What My Very Strange Dream Reminded Me...

Last night I had the strangest dream.

I was hiding out in Canada for some reason, apparently on the run from the law - which is beside the point. 😂

Then it started to rain.

And it didn’t just rain a little. It rained and rained and rained until the flooding got so bad that the entire city needed to evacuate.

So my family decided we were going to head south and try Mexico instead.

There was just one problem.

I could NOT get organized.

I had no idea what we needed to take, what we could leave behind, or what we might need if we never made it back. The danger level kept rising, the pressure kept building, and the harder I tried to figure out what to do, the harder it became to concentrate.

And somewhere in the middle of my dream panic, I thought:

If I had just been prepared and had a “go bag” ready, this would be so much easier.

Now, thankfully, most of us aren't going to find ourselves fleeing a flooded Canadian city in the middle of the night.

But there’s a reason the scouting motto is “Be Prepared.”

When you’re out in the wilderness, you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. Weather can change. Plans can change. Something unexpected can happen.

And, being prepared doesn’t mean you expect disaster.

It means you’ve made some decisions ahead of time so that when something does happen, you can respond instead of panic.

And honestly?

Life works the same way.

We are really good at putting things off.

We tell ourselves we’ll figure it out later. We’ll start Monday. We’ll workout when we have more time. We’ll eat better when things settle down.

And sometimes, when “later” arrives, we’re tired, hungry, stressed, running late or completely overwhelmed.

That’s when making the best choice becomes much harder.

A little preparation can change that.

If you have food in the house and a rough meal plan for the week, you’re much less likely to find yourself staring into the refrigerator at 7:00 pm with no idea what to eat.

If you have a packed lunch, you’re less likely to reach 2:00 pm having had nothing since breakfast and suddenly find yourself eating whatever is closest because you’re starving.

If you have a contingency plan for travel, social events or those nights when your schedule goes completely sideways, you don't have to rely on willpower in the moment.

And movement works the same way.

Laying your workout clothes out the night before removes one more decision from your morning and makes getting to the gym a little easier.

Having a workout plan means you know what you’re doing when you get there instead of wandering around wondering which machine looks like it might be useful.

And having a program that actually progresses your training, balances effort with recovery and meets your body where it is makes it much more likely that all that movement will actually lead to the adaptations you're looking for.

Even the basics matter.

Being hydrated.

Having nutritious food available.

Getting enough protein.

Making sure your body has the fuel it needs to do what you’re asking it to do.

None of these things are particularly exciting.

But together, they create something incredibly valuable:

Fewer decisions to make when life gets busy

And that, to me, is one way being prepared really helps when it comes to your health.

It isn't about having a perfectly controlled life.

It’s about creating enough structure ahead of time that when life inevitably throws you a little rain - or even a full-on Canadian flood - you have a better chance of staying on course.

To prepare for that…

Maybe you need a meal plan.

Maybe you need a better workout program.

Maybe you need a few “go-to” meals for crazy nights.

Maybe you need a plan for travel or social occasions.

Or maybe you aren't even sure what you need yet. 

That’s okay.

But there's another huge reason I love the idea of being prepared.

It isn't just about being ready for something to go wrong.

It's also about being ready when something goes wonderfully right.

What if a friend calls and says, “We're hiking Saturday - want to come?”

What if an opportunity to travel comes up?

What if your family wants to spend the day exploring a new city?

What if you want to try kayaking, take a bike ride, climb that trail, dance at the wedding, play with your grandchildren, or simply walk around a new place all day without worrying about whether your body can keep up?

When you're already taking care of your health, you're prepared for those moments too.

You're not scrambling to get your body ready for the life you suddenly want to live.

You're already building the strength, endurance, mobility, energy and confidence that allow you to say:

“Yes! I'm in.”

That's the part of health that I think we sometimes miss.

We prepare because we want to avoid the bad stuff.

We exercise so we don't lose strength.

We eat well because we want to manage our weight.

We work on mobility because we don't want to hurt.

We build healthy habits because we don't want our health to become a problem.

And those things matter.

But there's another side to it.

We take care of ourselves so we're ready for the good stuff, too.

So this week, don't just ask yourself:

What do I need to prepare for if something goes wrong?

Ask yourself:

What do I want to be physically and mentally prepared to say YES to?

Maybe it's a trip you've been dreaming about.

A hike.

A new hobby.

More time with your family.

An adventure you haven't even imagined yet.

Or simply having enough energy at the end of the day to actually enjoy the life you've worked so hard to build.

Your health is not just the thing you maintain so you can keep doing everything else.

Your health is what gives you the capacity to experience more of your life.

And if you're not sure where to start, that's exactly what I can help you with.

Book a Wellness Snapshot and we'll spend 15 minutes looking at where you are now, what's getting in the way, and what first steps can help you become better prepared - not just for life's challenges, but for life's opportunities.

Because you don't have to wait for the flood to start packing your go bag.

Prepare now, so when adventure knocks, you can say yes. ❤️

And if you happen to be hiding out in Canada when the flood does hit… definitely pack your passport. 😉

Keep Shining,

Kim