Month 2: Physical Health

While last month's resolutions and habits are still an active area of growth and striving, this month I'm adding a new set relating to physical health. I'm not looking to eat eye of newt or unlock a chakra I never knew I had. What I need isn't the latest wellness trend peddled by some Silicon Valley executive who subsists on air and venture capital—it's the fundamentals.

Nutrition. Sleep. Exercise.

That's it.

I generally eat healthy food, but I lack in variety, which ultimately means that I still lack in nutrition. It seems that man shall not live on yoghurt alone... Even when made with raw milk, no sugar, and infused with enough probiotics to colonize a small intestinal planet. I'm committing to incorporating more protein into my meals and consistently taking vitamins because, truth be told, I’m getting a little tired of my body sending those passive aggressive signals like, "How about you try on a cold in May" and "why does your knee sound like that?"

While a sleep researcher may not weep into their clipboard at the sight of my sleep hygiene, I naturally love sleep and want it to be better. The vision I'm working toward is simple: falling asleep within fifteen minutes of lying in bed, feeling rested, and waking up at a regular time without an alarm. Yet there I am, night after night, pouring blue light into my eyes as I get wrapped up in coding work late into the evening, apparently under the impression that my retinas are solar panels. "Just one more bug fix," I tell myself at 10pm, as if the code will achieve sentience and flee to the Bahamas if not debugged immediately. At least I no longer have YouTube on my phone to tempt me while in bed.

When it comes to exercise, I can't even pretend. I used to be a gymnast. For thirteen years. But for the past decade, my exercise regimen has consisted primarily of mental gymnastics and the occasional weightlifting of a backpack. I'm willing to exercise when the act itself is fun; when I can do a flip, see the view from the summit of a mountain, or look down a rockface I just sent. Weight training, running, any sort of cardio machine... they bore me with the intensity of a tax audit, and I can never stick to them.

However, it is frankly embarrassing to be twenty-seven and so out of shape that I get winded during particularly enthusiastic typing. I'm thin, yes. But many days I hardly move from behind my computer, to the point where my chair and I are considering filing for common-law marriage. My body, once capable of back handsprings, now audibly creaks and pops when I walk.

I want to build back enough strength and endurance to play pick-up soccer, go on challenging hikes, and do all those fun activities while actually enjoying them instead of experiencing what feels like an imminent cardiac event with each modest incline.

This month's focus isn't just about physical health—it's also about energy and vitality, or at least the distant memory of what those felt like. In a way, it's addressing the "hurry idol" I began to challenge last month (who, like all false gods, continues to demand sacrifices despite my apostasy). While exercising, sleeping, and being well-nourished will take up new blocks of time in my schedule, I expect they'll allow me to be more efficient and energetic during both my work and rest. Getting more done better so that I can rest more and better too? That doesn't sound half bad. Implausible, perhaps, but not half bad.