Vitality

By Mai Lee

We Listen and We Don’t Judge

After 21 years in the Army, I never got the hang of working out. It was mandatory every morning at 6:30 am. The American flag would go up the flagpole, we would salute, and then everyone would work out. We listen and we don’t judge.

I would skip working out if I had a ton of work to finish. This is frowned upon and not ideal. Physical fitness is a cornerstone of the military. We listen and we don’t judge.

I love good food and have a huge sweet tooth. This would lead me to overeating. We listen and we don’t judge.

I hesitate to write on this topic because I fail often in this area that generates vitality in life. Intelligently, I know the importance of eating healthy. I know the difference between cardio and muscular endurance. I am aware of the science that supports healthy habits… and… yet… consistently showing up is the LAST thing I want to do. How much throughout this blog can you relate?

I retired a year ago and I have been sleeping in. I found that I was bone tired from the lifestyle that I was living. Early mornings, 12-18 hour work days, extra responsibilities—all while balancing my family roles, social expectations, and trying to maintain my health and wellbeing. Anyone else?

Healthy living is soooooo (sarcasm) important. Ok, ok, we all know it is important, but sometimes it sucks. Let’s be honest, another list of things to do is the last thing we want. What we want is a life of happiness, ease, success, fulfillment, joy, and vitality. “Vitality?” you ask? “Why did you use that word twice?” Vitality refers to having energy and being vigorous and active. It describes a person’s ability to live, grow, and develop.

Was I Creating Vitality?

Was I creating vitality in my life to stay healthy and engage with strength, endurance, and energy? Was I living in vitality, or was I living in survival? Crap, that hits home. The military provided structure and mandated some healthy habits, but in hindsight, I didn’t choose the habits and I didn’t incorporate them into my identity. My habits were dictated to me for two decades. Now, I have the power of making my own choices and owning my own habits. And I choose vitality.

How I Am Choosing Vitality

Starting Small

I’m starting small right now. Because small wins over time are BIG. I am working on creating and generating vitality by waking up at the same time, getting direct sunlight into my eyes, and walking my Corgi, Wynnie. This is my bare minimum. I am incorporating 10 minutes on the elliptical OR 10 minutes of weights. 10 minutes? Listen, I used to run—I’ve done 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons. My ego had a difficult time comparing past me to present me. My desire is to re-incorporate fitness into my life—my way.

Adding, Not Subtracting

I am adding vegetables into my meals. Currently, I am not counting calories or macros. I am not weighing food. I am not reducing my intake. I am adding veggies, fiber, and/or protein—sometimes only one of three, other times all three. I still snack (I just finished two of Trader Joe’s chocolate-covered marshmallows). I am noticing what foods make me feel more energetic. I know that corn makes me sleepy (lethargic), that cow’s milk bloats my stomach, and that when I eat sugar, I crave more sugar.

Journaling

I’m journaling. I am intentional with setting up my day and my thoughts (mindset). Now that time is mine, I am working to figure out what to do with it. At first, I had no structure, and I thought, “What a life! I can do whatever I want.” I quickly fell into binge-watching Love is Blind and making an indentation on my sofa. Now I review my calendar and set up my intentions and goals for the day. How do I want to feel during the day/time/event? What is my intention?

Better Sleep Habits

End of day is when I scroll on social media. It is a habit that I have been working on reducing. At the beginning, it offers me a bit of entertainment and a bit of distraction, but as it carries from minutes to hours, it quickly becomes a waste of energy, time, and fulfillment. Apple’s feature of tallying my social media consumption made me gasp and spurred the desire to reduce my intake and not stay up late scrolling. We know how important sleep is, and social media kept me scrolling well into my sleep hours, also directly impacting the next morning.

Building Systems for Vitality

My identity is what I choose to make it. I want it to be authentic. I want to be consistent. I want to lean into hard things and show up in Life’s Arena. I am building systems in my daily life that support those goals. Nutrition, fitness, sleep, and journaling provide an increase in my vitality, which then provides growth and development through continued self-empowerment. I create small, achievable wins. I focus on consistency, not perfection. I make it easy—10 minutes, timers, adding not just subtracting—and set the day up for success with structure.

Encouraging Rest

Finally, I want to encourage you all to make time and sleep in! The act and defiance of sleeping in is tremendous and has helped heal my bone tiredness as I shift to a life of vitality.