Strength for the Second Half

This month our wellness focus is a Q and A with Regional Board Member - Scott Harrison. As a former college athlete, Scott still enjoys competition and values the importance of staying active.

Q - Scott, what was your spark, your fundamental driver, motivating you to make desired course corrections in your life to improve your health and wellness?

A - My “overly” competitive nature (or more nicely said, trying to be the best I can be!) has been a key driver to stay on track or, more frequently, to get back on track. Every season of life presents different challenges and opportunities to navigate towards wellness. In some seasons I am just trying to survive and wellness loses its priority! What we consume determines the lives we live so absorbing wellness content (books, magazine, podcasts, etc.) provides fresh content, thinking, and challenges while the use of technology (fitness wristwatch, apps) tracks progress, helping us to create an environment where healthier habits are more likely to emerge, stick around, and create lasting change.

Q - What was your most challenging hurdle to overcome? What is still challenging for you today?

A - Physically, the toll on my body due to athletics earlier in my life has been a challenge, but also being involved with athletics was a blessing as it established my initial engagement with wellness. I continue to focus on improving my wellness but the ongoing challenge for me and many others is limited time. Finding the right balance of investing in myself, my young family, and other priorities is a constant struggle.

Q - What are the “go to” health and wellness habits you have embraced and follow? How do you find that these habits help you?·       

A - My morning routine is critical for me, ideally two hours of “me”, however, if I get an hour of “me” time, I’m content. But it is also hard to turn away a 3-year-old in her PJs wearing a tiara dragging her blanket and a doll asking, “Dad, will you marry me?” Lots of 5:30 am wedding ceremonies in our house these days. I guess just a different form of wellness!?

Q - When was the first time you noticed “results”, a real change in your mindset, capacity, shape, weight, etc…? Especially any unanticipated ‘victories’?

A - Results happen with breakthroughs, usually in response to challenges or pushing yourself to try new things. For me, following bi-lateral hip surgery at age 39, physical therapy opened my eyes to a much healthier workout regime including something called the core, lower body strength, and stretching (oh, and Therabands!). I felt like I got to know my body much better and this put me on a healthier trajectory for the second half (hopefully) of my life. In the current COVID world and driven by my wife’s own wellness journey, she has moved us to a more healthy, clean diet that has resulted in more energy (and hunger). 

Q - Knowing what you now know, what advice would you give to your younger self regarding health and wellness?

A - Relax, wellness is more than three sets of bench presses every time you work out.

Q - In a similar vein, what advice would you offer to people who are just beginning or just expanding their wellness journey?

A - Know who you are (identity), where you want to go (goals) and then create disciplines (habits) and a surrounding (culture) that helps you get there. Understand that your progression may follow a path of Drudgery, then Discipline, and hopefully ending in Delight. Stay the course! Give yourself grace along the way… but don’t quit. Never quit!

DISCLAIMER: THIS EMAIL IS NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. SEEK GUIDANCE FROM YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER TRUSTED HEALTH ADVISOR OR PURSUE FURTHER PERSONAL RESEARCH TO DETERMINE WHAT CHOICES ARE RIGHT FOR YOU.