My studies with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition are officially underway!  If the pre-training program from last week is any indication, I just know that I am in for such a transformative year!  Our assignments often involve reflecting on different prompts, and we are encouraged to use whatever outlet is most meaningful for us.  For me, that’s definitely blogging!

This week, in Module 1, I listened to a lecture from Dr. Oz about “living the good life.”  It reminded me of the hashtag that I see often about “living your best life.”  He suggested that so many of us are out there, looking for good things, but we’re oftentimes searching in all the wrong places.  That leads us to places that leave us feeling unfulfilled and lonely.

So what is the good life?  Dr. Oz says:

The good life is what really matters to you.

He shared that his idea of living a good life involved family, fun, food, beauty, sleep, growth, health, love, and connection.  That got me thinking about how everyone defines a good life in different ways.  We all place emphasis on specific parts of our lives because we feel they’re most important and they make us happy.  That’s good, because we’re all unique and individual.

As I reflected about what “a good life” is to me, I realized that what really matters to me can be boiled down to just a few ideas.  For me, the cliche saying of: faith, family, friends almost sums up my “good life” definition.  Almost.  I think adding one more word makes it complete: passion.  Chasing my passions, in addition to the other three, really completes the definition for me.  My passions have morphed and been added to over the years, but I believe all of them are part of God’s calling for my life.  They might be dreams, careers, or things I simply love that remind me of God’s magnificent artistic hand (like the perennials in my gardens!).  They’re the things that make me excited, the things I like to spend my time doing.

Interestingly, my passion of walking a holistic health journey is actually coming full circle from another time in my life.  Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, pre-kids and pre-basically-all-of-my-adult-life, hubby and I owned three Curves fitness facilities.  At 23 years old, that time in my life was a crash course into entrepreneurship and managing employees.  And life.  Ha!  But it was also the inception of my passion for wellness.  It’s so fun to me that, 15 years later, I’m re-integrating that passion into my life.

Faith, family, friends, passion

That’s my “good life” definition.  In that order.  I see lots of value in what Dr. Oz shared and, who knows, my definition may even be added to in the future.  But for now, this sums up my beliefs.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to sit down and reflect on what I think makes a good life.  It helps me ensure that the time I’m spending lines up with what I feel is most important.  Because, if I’m honest, I’m not always doing that.  It can be easy to get sucked down the wrong path sometimes.  It can also be easy for me to spend too much time working on my passions, especially the really worthwhile ones, while neglecting other parts of my life.  Then they simply become idols instead of meaningful areas of my life. Does anyone else fall into that trap?

Having my “good life” defined creates a lighthouse, so to speak, that keeps me focused and directed.  It offers balance.  When I spend too much time in only one area of my life, I can remember to re-align my actions to my beliefs, spending time on what matters the most.  Re-evaluating my focuses keeps me from searching for good things in the wrong places, as Dr. Oz discussed.  It allows me to live my good life, instead of being held back and unfulfilled.

So I ask you, what’s your definition of a good life?

What really matters to you?