Macronutrients
I find the fields of neuroscience and psychology incredibly interesting, probably because we humans are pretty interesting creatures. I like them because they remind me that we are complex and simple all at the same time. Human beings are a unique species. A bunny spends its time just being a bunny without much consideration about what that means. We humans on the other hand, are meaning-making creatures. We develop amazing ways of looking deeply at ourselves, moving both backward and forward in time. Athletes from the time of Philippides have known in their bones what research now confirms about our meaning-making nature. Let’s face it, you don’t need brain science to tell you that you’ve got to find some meaning in running all those miles. For a human being to find meaning and live with purpose, there will inherently be a bit of suffering.
We need challenge and we thrive with just the right amount of adversity. (In case you don’t know your marathon history, Philippides was the guy in ancient Rome that just had to run a few more feet before collapsing, as if the first 26 miles weren’t enough! Just a little extra adversity!) We have 18 opportunities for challenge in 2024 and just “the right amount of adversity”! Race season is not far away and we are deep in the virtual challenge! I love the idea that purpose and meaning require something of us. We must dig just a little deeper to find the meaning in things...including the extra two-tenths of a mile in a marathon!
According to researcher and social scientist Arthur Brooks, purpose is the most important of the three “macronutrients” needed for happiness. Fats, protein, and carbohydrates are the macronutrients that support our physical health. Brooks makes the case that enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose fuel our mental health. Six macronutrients for whole human health. Whole human health is the heart and soul of the Platte River Fitness Series.
This year’s iteration of our virtual challenge, “A Leap Forward Virtual Challenge,” is a habit-building and maybe even a meaning-making tool centered around physical activity. The 2024 addition is enjoying a huge response, growing by about 30% over last year. It builds in those all-important “happiness macronutrients.” I want desperately to help people move beyond seeing movement as just a way to burn calories. I want people to embrace an active lifestyle because every metric in medicine, science and faith traditions points to physical activity as the core to thriving. I have found in the four years since we had no option besides virtual events that the virtual challenge speaks to athletes in a special way. It holds us accountable, gives us a manageable, achievable goal. It gives us just the right amount of adversity. These are sustainable reasons to be physically active. The longer I do this work, the more important it becomes to me to help people move beyond appearance as their reason to exercise. We know that an overemphasis on the outside depletes us of the macronutrients we need to thrive! Healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes. The virtual challenge creates enjoyment, expanding our creative side as we find new and interesting ways to move. I took up snow shoeing last year! It creates satisfaction. There is something incredibly satisfying in choosing a goal and then setting your intention to “make it work,” as you build time in your busy life to tend to your own health and wellness. Finally, it creates purpose.
Purpose is where it’s at, and like protein, it is the building block of everything else. There are all kinds of ways to be physically active and all kinds of ways to build activity into our day. That’s the virtual challenge. It’s an exploration of ways that we can move that we enjoy and that we find satisfying. We can get our minimum 150 minutes of activity in a week and enjoy both physical and mental health benefits. Each of these minutes really matters because we matter. We matter to our family, to our friends, to our community. When you thrive, I thrive and when I thrive, so can you. We often hear people say, “I am working out for myself.” That is incredibly important. Satisfaction also means self-satisfaction and it is a great place to start.
What I have learned, however, is that it may not be enough to sustain us in maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the long run. Taking the time to develop habits that improve our physical and mental health is also a way to care for those who care for us and a way to care for our community. Our Series rewards the simple act of showing up, showing up for ourselves, but most importantly, showing up for “our people” and for those who look forward to standing with us at the start line, or pushing us to dig a little deeper, or who can’t wait to hear the race story we can’t wait to tell at the finish. In the end, it is an irony of sorts. We get healthy for ourselves. We stay healthy for others. Our purpose lies in people.