Flex an Often Neglected Muscle

When I decided to publish a web site, I wasn’t merely skeptical about my ability to accomplish this seemingly impossible technical feat, I was absolutely certain there was no way I could do it myself. I am not a “tech-savvy” person nor do I have a desire to be. But I had a goal in mind, so I reached out to an old friend who designs web sites professionally. We had an initial phone conversation, and I was encouraged. But I was also overwhelmed by the vast amount of design options, plug-ins, and platform choices to choose from, and how best to put everything together to create something that resembled “me.”

After the phone call with my web designer friend, we exchanged a few emails in which I described what I was looking for: a simple web site where I can post health and wellness advice and information, offer my health coaching services, and, most important: announce and keep subscribers up to date on my publishing plans for the book I recently completed. It was when my designer friend told me his services would amount to $4,000.00 that I sprang into action.

The next day I opened the most basic WordPress account. After watching a few Youtube tutorials online, despite all my fears, doubts, lack of confidence, and tech anxieties, I mustered my courage, rolled up my sleeves, opened my mind, and said to myself, “Okay. The water will be cold. Just dive in.”

Figuring out how to put together an appealing-looking web site on this particular platform was a daunting and exceedingly frustrating process at best. Yet, despite my lack of technical skills, I was determined to master this challenge. I had a mission. I had a message and a story I wanted to share with the world.

Each day I worked on the project, there was another tech issue to overcome, or another mistake I had to figure out how to correct or work around. Time and time again, when I got stuck or ran into an issue, I’d google “how to” do something in WordPress. Once I managed to fix the the issue, whether it was changing a layout, inserting a new design element or “block” of text, to my shock and horror, a page or paragraph would suddenly disappear for no reason at all, causing me to groan so loudly my husband would call from another room, “Are you okay?”

Later, I realized that in most frustrating, often heartbreaking process, I learned something new.

At the end of each day’s work on the project, I left my desk numb, drained and exhausted, as though I’d just given my brain a huge workout. It took me about a week to come up with a something resembling a half-decent web site. But when I finally completed the project to my satisfaction (of course it’s still a work-in-progress) there was an unexpected reward: I was thrilled. My spirit was uplifted by a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and, dare I say it, pride and belief in myself for completing something I never thought I was capable of doing.

As a health-minded woman and Certified Health Coach, I keep up-to-date on the latest research, trends, and expert advice regarding optimal health, wellness and longevity, especially for mid-life women. The trending health advice for women my age is to eat more protein, join a gym, and strength train. I would argue that training our brain is just as, if not more important to our overall health than lifting 20 pound dumbbells for three sets. Technically, the brain is not a muscle. It’s an organ made of soft tissue, primarily fat, and it’s importance to our well-being can’t be underestimated, especially as we age. It controls many functions including movement, memory, thought, and senses. In order to stay strong, sharp, and healthy, a brain needs to be worked and stretched regularly, just like we’d train a bicep or quadricep muscle in the gym. Evidence shows that regular stimulation of our brains can improve and preserve cognitive function, and slow the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. According to scientific studies and neurology researchers, the best thing we can do to keep our brains sharp and healthy is to learn something new.

Activities like learning a new language, playing a musical instrument, starting a new hobby or sport, mastering a new dance step, planning a garden, studying world history, or trying out a new cooking technique can certainly be more fun and enjoyable experiences than creating a web site from scratch all by yourself. Yet all these great brain workouts have a common denominator: they require the same mindset in order to begin: Push procrastination, doubts, fears, and excuses aside. Be courageous. Step outside your comfort zone. Just dive into that cold water and start swimming. You just might surprise yourself.