What do we actually give up for our health?

Like many you I felt that I had given up so much in my life in an effort to heal. 

I gave up gluten, dairy and a laundry list of other foods in an effort to heal my gut. 
I made this mean that I had given up on enjoying restaurant meals and social events with friends. 

I gave up my high paced career when my energy was no longer available to sustain this lifestyle. 
I made this mean that I wasn't really the accomplished woman with whom I had so strongly identified for decades.

I gave up on our hopes and dreams of having another child. 
I made this mean that I wasn't going to have the large and lively family gatherings I so envied in others.

I gave up the ability to freely travel as I learned to avoid moldy buildings. 
I made this mean that I was a hindrance to the rest of my family and a roadblock on their path to great adventures.

I gave up traditional household cleaners, toxic skincare products, off-gassing new furniture and countless other harmful everyday "essentials" to protect my fragile body. 
I made this mean that I was living in a bubble.

The thing is, the definition of to "give up" is to cease making an effort; resign oneself to failure. Doing these things in the name of health wasn't actually giving up at all! In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was giving it my best. I was forging ahead with strength and determination. At the time, though, I unfortunately chose to make these lifestyle modifications mean that I was giving up on life.

What was I really giving up on this quest to heal? 

How about the ever-present fear that I was going to catch every cold and flu that crossed my path? Cleaning up my diet ultimately did more than just keep me from lying on the bathroom floor night after night as my gut rejected the foods that were plaguing me. This awareness that foods have the ability to nourish or deplete has led to an immune system that can tackle even the nastiest flu in record time. 

Or the stress that came along with the daily struggle to stay at the top of my career? In retrospect I am eternally grateful to have been "forced" out of that rat race and onto a path that leads me closer and closer to my true purpose in life. 

Maybe I gave up exposure to mold in our home and in some of the places we often traveled as I realized I had become a "canary in a coal mine". This "roadblock" I've become doesn't mean my family can't experience great adventures. They just have the benefit of someone who can sense toxic environments a mile away so that they don't have to suffer from the hidden harmful effects.

What if I've given up potential long-term physiological harm to my children as I've switched to safer cleaning and skincare products? This way of living is not a bubble, but serious diseases created from these toxins down the road would certainly lead to a life much more stifling than a bubble.

I'm not saying these changes are easy. Often there are band-aid approaches that will suffice in the moment so that bigger changes can be set aside for later… so that you don't have to give up on the life that you're comfortable with now. Change is hard. It is. I encourage you to keep taking steps in the right direction, though, toward improving your health. After all, what are you truly giving up by making these changes?

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THIS WEEK: Consider reframing your perspective on the changes you've made in the midst of illness. What are you truly giving up in your quest to heal?

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