FUNCTIONAL HERO
First responders are absolutely passionate about their work and their calling. We have committed ourselves to a lifestyle that is all consuming, and calls for us to give our all. The passion is there without a doubt, but unfortunately way too many of us are left over stressed and chronically fatigued. Consequently, this puts us in an elongated decline towards burnout, defeat and illness which causes what’s called “death by a thousand cuts.” The job creates a lifestyle under chronic stress across all arenas; mental, spiritual, physical, in which more often than not, rest and rejuvenation is not found.
Most people are cyclical creatures, thus can rely on a lot of their body’s natural cycles to create rest protocols throughout their day and night. But we are not, so we do not. We can go days, and even weeks without rest and reprieve. Sleepless days and nights at work, being thrown into a lion’s den and then asked to drive straight home in the sleepless morning to be a source of light for those that we love. We do this multiple times, over and over, without any end in sight. And with such exhaustion, comes a decline in our energy, body, and even our thoughts.
However, we can intentionally turn this around by turning on certain biological mechanisms through “biohacking”, and intentionally initiate protocols by having lifestyle habits that promote healing. By creating lifestyle habits that allow us to calm our system, we can then rev it back up when we want and need.
This is our lifestyle programming with fitness as it’s engine, and the primary message of creating lifestyle habits that allow for the mind:body:spirit to be used at full capacity when needed, but then rest and repair when needed. No longer will we feel like we are just getting by and surviving, but rather part of a machine that is beyond thriving. And in the end, we can make the conversations of suicide, cancer and heart disease go from common place to obsolete. We can show up for each other at work, serve those we aim to serve with a full heart, and be able to go home and give even more to those we rely on and love.