Joy in the Ordinary

How healthy habits changed more than my body

One morning last week, Tom and I had the unusual opportunity to be home together for breakfast before heading to work. That's a pretty rare occurrence these days, so we took advantage of it.

After breakfast, Tom left before I did, and I stayed behind to clean up the kitchen. I loaded the dishwasher, scrubbed the cast iron, wiped down the counters and stove, and started getting ready for my day.

As I was wiping down the stove, I caught myself smiling.

I remember thinking, Wow... my life is really, really good.

It surprised me.

Not because life suddenly became perfect, but because cleaning the kitchen isn't exactly the highlight of anyone's day.

Yet there I was, smiling.

I had just shared breakfast with my best friend in a home we're grateful for. I was getting ready to head to work, where I have the opportunity to help people every day. Nothing extraordinary had happened.

It was an incredibly ordinary Tuesday morning.

And somehow, it felt extraordinary.

It wasn't because life suddenly got easier.

Allow me to be completely transparent: life is very full right now.

Our businesses are demanding. We're making careful financial decisions. Our calendars are packed, and finding quiet moments together at home can be challenging. There are responsibilities to carry, problems to solve, and plenty of uncertainty ahead.

A few years ago, that's all I would have seen.

Stress would have set the tone for my entire day. Anxiety would have convinced me that I needed to solve everything immediately, leaving me in a tailspin whenever I couldn't. I would have missed the good because I was too focused on everything that still needed fixing.

But standing in my kitchen that morning, none of that was what my mind noticed first.

My mind noticed the blessing.

A few days later, it happened again.

I was driving to the gym at 4:30 in the morning to coach our first class. The windows were down, the sunroof was open, and instead of turning on music or a podcast, I just listened.

The insects in the fields.

The wind moving through the corn.

The quiet.

I found myself thanking God for all the blessings in my life.

The business challenges hadn't disappeared.

Our calendar hadn't magically cleared.

The budget still needed attention.

Nothing about my circumstances had changed.

But I had.

Growth rarely happens all at once.

People often ask what changed.

I wish I had one defining moment to point to.

I don't.

There wasn't one book that transformed me.

Or one podcast.

Or one "healthy hack" I found on social media.

Or one workout.

Or one prayer.

Or one healthy meal.

Or one journal entry.

Looking back, it was thousands of small choices that didn't seem very significant at the time.

Choosing whole foods a little more often, day in and day out.

Moving my body consistently.

Putting my phone down.

Spending more time outside.

Reconnecting with my faith.

Practicing gratitude every day.

Choosing to be present instead of distracted.

None of those habits changed my life overnight.

Together, repeated day after day, they slowly changed me.

Healthy habits do more than improve your health.

When most people think about healthy habits, they think about weight loss.

More energy.

Better lab work.

Lower blood pressure.

Looking better in the mirror.

Those things are important, yes.

But I've started realizing they aren't the greatest reward.

The greatest reward is that healthy habits slowly shape the way you experience your life.

They make it easier to slow down.

To notice beauty.

To be present.

To appreciate people.

To recover instead of constantly rushing.

To find peace in places where you used to find stress.

I don't think that's talked about nearly enough.

You become what you practice.

One habit that has quietly changed my life is something incredibly simple.

Every night before bed, Tom and I write down a few things we're grateful for.

We share a notebook that sits on our dresser.

Some nights we write a paragraph.

Some nights it's only a sentence.

Sometimes it's as simple as:

"I'm grateful for a long day."

"I'm grateful I get to go to bed next to my best friend."

The important part isn't what we write.

The important part is that we keep showing up.

Every day.

Over time, I've realized something.

Your brain gets better at noticing whatever you practice looking for.

If you spend years looking for what's wrong, you'll become very good at finding problems.

If you spend years looking for what's good, you'll become very good at finding blessings.

That doesn't mean you ignore the hard things.

It means they no longer become the only things you see.

This is what we're really building.

At The Herd Health & Wellness and CrossFit 605, we spend a lot of time talking about food, movement, sleep, recovery, and healthy habits.

Those things definitely matter.

But over the last year, I've realized they're not really the destination.

They're the vehicle.

Start small.

If gratitude doesn't come naturally to you today, that's okay.

It didn't always come naturally to me either.

Tonight, before you go to bed, write down three things you're grateful for.

Not the biggest things.

The ordinary things.

A good cup of coffee.

A conversation with your spouse.

Your favorite chair.

A walk after dinner.

The way the sun came through the kitchen window.

Don't underestimate those moments.

They have a way of quietly changing you.

Joy isn't only found in vacations, promotions, celebrations, or perfect circumstances.

More often than not, it's waiting in the ordinary moments we usually rush past.

You just have to slow down long enough to notice it.