Last week, I was watching the movie God’s Not Dead with Dori and Cambri. And, one of the characters said, "It’s not easy. But it’s simple." It really stuck with me, so I wrote it down, and here are my notes about it.
So, what’s the difference between something that is simple and something that is easy?
Simple is defined as “easily understood or done,” while easy is defined as “achieved without great effort.” I started thinking about this in unison with the Health and Wellness section of the Coronavirus Resource Center on our Intranet.
It shows six stress-busting strategies:
Supportive relationships
Exercise daily
Healthy sleep
Nutrition
Mental and behavioral health support
Mindfulness, meditation, prayer
Let’s take a look at two of the six: physical activity and balanced nutrition.
Easy, right? Maybe not. We know if we exercise daily, we’ll feel better. Simple, right? It’s easily understood. But, it’s not easy. It does take great effort.
So, what if we accepted that it wasn’t easy, but tried to make it a little easier?
Instead of saying, “I'm going to workout everyday for an hour,” what if we said, “I’ll take a walk for 20 minutes three times a week or do some jumping jacks before work in the morning”? With this approach, we’re making it easier and more attainable.
Same with nutrition. It seems simple, right? Just eat the right things. I know for me, this is not easy (especially when I drive by In-N-Out or King Taco!).
But, what if we made it a little easier and decided 80% of the time we will eat healthy (whatever your definition of healthy is), and 20% of the time, we can go to In-N-Out or King Taco and not feel any guilt? This is how I started with it, and I’ve gotten up to more of a 90/10. I can tell you; I enjoy In-N-Out or King Taco even more than I ever did.
So, this week, think about your health and wellness. What are some things that are simple but that you could make easier? If you want to talk through it, you know where to find me.
Once again, life is still good!
Jeff