“The greatest wealth is health” by Publius Vergilius Maro
(Virgil, the Roman poet)

The four areas of our life that need balance are: religion/spirituality, relationships, school/money, and health. Which area are you the weakest in? Which area do you need to invest more time and money?

Most of us would agree that we spend the least amount of time and money in improving our health. So why do we?

I believe it’s because there is no IMMEDIATE consequence for not investing in our health. Plus there is no IMMEDIATE benefit nor GREAT benefit of eating a vegetarian meal tonight versus a hamburger or pizza. In relationships, school/work, and to some degree in religion; there are rewards and consequences soon after what we do or don’t do.

So how can we focus on our health more?

Answer:

Long term thinking. Go volunteer at a hospital and visit all the sick people there (you may actually have been one of them). Most of them will tell you:

“I should of taken better care of my health when I was younger”

“Why didn’t I exercise and eat well when I was in my 40’s and 50’s. Now, I can’t even play with my grandkids or travel anymore because my joints hurt so bad”

“After experiencing a stroke that nearly killed me, now I realize the importance of health”

Yes, we all want to enjoy today and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes. That’s why we are a credit card nation. Enjoy now, “pay later”.

Step 1

Think about all the long term consequences of not taking care of your health NOW. Do you want to spend the last 20 years of your life in pain, going from doctor to doctor, taking 5-10 prescription medications per day, spending money on doctors’ bills instead of your loved ones, and not get to enjoy life.

Step 2

Think about all the short term AND long term benefits of having good health. After just a few weeks of eating well, exercising, minimizing/quitting drinking/smoking, and “managing” your stress; you’ll feel better and look better!!! You’ll have more energy. You’ll be happier.

Step 3

Go to the bookstore or amazon.com and buy ONE book (for now) on either eating better, how to motivate yourself to exercise, or how to manage stress. Some good books are:

“How to get what you want and want what you have” by John Gray

“How to stop worrying and start living” by Dale Carnegie

If you still haven’t realized how important health is, let me tell you one more thing.

“Health affects everything else”

Good health will help you get a better job, make more money, feel better, look better, and the list goes on and on. Bad health will make you tired, lazy, sick, etc. which will affect your physical appearance, your mood, job performance, marriage, and other relationships. Now, does it make sense?

If you want to become rich and happy, you need to be HEALTHY first.

“The greatest wealth is health“ by Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil, the Roman poet)

(image-flickr,joe shlabotnik)

Posted on June 11th, 2008 by Admin
Filed under: HEALTH, general