Now that Memorial day 2024 is here its time to pack the cooler, fire up the grill and crank the stereo!
And of course to Reflect on the sacrifices that were made by those that dedicated their lives in service to our nation. Now there is nothing wrong with going to a barbecue, socializing and visiting friends, but when summertime rolls around do we sometimes default to some of our adolescent behavior? Does the sweet smell of sun tan lotion and cracking a few cold ones on the beach make us compromise our discipline and indulge in ways that are often times unhealthy?
The balance between enjoying time off work to take a break from the grind, and maintaining the discipline to be mindful of whats important can help us to stay on track when we feel like abandoning our healthy routine and eat some extra garbage, skip a workout, or have a few more cocktails than normal. As we get older its tempting to regress to our younger years and want to party like a rock star in the summer, but what is it that we hope to gain? If we take the time to sit with ourselves we can recognize that the part of us that wants to overindulge is like wanting to go into a time machine and experience the carefree nature of being a young adult. It can be very healthy to step out of our monotonous, sometimes boring and stressful routine, but we have to be mindful that engaging in self destructive behaviors can be a slippery slope in mid-life.
Getting overly intoxicated, self indulgent, and engaging in risky behavior as an adult may seem like an escape into our misspent youth, but as we get older we have hopefully learned the tough lessons of some of our mistakes. Nothing tastes as good as health, no high feels as good as inner peace, and maintaining a healthy routine while tempted to destroy our bodies and minds can help us to experience an inner strength that requires we go against the grain sometimes. We are not kids anymore. Resist the temptation. Develop the trust and love in yourself to go against the grain. Choose yourself! Working to become the best version of yourself may require you to gently smile at the peer pressure. Smile and know that you are responsible for your health and well being. Skip the booze and the sugar. Fill yourself with the strength and conviction of choosing yourself. Sleep deeply. Wake rested. Be grateful and honor this gift of health, and experience the high of knowing that sometimes the best feeling we can achieve is maintaining love and respect for ourselves.