Is It Important to you to be Healthy?
by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
How important is your physical health to you?
Of course, most people will say that they really want to be healthy, but what are you willing to DO to be healthy? And what are you willing to NOT DO to be healthy? In other words, what is more important to you than being healthy?
Is more important to:
• Eat fast food, or packaged, frozen and processed food, than take the time to cook healthy meals with fresh, organic healthy ingredients?
• Spend money on clothes and toys and other “stuff” than on fresh, organic, healthy food?
• Go along with what others say about what creates health rather than take the time to do your own learning?
• Sleep in, watch TV, play video games, gamble, work, stay on the phone, constantly text, or do other addictive activities rather than get exercise?
• Take drugs for anxiety, depression or insomnia rather than learn how to take responsibility for your feelings?
• Turn to substance addictions rather than take responsibility for your feelings? Continue to act out addictively with alcohol, cigarettes, sugar, caffeine, or drugs rather than learn to take loving care of yourself?
• Neglect your spiritual practice rather than take the time to create inner peace?
• Be “one of the gang” and eat like everyone else is eating, drink like everyone else, or take drugs like everyone else, rather than support your own health?
How are you rationalizing your unhealthy choices?
• I don’t have the time.
• I don’t believe that food has much to do with health.
• So and so smoked his whole life and never got lung cancer.
• Why bother? My genes are against me.
• I’ll get around to it when I have some time.
• Food is the only reward I have. I’m not giving up sweets and other so called “junk food”.
• I’m still young. I don’t have to worry about it for years.
• I have too much pain in my life, and I won’t be able to handle it if I get off drugs or give up my addictions.
• What’s the point in living if I can’t do what I want?
• I won’t have any friends if I don’t do what they do.
The question to ask yourself is: “How do I want to live my later years? Do I want to be vital, clear-headed and energetic as long as I live, or do I want to be suffering with cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases?”
While there are many factors that influence our health, such as genetics, the environment, accidents, and trauma from childhood, we each have much power to create health when it is important to us.
If health is very important to you, then I encourage you to start to take responsibility for yourself in three major areas:
• Food
• Exercise
• State of mind
All three are equally important and affect each other. If you are judging yourself and ignoring your own feelings, then your self-abandonment will be creating stress in your body. When we go into stress, the body goes into fight or flight, which means that the blood leaves the brain and organs and goes into the arms and legs for fighting or fleeing. When this happens often, the immune system is compromised, leaving you open for illness. In addition, the stress may lead you to act out addictively in an effort to relieve it, further fostering poor health. Exercise not only helps your state of mind, it helps your body function well. Poor food affects your state of mind and your energy, making it more difficult to exercise and create inner peace.
Today, ask yourself, “How important is my health to me?” Then be honest with yourself. If you are not willing to take loving care of yourself in all three areas, then you need to accept that your health is not that important to you.
