Did you ever watch the show, Whose Line is it Anyway?

I’m probably showing my age here, but it was popular when I was in high school and college, and it was brilliant. Hilarious improv sketches with outrageous slapstick comedy and smart quips. I call back to this show because you might remember the host would often welcome viewers by saying, “Welcome to Whose Line is it Anyway, where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.”

Since then, I’ve seen countless memes and GIFs reusing this line for everything from parenting to parking lot etiquette. But one thing always sticks with me through the humor­–everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.

What if you apply that mentality to other areas of your life?

Since I’m a nutrition expert, let’s start there. What if the “rules” about health, dieting, and ideal weight are made up? What if the “points” you use to measure your success (your weight, your clothing size, etc.) don’t matter after all? In the show, the whole point was laughter from improv sketches. That was it, that was the currency. What if you change the currency by which you evaluate your life? What if instead you used other measures to actually evaluate your health status? Things like rest, stress management, purpose, and confidence.

Let’s expand even past nutrition and physical wellness for a moment. What if you start “breaking the rules” in other areas? What if you treat rest like a starting point for all of your work, a cup from which you pour out, instead of a reward to be earned after your to-do list is completed? What if, as a military or first responder spouse, you don’t follow the pattern of putting yourself last and instead put your own wellness first? What if you stop pre-washing the dishes? What if you stop matching socks? What if you eat pizza for breakfast? What if you actually use your vacation time to get away? What if you spend the vacation savings on an actual vacation instead of just continuously saving more and more? What if you play “blanket fort” with the kids and ignore the laundry for another day? What if you stomp puddles in the rain and don’t worry about the mud stains setting into the new pants? What if you worry more about your mental well-being, energy level, and the relationships around you?

Once you open your mind that most of the rules might be made up, you get to decide what rules you want follow. You get to make your own rules. You get to actually pay attention to the needs, wants, and desires of yourself and your family. Then, you can start to build a life around yourself that not only functions for those around you, but for your own wellbeing as well, and what a change from the status quo that would be.

So, I challenge you, as you start a new year, what “rules” do you follow that are actually made up? What changes can you make in your life that might seem to go against the norm but would actually be a huge improvement in your emotional, physical, financial, or spiritual wellness? Remember, “Everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.”