart” for myself.
Tired of feeling like I was falling short of my health goals, I made myself a monthly chart that lists six things I’d like to be doing daily for my personal wellness. It includes items like Restorative Exercise, taking supplements, and affirmations. Every time I complete one of those activities, I place a check mark for that day in the corresponding column. Not only does it serve as a visual reminder of what I want to accomplish each day, but it also allows me to track patterns. If I notice that I forgot or avoided a certain activity several days in a row, I make an effort to put that item at the top of my priority list for the next week.
So far, I’ve been using this system for one month. I just replaced my chart with a new one for June. Most of my goals have stayed the same for this month, but there was one area I decided to swap out for something that felt more important right now. Even though there were plenty of days where I didn’t check off all the boxes, I feel certain that I did a lot better than I would have without the chart hanging on my kitchen cupboard every day to remind me what I really want to focus on.
It’s been such a helpful tool, that I figured other people may benefit from it as well. I’ve made a special Self Care Chart and guide to getting started for anyone who wants a little help staying on track with their goals.
Click here to download your free Self Care Chart!
Start tracking your daily deposits into your personal wellness account and see how quickly they start to add up. After all, it’s really the little things we do every day that make the biggest difference to our long-term health!