5 Things That Will Pay Off in Five Years

First we have to start with the basics.

TAKE CARE OF YOU. Women learn very early to take of their children, their husband, their house, their family and their friends. Think about where you are in your personal priority list. Are you #1? If you are not, you should be. You learn this lesson from the safety instructions on airplanes. Put on your oxygen mask FIRST and then help others around you. If you don’t take care of you, you will NOT be able to take care of others. Sure, you can fake it for a while but as physician in women’s health, you will eventually make it to my office and reprioritizing your life will be our first order of business.

So take care of you, what does that mean exactly?

Let’s start with the simple stuff. Go see your doctor and get a check-up. See what you need to be working to correct. STOP SMOKING. Get a baseline check-up and ensure you can start an exercise program.

GO EXERCISE. Yes, my friends exercise. EVERY DAY. You want to see a difference. Make it every day. This is the time for YOU. Put your exercise in front of EVERYTHING else. Make it your JOB. Exercise is the best medicine that I can give you. It will work wonders on your physical body and emotional and sexual wellbeing. There is saying that “Food is the most abused anti-anxiety drug and exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant” Exercise will decrease fatigue, improve sexuality, and boast your self-confidence. This is your GIFT to you

LIFT WEIGHTS. 2-3 days a week of lifting weights. Why weights? First, like it or not, as women we are getting weaker, everyday. We generally don’t lift things to maintain our strength, so we get weaker every day. Lifting weights (to fatigue) is great for your bones and tendons. It strengthens the connections of the muscles to the bones increasing your coordination and makes your bones stronger preventing osteoporosis. Lift Weights, Ladies! REALLY!

CARE! You cannot hide from you. So if you cheat on exercise, food or whatever, you know. Care about whether you made it to the gym. Care about not taking time for you. Care about your health and your physical wellbeing. You are really the only one who it really matters too. If YOU don’t care, eventually no one else will either. It is your responsibility to care about you!

CONNECT. Connect with others. We are social creatures. You need to have a rich social network of friends and family. Make an effort to connect with others on a regular basis. Hopefully doing something active! Go for a walk with someone. Connect with others at work, at church or at school.

COMMIT. Commit to something that moves you. What are you passionate about? What really excites you? Find a way to put that passion in your life on a regular basis. This can be hard to identify sometimes. Jot down things that make you unhappy and things that really make your day. Pay attention to the things that make your day. How can you make them happen more often? If exercise makes you unhappy, do it anyway! I promise you will eventually appreciate it! Remember to make time for your passion.

As we age, we forget about ourselves. This can be a real problem as women move thru different stages of their lives. You can prevent this stalling of your life if you make sure that your make time for you everyday!

I highly recommend the book “Younger Next Year for Women” for women over 40 years old. It goes into each these concepts in greater detail and will help you incorporate this into your life.