Fit Brain Dragon: Is the Goal the feeling or the outcome you've been seeking ...and are they the same thing.

Welcome to Fit Brain Dragon

Welcome to my Blog and to musings, wisdom (perhaps) and other stuff from my world of Mental Health and Dragon Boat Racing in Adelaide, South Australia.

Mental Health is but one aspect of overall health and shares this Blog (and my mind) with Dragon Boat Racing, an accessible fitness activity that I have chosen for myself. I am not alone in my conviction that you can not have health without having mental health. It is also true, though less often said, that you can't have mental health without having physical health.

This rather obvious relationship is surprisingly missed too often by too many. This Blog will feature my thoughts about mental health and about the value of Dragon Boat Racing in my life.

In my experience as a Mental Health Nurse and a Counsellor many people with chronic health problems such as Diabetes, Arthritis and Depression may find enormous advantage in linking themselves to medical and other supports as well as a team sport such as Dragon Boat Racing.

It has been demonstrated in Type 2 (late onset)Diabetes for example that a proper routine of diet and exercise is a more effective first line treatment than medications.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Is the Goal the feeling or the outcome you've been seeking ...and are they the same thing.

A fellow dragon boat paddler wants to be a world champion paddler. A colleague wants to own a motorhome. Many of my colleagues are looking for new jobs.
The outcome it seems would be the world champion medals, the actual motorhome featured in the picture above her desk and the job that gives them everything that they want.
But is this the illusion of life? Do we seek these things instead of seeking the feelings that we think we would feel if we possessed them. Do I want that new job or do I really seek the feeling of security and contentment that I believe the job and its salary would provide? Do I crave themotor home or the feeling of freedom that I think it would provide. If I could have that feeling without the vehicle would I still want it? What would i feel like if I were a world champion paddler. Deep inside me do I crave the medal or the feelings that I think I would have if I possessed them?
Sometimes (often) at the nd of a race, I have no memory of it. I hate that. Its like i've lost something that I would have valued.
If I paddle this stroke as I want to, as I am capable of , and am only concerned with this single as-ideal -as-possible stroke through this water in this weather with this body, surrounded by these people, I can experience and enjoy this moment and all the other moments that make up this race or training session.