Food For Thought Thursday: Life is Not Measured By the Numbers

We’ve become number obsessed with most everything in our culture.

1. How much money we make

2. How old we are

3. How much we weigh

4. How well our device told us we slept

5. How many calories we burned

We’ve forgotten that the real and deep goodness of life isn’t measured by numbers. Numbers tell a VERY SMALL PART of the real and deep goodness of your health and vitality.

We miss an entire set of things that actually bring satisfaction and pleasure, which contribute to lasting and meaningful health outcomes like:

1. Are you having social connection that is nourishing to your heart and soul

2. Are you engaged in work, raising kids or a hobby that lights you up and has you feel full of purpose

3. Do you have a sex life that you really enjoy

4. Do you have coping mechanisms that allow you to handle stress and anxiety effectively

5. Are you well rested and sleeping easily

6. Are you eating in a way that feels easy and pleasurable

I could go on and on and on.  I could also tell you how all of these things have been shown to reduce high blood pressure, improve neural functioning, decrease depression rates, etc etc etc.  My point is that that things that really build health aren’t things that can be measured by mere numbers.  They all require an honest and subjective take on whether or not you’re really enjoying your life, caring for yourself holistically and approaching your life not as a number to be managed but by a genuine connection to that which has you FEEL GOOD mind body and soul.