Writers live full and demanding lives. Let’s become more focused and productive with my unscientific version of Repeal and Replace!
Repeal: Exhaustion.
Replace: Go to bed earlier. Even fifteen minutes can help. If you like how you feel, shave off a few more minutes until you find that perfect bedtime. The more often enough rest helps you be vibrant the next day, the more you realize how little you need to care about late night comedy shows.
Repeal: Coffee addiction.
Replace: Getting enough rest will help you relish that cup of coffee. There’s a huge difference between “I’ll fall asleep right on the floor and/or kill someone if I don’t have coffee now!” and “I’d love to enjoy a cup of coffee on this beautiful morning.”
Repeal: Sickness.
Replace: Keep up with wellness visits. Many illnesses, such as diabetes and some cancers, have few or no early symptoms.
Young people need wellness visits, too, partly because as a group, Gen Xers and Millenials are at increased risk for colon cancer.
The earlier you catch any problem, the easier it is to address. Even better, vaccinations for adults, such as for Shingles, are now available. Yes, I’ve had mine.
Too expensive? It’s cheaper to go for checkups now than to stop everything to cure illness later. For instance, get symptom-free high blood pressure and cholesterol under control now to prevent a heart attack, which could require costly treatment, including surgery.
Don’t have time? If you think you’re too busy to go to the doctor today, imagine how much more intrusive to your life – and your family’s – it would be to drop everything for emergency surgery at an unspecified future date. To follow up after a heart attack, you’ll likely be under the care of yet another doctor, (a cardiologist), and self-care afterwards is time-consuming. Not to mention the emotional toll a close call with death will take on you and those you love.
Some illnesses, such as diabetes, affect other organs. Left untreated for diabetes, you’ll likely end up learning about other doctors, such as a nephrologist. Ordering “diabetic” shoes takes weeks and requires several appointments with yet another doctor. So now you have to visit at least three doctors.
So are you sure you don’t have time today?
Consider the following wellness visits:
Primary care physician: Overall health. Please see this doctor as a minimum.
Dentist: Prevent tooth decay, pain, and gum disease. (Don’t let fear keep you away from the dentist for forty years, as it has one of my acquaintances. Trust me, novacaine needles have gotten WAY smaller than they were decades ago.)
Gynocologist: Some women’s ailments are symptom-free at first. I have convinced many of the women in my life to get the newer 3D mammograms.
Eye doctor: Not only do you want to keep your vision in check, but issues such as glaucoma are best caught early. Some people develop cataracts in their forties.
Dermotologist: See this doctor especially if you spend a lot of time in the sun, or did as a teenager. I’m happy indoors all year long, but I go anyway.
Repeal: Too many demands.
Replace: Learn the word, “No.” That’s right. Let this wonderful one-syllable word fall right from your lips. Use it to avoid activities and obligations that are not necessary and are not your passion or priority. This includes church activities. And yes, you can even decline a request from the pastor, no matter how worthy.
Repeal: Lack of balance.
Replace: Take time for yourself. Even a little each day will help. Find “your” place. This could be a chair in a corner, or maybe you have space to set up a home altar you can view as you think and pray. Even if you can only find ten minutes, stick with it. You need time to collect your thoughts and bring matters to the Lord.
Your turn:
What do you want to repeal and replace in your life?
What tips can you offer to help live out priorities and passions?
