7 Reasons Why Trusting Yourself Will Improve Your Health

Photo by Jad Madi

So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health. ~A. J. Reb Materi

We Could All Use a Bit More Health

No matter where you are on your life journey, chances are you can probably use a bit more health. Whether you used to weigh 300 pounds and are now down to your ideal goal weight, or you are an avid marathoner, or you just quitting smoking: you know you still have more to improve upon. We all do, when it comes to health.

How Can You Enjoy Your Money Without Health?

Whether you have more money than you could ever spend or not, you need to have a healthy body to enjoy it. Sacrificing your health in order to add more money to your bank balance is not a wise investment.

Staying healthy is an ongoing process, and as we age we need to take even better care of ourselves. Scientists are finding more startling facts about our bodies and the foods we eat every day. It’s no wonder that nutrition and health are an ever evolving field.

Keeping your health at its optimum level requires constant attention. This upkeep comes in the form of regular exercise, a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and staying away from unhealthy habits. We all know what we “should” be doing to stay healthy, but actually doing them can cause some difficulties. Let’s look at why keeping our health intact is so hard in today’s world.

Health Education and Social Conditioning

Generally speaking, we grow up to imitate most of the things our parents did while we were growing up. If your parents smoked, you might have picked up the habit. If your parents ate a lot of red meat, you probably eat a lot of red meat. If your parents were often stressed or did not exercise much, you probably don’t put exercise as a high priority and you might be stressed out. And so the list goes on.

This is not to blame your parents, because we generally learn from those around us, and they did the best they could from their own upbringing. However, there is an underlying current in our social environment that says that being healthy isn’t actually such a good thing. It is important to note that a lot of these ideas stem from people’s own insecurities about their current state of health. Here are a few examples:

1. Imperfect eyesight means smarts: Everywhere we look, we see examples of smart people who wear glasses. The stereotype pervades most movies, video games, and even books. Glasses mean smarts, and it’s no wonder our eyes start to deteriorate as we realize this. You can learn to undo some of the damage to your eyes through simple exercises.
2. Health food is weird: If you eat health-food, you will be labeled a health freak. My favorite example comes from my eating a salad at work, and having a coworker exclaim, “I don’t want to be that healthy!” While making a disgusted face. Since when is being healthy a bad thing? Shouldn’t you make your body a priority, as opposed to running away from health?
3. Athletic people are jocks: Athletic people are seen as too skinny, or too muscled, depending on who you ask, and they probably don’t have any intelligence for that matter. Why would someone who enjoys doing sports be any less intelligent than someone who doesn’t? This goes back to the idea that people who are athletic, are exercise freaks.
4. If you don’t drink and smoke, you’re not having fun: There are plenty of people who enjoy socializing and having a good time without resorting to the use of drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. These habits deteriorate your body, and can be extremely addictive to the point where you lose control over your own body.

There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do any business from there. ~Colonel Harlan Sanders

The Link Between Nutrition and Income

While traveling in China, I noticed many interesting differences between the rich and the poor. In certain remote areas of China, there are many people who are living to be over 100 years old. They are still active, and living life to the fullest.

On the other hand, the richest people in China have adopted a westernized diet and lifestyle, and they often succumb to heart disease and cancer is just like in America and other so-called modernized places.

Photo by Leted

Sometimes It Takes a Wake Up Call

I got my wake up call about health when my aunt died. She was in her sixties and she suffered from a heart condition, where she was unable to breathe. Out of 7 aunts and uncles, only 2 remain, and each one died of heart disease. Each funeral I went to reinforced my desire to find a cure for these heart problems. Eventually, I discovered that prevention and constant upkeep of your health is the only way to deal with these issues.

In general, it takes a big event to shake us out of our daily habits and world-views. We often don’t get second chances, and if you are lucky enough to survive a heart attack, it’s time to listen to your body. Making changes toward a healthier diet, eliminating unhealthy habits, reducing stress, and exercising are much easier if you know what you are walking away from and going toward.

What Can You Gain from Being Healthier?

1. Increased clarity: The healthier you are, the better everything works in your body. That includes your mind, which means that your thoughts will become more focused, and you’ll be able to achieve more.
2. More energy: Waking up feeling energized is one of the best feelings in the world. When you have more energy, you can do more for yourself, and have a more abundant and rich experience of life.
3. A longer life: Although some people might not want to live longer, there are definite benefits. If you live longer, you’ll get to meet your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. Being healthy means that you will not suffer for years before your death, you can experience life at its fullest even in your elder years.
4. Fun new hobbies: Do you remember a time when learning a new recipe or new sport was fun? Now you can go back to enjoying the leisure time that comes with taking care of yourself, in the form of creative ways to stay healthy.
5. A sense of power and responsibility: When you take your health in your own hands, you don’t have to worry about what might happen if you get sick, or if your insurance will cover your costs. You know that you are doing what is best for yourself, and you can’t blame anyone else for your health.

Photo by Bart

Jump Starting Your Life With Health

There are tons of great resources to get you from your current point of health to your ideal point of health. Everyone uses different techniques, so my advice is to find what works for you.

1. Eat Healthier: You know what foods aren’t good for you, we all do! Those are the foods that leave you feeling bloated, give you acid reflux, or make you feel sleepy and zapped. Follow your intuition and go for some fresh fruits and vegetables. Most people feel great after changing their diet, in fact they can often exercise more after they have regained energy through a change of diet.
2. Exercise: Everyone enjoys different types of exercise, so pick one that makes it fun for you. Don’t go to the gym if you don’t feel comfortable there. Instead, join some structured exercise groups, a running club, or go to the pool. Whatever you do, make it a fun new hobby that you joy attending.
3. Changing unhealthy habits: Changing some bad habits such as smoking, or staying up too late, might help you to eat better and exercise more. The good thing about each of these changes, is that each time you overcome one of these obstacles, you become more confident you about taking charge of your own health.
4. Listen to your body: Our bodies send us signals all the time: a headache might mean you are putting too much pressure on yourself, acid reflux is a sure sign that what you ate is not good for you, and when your eyes close on their own it is time for you to sleep. Unfortunately we tend to be too busy with life to notice most of these signals.
5. Subconscious changes: When you take responsibility for your health, you are sending a strong signal to your subconscious. Your subconscious will get to work healing your body and preparing it for what you have in store! Not only will your health soar, but you will be able to feel better about who you are, because you are in your power.
6. Trust yourself: Leaving your health in the hands of advertisers and doctors is not your wisest option, because they often do not understand your particular needs. In fact, nature understood your needs best, and eating whole fresh fruits vegetables and nuts and seeds is probably the best way to get all of the nutrition that you’d need.
7. Go outside: In addition to eating a very healthy diet, you’ll be able to gain tremendous amounts of health by going outside more often, and moving your body. Going to the gym is great, but if you can spend time in the sun while you exercise, it is even better. Most of us spend our days indoors, and we lack sunshine and fresh air. The sun provides you with invaluable vitamin D.

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. ~Benjamin Franklin

Health As Wealth

Health is one of your most treasured assets! Sometimes we just need a little bit of a push to get ourselves off the couch, away from the computer, and enjoying this marvelous body of ours!

How do you make staying healthy a fun and exciting part of your life? Over to you now…

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