The Lenten Sacrafice – Leveraging Faith for Optimal Wellness

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve heard countless clients proclaim with 100% confidence that they would give up chocolates, deserts, soda’s, alcohol, meat, you name it for this year’s celebration of the Catholic Lenten season. 40 days of sacrifice, with little doubt about their ability to accomplish these feats. Mind you, these are some of the same clients I’ve worked with that have struggled to make change in the past.

Because Lent just began 4 days ago I can not yet provide you with their results at this point in time. I am, however, quite confident that these people will be successful at reaching their goals regardless of the success they’ve had in the past. Why?

The Power of Connecting with a Higher Purpose

Regardless of one’s spiritual belief system, we’re all more committed to our goals when they are connected with a higher purpose. For some individuals, this purpose may take place in the form of participating with events that support causes of meaning and value to them. Others become passionate when they see that they are taking action in alignment with God’s will. And some have a deep rooted connection with the outdoors, the love for competition, or a strong desire to support community, etc. All of these are forms of connecting with a higher purpose. When the bond between our goals and this greater purpose is created, we become become ‘religious’ with our actions (its no coincidence that the word religious refers not only to our spiritual nature, but also to our commitment).

The innate beauty of connecting with a purpose greater than oneself is that this in itself brings about a sense of wellbeing paralleled by few other experiences in life. We all have an innate desire to contribute, to be at one with and have an impact on this world. Giving to a cause greater than oneself is inherently fulfilling and feeds into our own emotional and mental well-being.

Are Sacrifices Really Sacrifices?

I find it interesting that the goals my clients have set these past few weeks often have to do with consumption. And I do not believe goals these were chosen ‘just’ because I am a wellness coach. Food can be a great source of temporary pleasure, and the idea in many philosophies is that sacrificing such temporary pleasures bring us closer to God. Numerous religions have operated under this assumption for years. It seems to me a bit ironical that these temporary pleasures tend to bring about so many long term troubles including obesity, diabetes, poor physical health. The wisdom teachers of the past must have known that a lifestyle in alignment with the greater being, is one in alignment with good health and good judgment. In other words, the sacrifice of such pleasures actually brings about a greater sense of well being – yet interestingly we still consider these sacrifices! Like investing, long term gains are made by making short term sacrifices.

How can Faith Kickstart my Well-Being?

For the Catholic’s reading this article, leverage Lent or any religious holiday of particular meaning and value to you as an opportunity to consider how you might be able to better align your long term wellbeing with that lifestyle God would want you to live. Which of the six components of whole person wellness (health, career, relationships, finance, enjoyment and personal growth) are you struggling with. How could you, and this world benefit if you were to change your lifestyle.

For those that cringe at the idea of being part of a formal religion, what beliefs do you hold strongly that connect you with purpose and meaning? How can you leverage those beliefs to make the decisions that would improve well-being?

For anyone who’s been struggling to make changes in the past, you might just be realizing that you’ve been looking all together at the wrong set of questions to actually create change. Change begins in the soul rather than in the mind. Regardless of your personal spiritual beliefs, connect with your soul and the path forward will be clear.