Most of us approach our health - and our lives - reactively. Almost all hospital and clinic visits are in response to a problem: an accidental injury, worrisome symptoms or disease out of control.
Yet most of us recognize that a planned, proactive approach to our health would be better. In addition to recognizing and addressing our personal health risks based on personal and family history and age, those of us with chronic health conditions can work with our health care team to master selfmanagement.
Likewise, a mindful approach can help us better manage the rest of our lives.
What are you are doing at this moment - and why? What meaning or purpose underlies your actions?
If what you are doing is automatic, reactive and done without attention or reflection, attend to the present, acknowledging your emotions, your thoughts and your actions.
Are your actions aligned with your thoughts and feelings? Ask yourself, "Is what I am doing bringing me closer to or further from my highest values and greatest goals, closer or further from my true self?"
We all fall into autopilot, acting without thinking and falling into mindless routine. We can also move reactively one detour at a time until we find ourselves far from where we intended to be.
How did we get here? Were our actions motivated by a reactive way of thinking or were we carried by our emotions?
We are ultimately judged by our actions though they often don't reflect who we really are. But if we align our actions throughout each day with our moral compasses, we can be comforted that we acted according to our highest motivations.
We don't choose the circumstances of our lives and we cannot dictate the outcome of our efforts, but we can choose how we will act - how we respond to our world and in which direction we will grow.
Just as our emotional states and our concerns can be tempered with the perspective of time - your whole lifetime, our actions each day may be tempered and redirected by the perspective of our highest values. The world is ever changing and we are perpetually moving closer or further.
Consider what you are doing in the important areas of your life, including your relationships, home life, work and health.
Are your actions in each aligned with your goals and values? If not, why?
Life, because it is ever changing, requires frequent rebalancing and realignment in order to stay on course. Your health requires these regular pulse checks and attention to mindful action.
For more on mindfulness meditation, read my posts at davidicuswong. wordpress.com.
Dr. Davidicus Wong is a physician and writer. His Healthwise column appears regularly in this paper.
