In February of 2014, I quit smoking for the last time.
Yeah, yeah, I know, what was I doing smoking in the first
place yadayadayada…let’s call it a 5 year long self-destructive phase following
the life-shattering implosion of an extremely long, intense, and, as it turned out, betrayal-filled and toxic
relationship. And I gained 50 pounds in the 2 years after I quit, so I think
I’ve been punished enough.
Anyway, smoking was something I really, really didn’t want
to stop doing. Not only did I enjoy it, but I was also clinging to it as a sort
of statement that I had to do a lot of things for other people, but there was
this one thing I was going to do DESPITE them.
So quitting came not only with a lot of dread attached, but
with the feeling that I didn’t have a lot of great reasons to stop (I should
maybe mention that I was in a low-grade depression for a lot of that
post-breakup time, and “It’s going to kill me” didn’t actually resonate with me
as a reason to give it up back then). So the week before I quit, I wrote a list of 50 reasons that I
WANTED TO (not should) quit, and I read them every day during that awful first
6 weeks to get me through the withdrawal process.
That worked so well that I wrote a similar list the day before
I started #100DaysofHealth. One of the pieces of my morning ritual is to
re-read this list daily. Although I haven’t been seriously tempted to go back
to my old ways so far, I am coming up on day 30 (which is the end of my
no-alcohol no-refined carbs 30 day challenge), and, based on past experience, that’s
potentially a dangerous time when carb creep makes an occasional indulgence a
daily problem.
It occurred to me that I’d never shared this list, so I’m
doing it today. Here goes:
Top
10 reasons to focus on my health
1.
To live with health and vigor into my 2nd
century. I have a lot I want to accomplish, and it’s just going to take a lot
of time. I have to live long, and prosper, to do those things.
2.
Health = energy = ability to work, play,
accomplish tasks on a day to day basis. My health touches my abilities in everything
else
3.
My cholesterol is too high, and that's not safe.
A heart attack or stroke could derail me quickly and permanently, and I don’t
want to be put on drugs that control the cholesterol but slowly kill me in
other ways
4.
For that matter, I don’t want to be on a lot of
drugs with a lot of side effect for other things related to being overweight or bad diet,
either
5.
The best research we have says that the only effective
current intervention for dementia is real food and exercise. Well, and being
social, but one problem at a time. It’s becoming clear that there’s also some
link between high cholesterol and dementia, and diabetes and dementia, and I’m
predisposed to both, so…
6.
I refuse to accept the idea that aches and pains
&tc are normal/ok/expected as we age. I have no intention of feeling
anything except good, no matter how old I get
7.
I complain that I have few friends/acquaintances
who make their health a priority, and yet I am not a friend/acquaintance who
makes health a priority. I can stop being an accomplice and start being a role
model
8.
There are a lot of adventures I still want to
have and most of them involve being able to MOVE. I never want to have to say “I’m
not in good enough shape to [learn to surf/hike Europe/spend a month at yoga
camp…]”
9.
No one
wants to hear about an 80-year old’s great sex life, but I want to be an 80-year
old with a great sex life. That takes 2 things: living to 80 and being able to
attract guys young enough to have hot sex. Or girls, who knows how things might
change in the next 40 years.
10.
Be able to find clothes I like and that look good
on me easily.
Hey, I didn’t say all my reasons were are deep ones.
But they are inspiring to me, and it takes a
great why to do the work to accomplish great things, no matter what great things we're talking about. Agree with them or not, these are mine.
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