There’s so much knowledge to be gained today about any and every subject. We’re decades into the Information Age and “science” (which means knowledge) is generally held as the tell-all about a subject, the most important perspective to have on a subject.
Personal health is a subject that gets a lot of attention from science. When it comes to one’s personal health and fitness, there’s more science and information than a person can contain. There’s the understanding of how the human body works, what nutritional choices are best and why, how the ideal exercise life should look and how much sleep and rest we should get.
There are all kinds of general recommendations out there, a bunch of one-size-fits-all guidelines.
While I think it’s good to gain as much scientifioc knowledge as we can about human health, to have a solid general knowledge on this subject, I believe there’s one single piece of knowledge or understanding that, especially if you understand the basics of health, stands above all other knowledge of human health, and that’s knowing your own body.
Even though we’re all part of the human race, we’re each unique; in some way or another, we’re all outliers from the range of the average and the common.
For example, there are two areas in which I’m an outlier: hydration and sleep. I’ve learned that I require less than the average person of either hydration or sleep.
I’m sure there are those who think I’m mistaken, that my perspective is somehow off base.
I understand that these are two very important health factors, hydration and sleep, but I base this opinion on these experiences:
Hydration: I run about twenty miles a week (four five-mile runs). I’ve found that I don’t need all that much fluid before a run; I always have a smoothie afterwards, but just normal intake throughout the day is enough prior to. If I overhydrate, I end up having to stop during my run to urinate (which I hate having to do).
I’ve run two half-marathons in the past few years, both in the early morning hours. Before each one, I drank three cups of coffee, just like I do every morning. That’s all the fluid intake I had and I was fine through whole run. I got a smoothie afterwards each time that helped me recover from the run, but I never felt anything close to dehydration.
Sleep: I get five hours each night (from 11:30p to 4:30a), and a one-hour nap in the late afternoon, totaling six hours of sleep per day. With this sleep schedule, I have plenty of energy, which comes mostly from the passion and vision I have for my personal goals. Admittedly, I do grab an extra nap on weekend days if my schedule allows.
There’s a third piece of knowledge about myself: when it comes to nutrition, I tend to continue eating or not eating whatever I start eating or abstaining from, respectively. One donut can lead to a half-dozen, but fasting for eight hours strengthens me mentally to complete a fast of sixteen hours, information that’s very useful for an intermittent fasting plan.
My point is that I know myself, my body and my mind, and that knowledge, added to a decent general knowledge of human health, is the most important thing I can understand to help me to be healthy.
You’re probably wondering when I’m going prove true to my title, and apply all this to marriage, so here goes:
What’s most important to know about marriage is your spouse.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to know God, yourself and marriage principles around topics like communication, money management, conflict management, sex & romance and how to love unconditionally. But if I rank all the nuggets of knowledge, understanding and insight related to marriage, far above all the others is knowledge, understanding and insight about your spouse. You need to know their love language, what they love, what they despise and to what they’re indifferent. Where are their buttons and how do you not push them? What learning style are they? Are they an introvert or an extrovert? External or internal processor? A spender, a saver or a giver? A good listener? A logic-driven decision-maker or a more intuitive one?
All these pieces are important to have if you’re to have this most important marriage knowledge.
So whether you’re married or expect to one day be, please understand that most important to know about marriage is simple. It’s knowing your spouse.
