I almost named this:
“Why doing everything wrong is the best thing that could ever happen to you, for you & for your health.”
But that was too long.
Besides, I wanted to find an excuse to use the word “face-plant”.
So why is a face-plant a good thing? Why would I think physical harm is the best thing that could ever happen to you?
First I’ll give you the simplest answer- because you’ll always learn a valuable lesson & make a more intelligent & informed decision after-wards.
Well, hopefully.
Let me give you an example.
On the stove is a hot frying pan. You know it’s hot. You can smell that its hot. You can almost see that its hot but yet, you try to pick it up anyway.
What happens?
You get burned & hopefully you’ve learned an important lesson.
Play with fire (the hot frying pan) & you’ll get burned.
But I promise you that you’ll always remember getting burned. And you’ll probably think twice before you reach for any frying pan sitting on the stove in the future.
Why is this important to you & to your health?
(See, I am working towards a point here.)
This is important because sometimes- most times- you need to make all the mistakes so that you can learn what actually works for you.
You can screw up so badly that you get laughed at, teased or mocked & I still think that it’ll be some of the most valuable teaching moments for you.
You can fall, trip up & go off the wagon for hours, days, months or years & still come out a much better person & a healthier one at that than if you never strayed off the safe path.
Let me be clear, I’m not saying that you should be dangerous or reckless but rather that you shouldn’t be afraid to open yourself up to new opportunities, new challenges & most definitely the chance to make a complete fool of yourself.
People may not always understand why you’ll need to push the envelope a little. They may never understand why you won’t be able to “just take their word for it”, but you’ll know that you’ll need to do it anyway.
So go ahead & try out that foul smelling food, drink or concoction. Try on some weird & off the beaten path hippie-dippie habits. Drop yourself off at an Ashram & take a month-long vow of silence. Commune with nature & not shower for a week.
Do something different & a little “crazy” for you.
Even if you fail & fall flat on your face, you’ve still won.
You’ll find one more thing to either cross off the list because it doesn’t work for you OR you’ll find something that makes your life better, that makes you happier & healthier & that you wonder how you ever lived without.
Life is an incredible journey & one in which we cannot be afraid to take risks, to try something new & chance it that we might just fail.
But that is where the beauty is, where the magic exists & where our best health lies- in the unknown.
So go on, take the chance.
You may fall flat on your face but I promise that you’ll never regret it.
I’ve never regretted it & I’m a wiz at making a fool of myself but I’ve never been happier or healthier.
What do you have to lose?
