Health is currency
Health is currency.
Many people often overlook the currency of health. Our health is an undervalued asset that gives us time, longevity, vitality, and the ability to age well. Maintaining one’s health gives time, time with loved ones, less time in the doctor’s office, and more time being able to do what you enjoy.
Furthermore, aging well reduces the development and progression of disease, creating a healthier aging population… not to mention less healthcare expenses.
Many young adults are unaware of the long term costs of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. Not only can these illnesses impact your quality of life, but they can become quite costly to treat. Many of us can attest to the costliness of American healthcare. Being sick can get expensive!
In fact, I have first hand experience working with hospice and geriatric patients with advanced illness, and have seen the impact it has on the patient and their loved ones. Some have depleted their life savings on medical expenses, caregivers, or nursing homes.
I have worked with the sickest of our aging population, and the healthiest. One common trend I see is my healthiest patients regularly exercise (yoga, running, walking, swimming) and maintain a balanced diet. This is not universal, or black and white, but the trends and patterns point to value of nutrition and exercise. No, I am not talking diet fads like keto.
So, while many place high value on their career, money, external beauty… health is often neglected or overlooked. Those missed annual exams, that preventative screening you keep postponing, that dental appointment you keep missing, that day into months off from exercising your body, that high paying high stress job that depletes your soul and kills any hopes of achieving work life balance…. these are all lost opportunities to take care of yourself and build health currency.
Self care is not just about pampering, or resting when needed, self care is also about being mindful of how we treat our physical being. Taking care of our INTERNAL health (mentally, spiritually, and physically) is a form of self love, and an essential component to happiness and wellbeing.
The saying goes “if you look good, you feel good,” however; I believe it is the inverse…if you feel good , you look good!
