6 Life Lessons from A Health Course Instructor
How you live depends on your health; your health dictates how you live.
BACKGROUND/CONTEXT: Since September, I have been working as a course instructor for university students in Norway. The course allows students to receive introductory, research-based education and guidance within a range of mental and physical health topics/areas (incl. emotions, mindfulness, exercise, and nutrition). Our aim is to facilitate well-being and inspire students to create and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
I refrain from sharing any information that is private or sensitive that pertains to our participants. The lessons below are a reflection of the course material and my personal experiences as a health course instructor. I thank my colleagues and SiO Helse for granting me the opportunity to learn and embrace these lessons.
1: There are more than just one way to be healthy
Our image of healthiness consists of vegetables, gyms, and perfect sleep.
But while we should all eat our greens and exercise regularly, the same health habit may work in different variations for different people. Lifting weights and sleeping from 12 to 8 will be ideal for some, whereas running and taking mid-day naps is what is best for others. Being healthy is not just about molding your life around health tips and recommendations, but also about adjusting these tips to your unique needs, desires, and routines.
Healthiness comes from the compounded effects of your personal habits — your lifestyle — and no lifestyle can perfectly replicate a universal template.
2: Health is about maintaining a balance
Balance is key.
You cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle if you work out without rest days (speaking from experience). You cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle if you never consume the nutrients you need (again, speaking from experience). You cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle if you work without ever taking a break (once more, speaking from experience).
Your health habits and routines should be maintainable over the long run.
3: New things become less scary if you just jump into them
Trying new things is scary, because comfort zones are hard to breach.
But discomfort, fear, and doubt can only hold you back if you let them. And if you do the scary thing before you let these feelings stop you, you may end up realizing how undangerous the new thing actually is. Strength training sure looks intimidating when you let your mind wander over all the tools you’ve never used and the exercises you’ve never done, but if you just try and do, you might realize that your fears and doubts are exaggerated.
When the scary thing turns into a harmless thing, it might even turn fun.
4: It is more rewarding to meet people with an open mind
We are not so different from other people as we often think we are.
Of course, if we look for differences between ourselves and the people we encounter, flaws and incompatibilities are inevitably what we will find. But if we maintain an open mind (by casting our premature assumptions aside and choosing to listen), we make room for kindness, understanding, and connection. Suddenly, a conversation that would otherwise be dull or insignificant or even hostile, becomes a source of mutual happiness — maybe even friendship.
When you look for ways to understand — because of commonalities and in spite of differences — you get much more out of an interaction.
5: Gratitude goes a long way
We tend to focus more on what we are lacking than on what we have.
Although we should be mindful of the things we still need and want in life, it is equally important to be mindful of the positive things we already have. When we give attention to both what is present and what is missing, we get a more balanced view on our lives. After all, if we strive to achieve, obtain, and earn all throughout our lives without ever recognizing what we have achieved, obtained, and earned, will we even be able to appreciate the value of our new achievements when we finally reach them?
Gratitude is a simple exercise, but it can have tremendous benefits.
6: There are always reasons to be proud of yourself
None of us are perfect; and no journey to improvement is ever complete.
Even so, while you are a work in progress, you are not a blank slate. You have lived moments and years, and you have made countless decisions and taken countless actions, some of which are, inevitably, signs of goodness or betterment. Whether it is the fact that you made it out of the house or that you successfully started your own business, you have reasons to be proud of yourself — and it can be helpful to remind yourself of these reasons, not just for encouragement’s sake but also to not become lost in (and, thus, a victim of) your shortcomings.
You still have a long way to go, but you have already walked some of it.
And to acknowledge that will make it easier to keep going.
