The Health Bucket

Last spring I suffered from several weeks of acute lower back pain. Finally, when I could stand it no longer, I went into physical therapy. I increased in flexibility and gradually decreased in pain, thankfully.

At its height, the pain in my back not only hindered my physical movements but was a drain on my energy and creativity in general. I felt that I was not fully giving my “A-game” in all key spheres of my life, including family and work. It was my constant unwanted companion, a thorn in my flesh—or, at least, my spine—that was not easily removed.

The pain, I came to learn, was the middle-age culmination of a lifelong habit of blowing off the stretching/flexibility aspect of exercise. For whatever reason, I had never prioritized this component of physical fitness that is every bit as important as cardio and strength training with weights. Suddenly it became the only priority, and reducing if not eliminating the pain became my principal goal in life for that short season.

I never want to have such disproportionate priorities again.

Last week, in the first of this 12-part series, I made the case for a “strategic, integrative” life that approaches any goal through three core buckets. My buckets happen to be Health, Family and Vocation, and for the moment I would like to talk about Health. And with Health, I do not just mean physical health (including flexible hamstrings that make the back much more happy, as well as getting enough rest), but also emotional and spiritual health, and the healthy outlook that comes from having quality friendships and relationships in one’s life.

Let’s talk about emotions next. How receptive are you to receiving (and acting upon) feedback? Are you embracing resources and people that help you to grow in self-awareness, and taking time to examine the roots of anger, unhelpful impulses or other aspects of your emotional life?

How are you nurturing your spirit? Do you have regular devotional time that enables deep spiritual truths to become embedded in  your character and general mindset, which then express themselves in how you interact with others and make key decisions?

Do you have a spiritual community that strengthens and equips you, and provides you with opportunities to strengthen others as well?.

And what about friendships? Do you call or spend time with a few close friends without any particular agenda, but just because connecting with them allows for the authenticity moments of just being together?

Jesus understood and demonstrated the value of physical, emotional and spiritual health. He withdrew to quiet places in order to refresh before he served. He spent quality time with an inner circle of his disciples, and made it clear that he called his pupils “friends.” He was in deep communion with his Father at all times. Overall he knew when to work hard and when to pull back, a strategy that reminds me of the principles set forth in the recent book The Power of Full Engagement.

And he walked everywhere he went, which undoubtedly kept him in great shape!

Holistic health not only positions us for a consistent sense of contentment and peace, but it makes us more available to play the game. We are far more likely to leverage all of our strengths when we are healthy at the core. To be healthy is ultimately not just for our own well-being, but so that we can serve others well.