Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

February: the month of love

February 08, 2018 | Local News

Guest Columnist Dr. Caroline Creager, PT, DPT

The Surveyor

February is universally known as the month of love. As most of us have figured out, love involves more than a box of chocolates and a bunch of roses.

No two people agree completely on the definition of love. Perhaps that is why the ancient Greeks had many different words for love, depending upon just exactly what kind of love and the degree of love someone desires to express.

We generally know, in order to show love for our friends and family we need to be aware of what they want, need or expect from us. Of course we need to make sure we are not damaging them by supporting poor decisions, either figuratively or literally feeding into wants or habits that are going to have a negative impact in the long run.

This applies to how we treat ourselves as well as how we interact with each other. Many of us promised ourselves we would become healthier in 2018. How many of us have supported ourselves in that goal?

Have we kept to our eating and exercise goals? Have we sought help if we find it just too difficult to accomplish those goals by ourselves? Are we just trying to accomplish health goals by redoing the same things that haven’t worked before?

It may be time to challenge yourself with the same respect you show your family and friends when they are trying to accomplish goals. Those same friends and family may also be willing to become a support system for you if you share some of your struggles with them.

Studies have shown if we share a personal goal with at least one person who will be willing to hold us accountable as well as encourage us, our chances of success will usually greatly increase. That doesn’t mean we need to declare our intentions on social media. It just means we know we have someone in our corner who is willing to help us when the going gets tough, as well as share in our victories.

Naturally, the benefits of actively taking charge of our physical health become obvious in our energy levels as well as improved appearance. One of the best side effects of taking charge of our health is our new-found self-control will often spill over into other areas of our lives.

It is not unusual to hear someone share they have made time to do projects that have been long ignored. They may have used this new self-control to set even more goals for their personal health or fitness they would have only dreamed about before they took control.

The old adage that you can’t be there for your family and friends unless you are first there for yourself has stood the test of time, because there is no escaping that truth.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

 

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