Everyone can relate to the kid in the back seat of a long car ride, throwing his or her head back, sighing deeply, and asking (often for the 7th, 8th, or 15th time)… How much longer? I think anyone reading this can relate, as either the parent that has heard it over and over, or as the kid doing the whining.
The truth is that we, as humans, are simply impatient. My guess is our ancestors were much better with tolerating waiting in general, as the world moved slower back then. And with inventions like the automobile, microwaves, drive-throughs, and now cell phones and companies like Amazon, we want everything RIGHT NOW!
That’s not how true health and wellness works. Building health takes time. There’s a process required for healing to occur. We can provide the building blocks needed through the nutrition we consume. We can optimize the speed of recovery by getting high-quality, deep sleep. We can maximize the body’s healing time by eliminating or managing our response to the stressors in our life. Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and moving our bodies daily oxygenates our system, stimulates hormone production, and boosts the immune system, enhancing our ability to grow and recover.
So, there are things we can do to maximize, optimize, enhance, and speed our healing and recovery time. A portion of it is in our control. But no matter what we do, how much we do, or how good we do it, the one component of the equation… time… cannot be bypassed or eliminated. All natural processes take time.
When the fields were planted by our ancestors in the spring, it would have been not just futile to dig those seeds up every few days to see if there was growth, it would have been detrimental. We know that seeds getting planted in the spring require the summer to grow. And we know that the harvest happens in the late summer/fall. It doesn’t take hours, days, or weeks… it takes months. That’s how nature works. Our ancestors planted the seeds, tended to their gardens and fields by fertilizing, watering, and weeding. It took hard work… and it took time.
Once the harvest was reaped, it wasn’t over. They had to turn over the soil, prepare it for the next season, and once spring hit, they had to do it all over again. That’s the other thing about human health and wellness. It’s ongoing. To be fully well, to maintain strength and vitality, and to continue to live fully, you have to work at it daily. How many days? All the days of your lives.
You don’t just get well and stay there. It requires ongoing effort and work. Instead of getting frustrated or discouraged by that, get empowered and excited. It is never-ending. It never stops.
How long will you put fuel in your car (or plug it up to a charger)? As long as you want to keep driving. How long will you go to the dentist? As long as you want to maintain strong teeth. How long will you express love and appreciation for your spouse, family, and friends? As long as you want to engage in deep, meaningful, and fulfilling relationships. How long will you exercise and eat well? As long as you want to remain fit, strong, and in good shape.
Wellness endeavors require time and are ongoing. It’s a process, not a destination. Most patients that I see initially come in with health problems that require more intensive and frequent visits. Once feeling and functioning better, we move them to a maintenance program. Eighty percent of the patients that I see on any given day come in without pain and feeling good. The once-a-month, twice-a month, or weekly visits keep them well, help to prevent relapses, and continue to maximize their move forward. When do we stop? Never! Why? Because wellness is ongoing. Why? Because we lift, bend, twist, cook, clean, and work. We have slips, falls, stress, gravity, and the process of aging working against us. The activities and forces are there every day and will be continue to be there. Therefore, wellness strategies must continue. Exercise, yoga, Pilates, chiropractic care, massage, acupuncture, therapy, dentistry, prayer, stretching, goal-setting, and time management are all ongoing. They all require time, often more initially, and are all things to be done over your lifetime. So, if you’re asking “how much longer,” the answer is… as long as you want to remain fully well… or better put… for the rest of your life!