Recently, I was speaking with a patient who was having success losing weight, becoming more active, having less pain, and being able to do more with his family and his business because of the healthy decisions that he was making. He kept using the term “crossing a new threshold.” With each new shared story of success, he would make that statement again. When he was finished, I shared the historical reference of “crossing the Rubicon,” which should be his ultimate objective.
He wasn’t quite sure of the meaning of the reference, so I explained the historical significance of the phrase. In 49 BC, Julius Caesar led a single legion over the Rubicon River, which at the time was considered an act of insurrection. If a general entered Italy while exercising command of an army, both the general and the soldiers became outlaws and were automatically condemned to death.
When Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his soldiers, he uttered the words alea iacta est, which translated, means “the die has been cast.” By merely crossing over that river with his army and pressing forward, he forever changed history. A large part of the Roman Senate of the time fled Rome in fear, causing Julius Caesar to attain victory in the civil unrest of the time. He knew that by crossing this river, there was no turning back. His entire army had to have known that they were totally committed to the task at hand and if they faltered then death would take them much sooner than later.
So when it comes to your health and making healthy choices, I congratulate you every time you have another small success and “crossed threshold.” But at some point in time, hopefully you will realize that the critical action steps of eating nutritiously, living actively, and tending to your posture and spinal alignment through regular chiropractic care can’t be seen as mere thresholds that can be crossed one direction and then backed out of.
At some point if you really want to cheat death at an early age, you will approach your health and making healthy choices as “crossing the Rubicon,” and all that it implies. You will be a rebel. You will risk living differently than so many of your friends. And retreat will not be an option.
Are you willing to go past the point of no return? Are you willing to say goodbye to all the unhealthy decisions that suck from you the life you were meant to live?
Are you?
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