Honor Where You Are: The Foundation of a Healthy Mindset

"Honor where you are." Chances are you've heard this guideline for wellness before. It's a concept common to eastern modalities such as yoga and is evidenced in western psychology as well.

But what exactly does it mean? Honoring where you are is about embracing the moment and what you personally bring to it. It's about accepting yourself as you are right in the here and now...warts and all, as the saying goes. It means valuing the person you have become--and maybe even being grateful for the obstacles you had to overcome along the way, because the learning and growth you gained made that wonderful person possible. And honoring where you are also means having a true appreciation of all the gifts your present world offers.

Easier said than done, right?

No wonder. Honoring where you are requires slowing down a bit. That's a tall order for a society of busy people. We have a habit of looking constantly to the future, planning and preparing for a time yet to come...and often forgetting to drink in the joys of the present. How many beautiful and desirable things have we missed--a walk with a friend, a lovely sunset, the peaceful quiet of a clear night--because we were too busy checking our email or doing "just one more thing" on the never-ending to-do list?

It's hard to honor where we are when our minds are consumed with all the details of getting and staying ahead.

And when it comes to aging, we tend to have the opposite problem with where we are. Instead of embracing all the positives of our actual stage of life, we tend toward an unrealistic--and unproductive--nostalgia for the past.

It might be a hard mindset to develop, but I promise you there is much to be gained from adopting the honor where you are principle. Let's look at that aging example again. Whether you are 20, 70, or somewhere in between, your actual age is only part of the wellness picture. It does not define how you feel or who you are. You can decide that how old you are is "just a number," or you can view that number as a curse. In other words, you can honor where you are, or you can choose to feel used up by wishing you were elsewhere in life's timeline.

Lately I've become more aware of changes in my body shape and memory. I recognize that they just aren't like they were when I was in my 20's. But that's okay with me. After all, I've lived all those years in this body, and I, for one, love where I am today. Woohoo! I'm choosing to feel youthful while continuing to challenge my mind and body to stay strong. (I love that powerful feeling when I do my weight training.)

The spirit of honoring where you are is a powerful mind-body healing tool. I encourage you to make a renewed effort toward complete wellness, both physical and mental, by putting this principle to work. Look at your world--yourself, your friends and family, your community--from the clear lens of the present. What's good in your life? Of what isn't good, what do you have the power and will to improve? These are positives: Embrace them. Where are you?