As a travelling nurse, getting your individual fitness and exercise going is important for cardiovascular health, but that’s not all. To build a stronger heart, I’d like to highlight another essential principle instead of just regular exercise and fitness – building real relationships.
Often people assume that keeping your body healthy and preventing cardiovascular disease can be achieved solely through fitness and exercise, good eating and positive behavior change.
Indeed, as a travelling nurse, I can understand how even finding time to exercise on your own and eat well in a new home is a challenge in itself. But the goal of a stronger heart and even stronger body can’t be fully achieved without building good and real relationships with those that can keep you happy, motivated and healthy for a lifetime. For example, building a positive relationship with a family member, friend and even co-worker can mean having another workout buddy at the gym or another jogging partner on the weekends. Having them at your side, building a healthier life with you will strengthen your heart physically and emotionally.
I know this can be hard especially for travelling nurses whose profession involves moving around to different locations. However, don’t let this be an obstacle.
Nowadays, there a numerous ways to stay connected and involved in people’s lives without the convenience of physical proximity (i.e. Skype, G-chatting, Facebook, Face-time and of course the classic – phone calling). Human beings are, for the most part, social in nature and therefore health and happiness often happens between people rather than in isolation. Why try to build a healthier and happier heart alone? In addition to exercise and eating well, try building on positive relationships to create a life of wellness that is well supported and enduring.
As a travel nurse, what tips do you have to build or maintain strong relationships? How do you maintain the relationships you have with family, friends, and co-workers? Please share in the comments.
