We are born to move! The American College of Lifestyle Medicine is having a Move in May challenge. It got me thinking about a few things.
At one of my med school interviews, the interviewer was disappointed in my GPA. Since my GPA wasn’t ideal, he suggested that I should have quit the swim team to dedicate myself to my studies. I protested the stupidity of that notion.
But you know what happened? When med school got really tough, I sacrificed everything to my studies. And you know what happened? I gained 60 pounds and got lonely!
Now that’s crazy! By the end of residency, I took corrective action. I joined a run group. The improved physical fitness was great, and even more important was the friendships and social support I gained.
This story highlights three truths of well-being and health.
First, we tend to do what our social group does. Social isolation isn’t good for our mental health or physical health. My encouragement is that you purposefully nurture social interactions.
Second, we know from the Blue Zones that people who live a long time with good health tend to adopt habits that keep them moving and active. They tend to do those activities with other people.
Third, people like to give us a lot of opinions about how things should be done. Those opinions are not always correct. My encouragement is not to accept judgemental, negative ideas. Instead, believe that better is possible.
This picture is from South Sister. I climbed almost to the top in 2021. When I didn’t quite make it, I planned to go back to the summit. Well, I’m not sure if or when that will happen. What I do know is that it is most likely to happen if I seek some expert help, surround myself with supportive people and keep on moving.
Keep on moving!
-Dr. Joe
