If you are anything like me, you are curious about how others come up with the names they choose for their kids, for their pets, cars, plants, pretty much anything people give names to, including businesses!
Today I am sharing with you how it is that I chose the name Forever Fit Life.
The concept behind the name “Forever Fit” goes back to when my husband and I were doing some upgrades to our home.
I believe that the inspiration hit me when we were working on the kitchen. Just for background, I don’t love the set-up of our current kitchen. But to completely gut the kitchen and reconfigure it into my dream, Pinterest-inspired kitchen would have been very expensive. You see, we know our current home is not our “Forever Home.” It is our starter home. We wanted to like the changes we were making, and to add value to the home, but knowing that we are not planning on being in this home forever, we didn’t want to spend the kind of money, time or effort that we might consider spending if this was our Forever Home. This principle guided all of the decisions we made during the upgrade; from keeping the same footprint to the scale of the fixtures we chose. It is nice and MUCH better than what we started with (seriously though, we started with Pepto-Bismuth colored counter tops!), but it is by no means the kitchen we would have built if this were the home we knew we were going to enjoy forever.
One day, while the upgrade was going on at home, I noticed something among my patients while at work. Working in chronic disease management, my job ends up being equal parts behavioral psychology as it is medicine. I can order medications and lifestyle changes until I’m blue in the face, but unless a patient actually implements the plan on a daily basis, we don’t get very far in the ultimate goal of improving health and wellness.
That day, I seemed acutely aware of a common thread of thought among my patients. It seemed many of them expressed a similar underlying sentiment; that they believed there was time to eventually get to all of the changes they wanted to implement. This elusive “one day” when they would start to make their health and wellness a priority.
“When I retire in 2 years, then I will start to exercise every day.”
“When my kids go back to school and I have more time, I will focus on cooking more healthy meals.”
“After I get through tax season, I’ll start taking time to meditate.”
“I just need to get through finals, then I’ll work on my soda habit.”
These statements started to remind me of the dialogue at home:
“Let’s just go with these floors, they aren’t the best, but they are good enough. I'll put the ones I really want in our forever home one day.”
It almost seemed like my patients were making decisions for their health everyday knowing they were not the best or even what they want for themselves, as if they were making decisions for a temporary home rather than for their “Forever Home.”
The very real reality, however, is that this body we live in, IS our Forever Home and we need to treat it with the respect and the care we would knowing that there are no start overs. This body, your body, my body, are the homes that our minds and souls will dwell in until the day we die.
Everyday decisions that we make from our nutrition, to how we move, to how we treat our bodies and our minds, are the building blocks that this home is built from. When you frame it this way, it makes it easier to appreciate why we want each and every choice we make for our health to be the best it can be.
I think one of the hardest things to overcome is the thought that we have all the time in the world to eventually start doing that “thing” we want to or know we should.
We have to realize that today is that ONE day. We only get one chance! Let’s make the most of this amazing gift of life and give it our best every single day. Take note that our best might look different from day to day. That’s the balance. Treating ourselves with grace is a part of the challenge.
So, there you have it! The name Forever Fit is a reminder that seemingly small changes and decisions can have a lasting impact on our current and future health and happiness.
For me, this goes much deeper than aesthetics. I want my body to be strong, able and free of chronic disease. I want to feel calm and comfortable in my own skin. I want to have clarity of mind and a sharp intellect and I want these things for my entire life, not just while I am young.
I can either take the reins of control and do what I can to build the healthy and happy life that I desire, or I can do the opposite. Either way, this is my forever home, and for me, I choose to be Forever Fit! I hope you will join me!
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