The intent of this newsletter (and hopefully your wellness)
to you
Going into my PhD, I thought I’d finally “fit in.”
But it didn’t happen. Even among PhD students, I was still different.
For better or worse, my thought process tends to run a few levels deeper than most people. My wife calls it “obsessive,” my PhD advisor called it “meticulous.”
Here’s how I see it: Everything you do has an outcome. If you change what you do or how you do it, you’ll change the outcome too.
When you intentionally change what you do based on intent for a better outcome, that’s acting with purpose.
My relentlessness in thinking this way is an inherent part of who I am, but apparently not common. Even my PhD labmates used to joke that I had a reason for everything I do.
Here’s a silly example that sparks some lighthearted debate with my wife.
When I steam veggies, I let the lid of the steamer pot cool off in a place where it won’t get dirty so that I’ll only need to rinse it briefly. Why wash it more thoroughly when steam is all that touched it (and maybe even disinfected it)?
Some might call it lazy … or obsessive. I call it efficient.
When my wife does the steaming, I can’t help feeling a sense of panic when I see that lid sitting in the sink waiting to be bombarded by food scraps (and needing a thorough washing). It almost hurts!
She thinks not washing with soap will leave a film. That may be true, but I don’t care enough to notice – a top priority of mine is making food prep as quick and easy as possible to keep it a sustainable habit.
(Incidentally, tomorrow is our 20th anniversary – I look forward to 20+ more years of seeing that dirty, needing-to-be-thoroughly-washed lid in the sink! )
Don’t worry, I’m certainly not losing sleep over extra time spent washing steamer lids. The point is that I’m very deliberate about doing things in the best way to yield the best results with the least inconvenience and risk … and it naturally leaks into pretty much everything I do.
Wasting a few extra seconds washing a steamer lid that should’ve never needed washing won’t change your life’s trajectory. But years of oversights in your nutrition, exercise, and general lifestyle choices will!
Contrary to what many people think, looking and feeling great is not as simple as eating “healthy” and staying “active.”
For example, what’s your limiting factor, friend?
Can you hike all day, but struggle to lift heavy things? Or is it the other way around?
Are you concerned that extra inches around your waist may pose a health risk? Or do you have a lean waist, but need more strength to support bone health and physical longevity? And if so, which movement patterns need the most improvement?
Or maybe your most significant obstacle is that you’re often tired and struggle to get through the day?
Each of the limitations above has a unique solution, or in other words, a unique set of actions that need to be prioritized and can be done in a certain way to optimize the outcome further. They require acting with purpose.
You can do “healthy” things, but in a shortsighted way (without enough purpose) that completely neglects the most significant limitations holding you back. Or, you can put in the same amount of work (or even less), but with more purpose, and get an outcome that significantly improves your life.
This is where you can benefit from my relentless application of this perspective.
It’s the basis of the recommendations Coach Kayla and I give to our clients, and also the basis of these weekly emails.
It’s even the basis for what we’ve decided to name this newsletter … Wellness with Purpose.
(Yes, from here on out, “Wellness with Purpose by Dr. Vin” will be the official name of this newsletter. Let me know what you think!)
You don’t need to obsess over steamer lids, but if you want to look and feel your best, you absolutely do need to know what matters most for YOU to achieve YOUR intended outcome … with the lowest risk of it being unsustainable or harmful.
Act with purpose,
Dr. Vin
🆘 Need help losing weight in a health-promoting way that’ll help you feel better than ever? Schedule a free call with Coach Kayla to hear more about our coaching options and whether or not they’d be a good fit for you.