As we grow older, our physical health tends to decline. We accept it as a natural part of aging, but we shouldn’t. Believing that our health will get worse as we get older is part of the problem. What you believe is what you will create. Poor or mediocre health affects all areas of our life because it is often accompanied by aches and pains that slow us down, distract us from being fully engaged in our work, negatively impacts our sex life, causes us to be more sedentary, and so on.
Instead we must intend and expect to be healthy always because good health is an enabler of living life actively and joyfully, embracing life in all its moments, interacting with people with enthusiasm, and being able to respond to life’s challenges with energy, fresh perspective, and creativity. When we are healthy, we have a positive outlook, can function optimally, and are able to fully engage in Life.
How can you turn yourself around from having poor or mediocre health and knowing it is negatively impacting your life to instead having good health and feeling great, capable, and powerful?
Begin to pay attention to your relationship to your body and to your health in all aspects. If you want to be physically and mentally fit, feeling great, and being your most capable and powerful, you must decide to live in a way that supports being healthy. The biggest factors in that are eating and drinking wisely, getting enough and the right kind of exercise, managing stress, and getting enough rest and sleep at night. And it all begins with deciding to be healthy and knowing the consequences of not maintaining healthiness – it negatively impacts your whole life.
So, choose wholeness in body, mind, and spirit and seek to nurture all three aspects of yourself, while balancing those aspects and integrating them into an optimally functionally human being. Just like being happy (which is mental and emotional health), being healthy should be a top priority in your conscious choice-making. Choose to be happy and healthy always. As you hold that intention until it becomes a habit, you will take a greater interest in health, learn what good health really is and what promotes it, and you will become healthier day by day and month by month.
From my own experience, I would strongly recommend walking at a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes daily. I am amazed every day how invigorated and energized I am after my walk. Actually, the result is very much the same as a runner’s high (and there is a distinct difference between what you feel after 15 minutes versus 30-45 minutes). But it is incredibly healthy. You can complement the walking with other forms of exercises, of course, such as yoga, stretching, weights, etc.
Also, from my own experience I would recommend changing to a (mostly) vegetarian diet. The build-up of fat in the body from eating a lot of meat and other animal products has many negative effects. Eliminating or reducing the fat intake lets you manage your weight more effectively, lets you get higher quality nutrients from fruits and vegetables, and allows you to eat a better balance of whole foods with more trace minerals, microbiotics, and so on. Probably the most amazing discovery for me was that after the body begins to clean out the fat build-up, including from your taste buds, food tastes better and a good variety in your vegetarian diet is just tastier and more enjoyable.
Of course, you will want to minimize or moderate your alcohol intake and especially avoid the effects (hangovers, lack of clear thinking, etc.) of too much alcohol. But I enjoy one beer or glass of wine with the evening meal, and you can too. During the day, drink plenty of fresh water and keep soft drinks to an absolute minimum. If you are like me, you might like a cup of green tea, and I enjoy peppermint tea in the afternoon or evening.
When you feel stress that is negative, choose instead to feel peace, then freedom, and then your own inherent power to respond consciously, creatively, and abundantly. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but once you learn to feel those states of being in sequence – peace, freedom, power – you can dissipate or reduce stress quickly.
Choose to be healthy always. Know that when you hold that intention and act accordingly, you will get healthier and better able to deal with stress day by day, and you will feel healthier and more alive. Your improved health will benefit all areas of your life – your work, your play, your relationships, and your appreciation of life itself!
In fact – you can choose to effectively get younger. But that requires you to examine and change your expectations and beliefs about aging. Know that you can reverse the effects of unhealthy habits, and get healthier, fitter, and feel and act younger. Believe me, it will definitely change your life for the better!