Recently I told my mother that I feel like the oldest 31 year-old I know. My joints aches, my muscles feel stiff from time to time, and my lower back frequently punishes me for my career as a thrower on my college’s track and filed team. At times my complaints about issues are indiscernible from people my grandparents’ age. Although my comment to my mother was meant to be comical, the underlying truth of it is a bit disconcerting to me. This is because while these aches and pains may be uncomfortable, I suspect that they are also indications of other issues that may be brewing in my body and have been brewing for quite some type.
When I was young (I know, I know, I’m still young) I took my body for granted. By this I don’t mean that I engaged in reckless behavior. Rather, I didn’t fully appreciate the necessity of proper maintenance of my body. I didn’t quite comprehend how the actions of my youth will dictate the condition of my body later in life. All those late nights cramming in school, where I lost sleep and fed my body copious amounts of caffeine, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, had an impact on my body. And now at the ripe old age of 31, I’m feeling the effects.
Initially my response to these effects was to run to the doctor to find a quick cure, not realizing that some of my issues are the result of bad habits and a poor diet. In one sense, what I was doing was not really seeking a cure of my issue, but trying to treat the symptoms. In my defense, I will say that my ignorance on the connection was sincere. This wasn’t an issue like high blood pressure, which I know is related to diet, but other things that don’t seem directly connected. But I’ve learned to listen to my body. If something is wrong, it will let me know one way or another. Thus, what I really need is not simply a quick fix, but a lifestyle change. After all, my issues didn’t develop overnight, but slowly through small negative acts, so it only makes sense that the solution will come the same way.
Now, the upshot in all this is not simply the importance of health. I think most people have some awareness of the need for good health. Instead, my reflection on health raises an important question to me. How is it that in all the lofty goals I have set for myself, I didn’t include good health? Sure I want to be healthy, but have I not been as intentional about that as I was about other goals, like getting a law degree or starting a business. Yet, without good health, these other goals are meaningless. I think the answer lies in the fact that I took my health for granted. But the things we take for granted are soon lost. Therefore, the older I get, the more I prioritize my health. I don’t want my health preventing me from achieving and enjoying my goals.
I don’t know if you too have found that good health hasn’t been properly prioritized in your life. If so, then I hope you will join me in placing our health in its proper position on our list of priorities. We can’t change the past, but with intentionality we can work to make a build a better future, a healthier future, while we also work to achieve our goals.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
Good post…I think we all are guilty of that body “abuse” from our younger years. In high school, my lunch was usually either pizza and fries, nachos (with cheese and meat) and fries, chicken strips and fries, or a coke and a honey bun. Absolutely terrible. And the funny thing about it is that I had somewhat of an awareness of healthy eating stuff, but I was very, very naive. In undergrad is when the tide SLOWLY started changing because I finally began to understand that those foods really do harm our bodies. Maybe part of my realization was from beginning to see the effects.
And you’re right. If you reach every other goal but you lack good health, everything else isn’t worth much since you won’t enjoy it as much when you’re sick. Unfortunately we live in a world that surrounds us with temptations to indulge 24/7, so our challenge therefore is to develop the kind of discipline that prioritizes health anytime we eat or decide whether or not to exercise. We must do this if we desire good health.