Your Health Is Your Responsibility

As far as your general health, there is a lot you can do and should do to lead a happier and healthier life.  I love the question, “What should you start doing today that won’t pay off for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 40 years?”

Here is a list of things you can do that can make a significant difference to your health . . . and everyone can do them.

Lee’s Top Eleven

1. Eat Right.  Get your weight to a healthy level.  You will feel better and live longer. This is vital so you won’t have regrets later.
2. Get Enough Sleep.  I am convinced that sleep and hot water are the two big healers.
3. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.  Get this into your schedule.  I am busy too, but I still exercise at least 270 days a year.  Schedule the priorities in your life right into your calendar.  What is more important than good health?  Without it:  you can do nothing, and you can’t be there for your loved ones.
4. Stretch for 5 to 10 minutes a day.
5. Drink lots of water.  Our bodies are not 73 percent coffee and soda.
6. Get an annual physical, eye check-up, hearing exam, dermatology check-up, and visit the dentist. You don’t want to hear the doctor say, “ I wish you had come in earlier.“
7. Floss…I floss so well that I only have to get my teeth cleaned annually and not every six months. Now that saves money as well.
8. Wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday to yourself.  (Use hot water and soap.)….especially if you are going to shake hands with me.
9. Consider getting a flu shot and then get it.
10. Think about what balance means for you personally, and think about how to achieve it to keep yourself mentally strong.  Stress and distress do more damage to your health than anything else.
11. For goodness sake, quit smoking!  This killed my mother at age 65.  She would still be here to enjoy her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She always said that she could not stop, but she did stop the very day the doctor told her she had terminal lung cancer.  IT WAS TOO LATE!

Now you have to admit that most of these things will not pay off for many years, and in some cases, you can coast along and nothing happens . . . but one day your luck will run out.  You cannot live forever; but you can live a lot longer and be happier and healthier along the way by implementing some common-sense approaches to managing your health.  Good luck!   . . . Lee