Okay, you might not want to hear it, but I have a foolproof way to get better after divorce. It’s guaranteed. It’s scientifically and psychologically proven. The simple question is, will you do it? You probably already know what it is, but you refuse for some reason. You still refuse to do what will make you better after divorce.
What is “it”? It’s moving your body. That’s it. I think the comedienne Rita Rudner summarizes our thinking: “I don’t think jogging is healthy, especially morning jogging. If morning joggers knew how tempting they looked to morning motorists, they would stay home and do sit-ups.”
Haven’t you seen those people out on the road jogging and you both admire them and are vaguely (or openly) irritated at them. They are doing what you know you should be doing. They are taking care of their body and most of them look good. Some may be just getting started and still have a ways to go, but at least they have the discipline to get out there.
It’s like Sally Fields used to say in her commercials about strong bones, “This is the only body I’ve got …” That’s true and when we understand that and take care of ourselves, everything else goes better. When we eat right and drink enough water and get enough exercise, we get on that wheel of looking better and feeling better, too. We feel better when we look better and we look better when we feel better. And we feel more confident which is the most attractive trait to all people … male and female.
I always feel better after I do anything physical. I feel stronger and more powerful and more in control of my self and my life. One of my Dad’s friends told me that “If I had known then what I know now, I would have taken better care of myself.”
The truth: moving our body regularly has been proven to lift depression and make us feel more optimistic. Some things in divorce are hard to do. But every single one of us can walk someplace today. Even if it’s just to the corner and back. Each of us can start where we are and make the choice to put one foot in front of the other and walk as briskly as we can somewhere. Or we can get some cans out of the pantry and lift them up and down while we watch the news. Or we can challenge a friend to join us or get a membership in a gym.
Other stuff of divorce takes thinking and decision-making and confronting or moving or whatever. Moving our body doesn’t take any thinking. We just have to decide to do it and the benefits if we do it regularly are guaranteed. Our body gets stronger and that makes us feel better. Period.
Instead of running over the next jogger you see, drive home and put on your own shoes and at least get your own body doing something. Remember, it’s guaranteed to make you better.
“… God is strong and he wants you strong.” Ephesians 6:10 (The Message)
