Checking Healthy Habits off the list

In an attempt to make time to create a healthy movement routine as we edge toward winter and changing roles on the farm (read: more office chair time), we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed to the gym for an hour before sunrise.  We came home and poured ourselves a big glass of kombucha and had some yogurt and seeds, like we were checking “healthy habits” off from a list.

​To be sure, there is something to this whole mindset shift thing.  In sociology we called it the broken window theory and it went something like this: a broken window, even a tiny one, in a public place will lead to more vandalism and broken things.  I like to translate that to the positive in my “made bed theory”: a made bed, even an imperfectly made bed (which I assure you, mine is), will lead to more things put away instead of strewn about.  Turns out, our environs impact out mindset. And today, ours began at the gym.

And so, our instinct to do ALL the healthy things this morning after the gym probably comes from a similar place. You know, doing one healthy thing puts your mind in a healthy mode and you’re more inclined to do other healthy things. But you know how I feel about maintenance (in case you don’t: I detest maintenance),  I had the urge to check it off my list forever.  Like, “let’s get this healthy stuff out of the way today so I can sleep in and eat donuts tomorrow”.

I know I could probably live a long time and more or less function without maintenance.  I see it happen all the time around me.  The problem for me though, is that I still have a long list of things I want to see or do, and my hobbies mostly involve a highly functioning body.  Sigh.  I don’t want to have to miss out on a fantastic view because I can’t hike up there to get it.  Unfortunately, this requires reminding myself of this when I’m cozy in bed at 5am as it gets colder and colder outside.

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