Hold On To Your Dream, Boomers

Grow into your higher self, and your heart ❤️ will do a happy dance.

Image created by Annelie with the help of Word Co-pilot.

“What goals we did not accomplish between the ages of 30 and 65, we can do now; between the ages of 65 and 100, and we can do them even better”. ~ Annelie

At age 72, I finally acted towards accomplishing my dream and started a business.

For 50 years, I carried around an old dream that grew heavier and heavier. I used to tell a friend of mine — another nurse — that one day I would create a course on preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is exactly what it sounds like: a group of different disorders that are related to the heart and the blood vessels. Because CVD is the leading cause of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), prevention is easier than trying to cure a condition after it has developed.

Mostly, I wanted to create a course to show people how easy it is NOT to die from a condition that may be prevented.

You have said that so many times that I do not believe you anymore”, my friend said. But that did not bother me because I believed. I never stopped believing that one day, I would realize my dream. The more I saw how patients suffered, the more I wanted to learn, and the more I held onto my dream.

During the 30 years I worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU), I saw more pain and suffering than I wanted to see. Daily, I saw the young — and the not-so-young — patients being admitted and readmitted to the hospital with health conditions that could easily have been managed or prevented. Complications from high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obesity, and chest pain were some of the reasons my patients were admitted to the hospital. These are all risk factors for heart disease and fall under the umbrella of CVD. These patients needed help and education.

Around 2000, they opened a chest-pain ER at my hospital. With a small group of ICU nurses, I signed up to learn more about the heart and blood vessels. We focused on teaching community adults to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

I was proud to be part of this team. Educating and helping patients to take an active role in their own heart health was my passion. But patient education, booklets, and guidance from doctors, nurses, and pharmacists did not stop many from coming back. Despite having toes amputated, time spent on ventilators, loss of work, family time, and income, they could not stop the behaviors that contributed to the disease process.“They don’t understand”, I thought. “They don’t get it”.Hello, tell that to an unhappy, hungry, and stressed-out patient who is dying to go home and have a smoke, a beer, a cheeseburger with fries, and escape a painful reality by lying on the sofa, watching his favorite television show.

But someone else didn’t get it. We didn’t get it, the healthcare providers. I have later learned that prevention is a funny thing. Prevention means stopping or hindering something from happening. To prevent CVD, we must stop doing the things that increase risk. Those things are often caused by pleasure-seeking behaviors like smoking, excess alcohol, processed foods, and a sedentary lifestyle. Patients were told to STOP all that in favor of a health-producing lifestyle. We are not always open to change, even when it could prevent CVD and make our hearts healthier.

The low number of Americans who are health literate is proof of that. In this report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we are informed that only 12% of Americans have proficient health literacy skills. Traditional health education is not effective enough. I know this to be true. My father died of a sudden heart attack at age 41.

When I was 41, I did not want to die from a heart attack, but I still smoked cigarettes. I knew it was a no-no, but I couldn't quit. As I've grown older, I’ve learned a better way. It is possible to make ourselves so jubilant that our hearts will do a happy dance when we choose to make the change and drop poor habits. I loved to smoke. For a thousand different reasons, I wanted to quit. Stress and addiction kept me puffing until I finally let go of this bad habit. The day I smoked my last cigarette was also the day I knew that teaching health literacy and cigarette smoking were not compatible.

Rather than being trapped in dopamine-induced instant-gratification behaviors, we choose health-supporting behaviors because they fuel our dreams and passions. When we start walking steadfastly towards our dream, adopting healthy behaviors becomes easy. Like an express train running on oiled tracks, a heart-healthy lifestyle pops up at record speed.

Why?

Because we are now growing into our higher self, and we are fueled with divine energy.

Why does change suddenly seem easy?

Because we become like energy balls, enthralled by making our dreams a reality. Having a meaningful why starts running the show.

"Those who have a why to live, can bear with almost any how.” — Viktor Frankl.

He was a famed Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who suffered and survived concentration camps. He had a dream of writing a book to help people find meaning in their lives. After the war, he did. He wrote “Man’s Search for Meaning,” an incredible testament to the power of dreams and hope. Dr. Frankl’s enormous inner strength was directly related to his purpose.

Self-motivation drives our goals without being told what to do. Prevention of CVD is not to tell us what to do, but rather ask us what we want to do. Most often, we want to do something that we feel excited about, something meaningful, and something that is related to our unique ability and passion. Having a dialogue with the patient and asking open-ended questions works wonders. Taking the time to let patients express their values, their dreams, and their vision of the future is transformative. Self-discovery of a personal passion has a way of bringing a smile to a sad face. An article from the Center for Health & Wellbeing reports that there are many health benefits to living a life of passion. Pursuing our passion lowers stress and makes us feel good. The article brings this call to action: “If you suffer from chest pain or high blood pressure, you may want to pursue a passion that helps you lower your risk of heart disease.”When we engage in activities we love, a positive mindset often follows. Studies show that a positive mindset can also help our hearts.

Harvard Health Publishing reports that people prone to negative emotions have a higher risk of heart disease. Furthermore, a positive outlook in life may even benefit people who already suffer from CVD. This is significant because CVD patients are at a very high risk of having heart attacks and strokes.

In honor of February, American Heart Month, create the best life for yourself. Honor your heart, and honor the dream that lives within it. My father did not have that chance. In this story, Party Favors From Heaven, I wrote about him. I honored his short life while educating the reader on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Please read. It can save your life or the life of someone you love.

Holding on to our dream is beautiful. Boomers and our older sisters and brothers, it is time to get rocking. We got this. Write that book, make the quilt for your grandchild, start your vegetable garden, become a yoga instructor, go back to school, volunteer for a non-profit, start a business, or get into the best health of your life.

As for myself, it is time to finally finish creating that course. Preventing CVD, the leading cause of death in the world, will most certainly make my heart ♥️ do a happy dance.

I’ll see you at the finish line.

Thank you.❤️

This story was first written on Medium.