Training for Life: Part 2

The actual spot this story took place. And be sure to read to the end for a special offer!

Contrary to what you might think I don’t spend all my free time sitting on docks critiquing people’s behavior. But it is summer and who doesn’t want to be near water? Moreover, who doesn’t enjoy people watching on someone else’s dock! {Training for Life: Part 1}

If this blog comes off as judgmental, that is not my intent. My intent is to illustrate a point, and this particular incident told the story better than I have ever been able. So read on!

So there I was… sitting on the dock in McCall with Mrs. Swaim, in the chairs provided by The Shore Lodge, not trespassing but enjoying the amenities, nonetheless. I had just finished a delightful Mt. bike ride and was feeling very refreshed after a short swim in Payette Lake. Mrs. Swaim likes this spot and so do I because there is a swim ladder that you can use to get out of the lake and back onto the dock without swimming to the shore. Very convenient. We were chatting away, having a little coffee, enjoying the morning sun.

Until…

Until these two rough cut characters came down to the dock. I could tell they were annoyed because we beat them to their spot. I had seen them in this place before. But now we had it, and we weren’t leaving. The dock makes a big left hand turn right where we were sitting and there are more chairs 40 feet away. So, they plopped their stuff into the other chairs and then came back and stood in front of us, toes hanging over the dock’s edge, getting ready to jump in. It’s a big dock; there was no need for this.

And then…

And then one guy says to the other, “The water isn’t any better over here.” “No, it isn't," the other agreed. So, there they stand two feet away from us, discussing the water quality.

Let me see if I can give you a visual of these two characters. Long, saggy board shorts that went past their knees. Way too much sun. Bushy beards. Mussed hair. Tattoos. No shirts. Sort of like they had a mashup in a back alley of McCall 12 hours earlier and were just waking up, and badly in need of a bath. Smoking. Physically unfit for guys their age. Maybe not able to pass the Jr. high sit-up requirement. By all appearances, not two guys you would suspect are concerned about their health or the water quality. (I know I’m assuming a lot here but bear with me)

But are you with me? These were not two gentlemen from the EPA discussing water quality. They were just a couple of guys washing off last night and discussing water quality! (Mrs. Swaim did comment that they must have been plumbers, based on the amount of butt crack they were willing to share! Did I mention they were two feet right in front of us?)

There was a big disconnect somewhere in their appearance and their discussion of water quality, seemingly being one of their top 10 health concerns.

Now granted there was a visible sheen on the surface of the lake. But you could still see clearly to the bottom. It looked more like people washed off suntan lotion than gas and oil. There was no rainbow color like you see when water and motor oil meet. It seemed harmless to me; I had already been in it.

“The water feels great,” I said, “and yeah, I noticed a little film on the top.”

Crickets.

So, they lower their “standards” and dive in and splash us a little. No problem, just lame. As I said it is a pretty good-sized dock, you can jump in at a lot of points.

Well, I think to myself, are these guys, who don’t appear to care all that much about what they put INTO their bodies, really concerned about what gets ON their bodies? The irony was just too delicious!

Here is what I am getting at.

Does it really matter what goes on the outside of your body if you don’t bother protecting the internal parts? It seems like a strange thing to focus on, the externals, when so many other more important facets of wellbeing appear to be neglected.

Like exercise. And sleep. And diet. And hydration. You know the list. It seemed these guys probably had bigger fish to fry than worrying over the water quality. I get it, swimming in raw sewage is not advisable. But Payette Lake is not that. It’s pretty dang clear.

This is one of those deals where the forest is lost for the trees. Picking your health and wellness battles requires some priorities, and occasionally consulting the big picture. And the big picture is pretty simple.

Like maybe quit smoking. Or maybe get some exercise. Or maybe go to bed earlier.

The last time I wrote about engaging the environment, (see link 1st paragraph) I implored you all to work on your adaptive skills. Don’t hide from the environment. Get used to it. Do the things that build your adaptive capacity. Things we all already know. Things that build the internal environment so that we can adapt to the external environment. Stop hiding from the outside world and start engaging it. But really do the work of cleaning up your habits so that you can.

Don’t lose sight of the basics. No matter what is trending on social media, don’t miss the basics.

Drink some water.

Learn to breathe properly. We can help with this, in the office. {Also, see the two book reviews on breathing: Breath and The Oxygen Advantage}

Clean up your diet. Eat protein forward. Supplement accordingly.

Join a gym.

Figure out how to sleep well or what keeps you from it.

Guard what you put in your mind, it affects everything. (Be informed, but not overly!)

Next time you are finding yourself hiding from the environment, think about why or where you are losing the ability to adapt and what you can do to increase your adaptive capacity. Adaptation is crucial to your wellness, cultivate it regularly by working on the basics.

Spend time training yourself to adapt to the environment that you cannot control. And work on the internals that you can control. Work on the basics regularly.

And again, there is no condemnation of these two young men. I regularly lose sight of the basics. But I know if I spend more time focusing on the externals than internals, that my priorities are out of whack. Let this serve as a reminder that the basics, the internals, are never out of fashion and that they will serve you well in the long run. Particularly with the recent air quality situation.

If you are having trouble identifying where to get started or how to get reacquainted with the basics, let us know, we are here to help.

Cheers,
Dr. Swaim

PS- All this month Abbey is doing nutritional consultations for $49 instead of $79. Get your supplementation correct and stop taking 50 supplements!