How To Improve Your Health By Gardening
I worked for a big company for many years. It was stressful and I finally decided to quit and start a consulting business out of my home. It was great at first. I liked waking up when I wanted, working when I felt like it, and I loved being able to take a day off if I needed to do something important. After a few months though, I noticed I had put on several pounds. I was not overly concerned. I told myself I would start a workout routine after my business was settled.
Two years later I was fifty pounds heavier. I could not ignore it any longer, I really needed to do something. But where was I going to find the time now? All the work I put into my business was paying off, and I was busier than ever! What started out as me being able to make my own schedule turned into me being unable to shut the office door and walk away. I was tired, stressed, overweight, and starting to miss my office job.
As a last-ditch effort to turn things around, I made the decision to join a gym. I figured the gym contract and expense of the whole thing would guilt me into never missing a workout. It would force me to follow through.
I kept putting it off. Then, one particularly stressful day, I made some coffee and went out on the back porch to take a break. It was a beautiful day, and I was feeling upset that I never got outside anymore. To distract me from all the negative thoughts and stress, I grabbed a book from the side table. It was a gardening book.
I had always planned on starting a garden. I loved everything about the idea, the warm soil, watching the seeds grow, harvesting fresh produce. I collected gardening books and articles like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. One day, I would have my garden.
That’s when it hit me. Why join a gym and literally force myself to get exercise? I could spend the same amount of money on supplies for my garden. Instead of trudging along on a treadmill and staring at a wall, I could be hauling soil and hoeing rows. Instead of forcing myself, I could treat myself. I could do something to help myself live longer and be happier at the same time!
So I went for it. And though I won’t be getting into skinny jeans any time soon, I have lost some weight. But even better, I found an effective way to manage my stress while realizing a dream. There is nothing more soothing and satisfying to me than to take a basket outside and fill it with fresh vegetables from my garden. On a hectic day it is so easy to give myself permission to shut the door to my home office and go out in the garden for a half hour to recharge. When I crave a snack I graze in my garden or treat myself with a gardening article. My garden taught me being healthy is not just about weight. It’s about finding out how to be happy.
