Your Health Is Your Wealth

I was finishing up a workout session with our gym members the other day and a few gym members were hanging out for a minute to chat, like they often do at the end of many workouts.

Most participants were happy to cool down longer and catch their breath before making the journey home to start the rest of their day.

The topic of conversation this time was health and wealth and how so many people do not prioritize both.

You have probably heard countless times about those who spend and sacrifice most of their lives and most of their health to achieve financial freedom, only to be left without much of their health and life to enjoy it.

And that’s one way to look at the health/wealth relationship for sure. But let’s take a gander at a couple of other ways one might view this relationship.

One way is to see how many ultra-successful people not only manage their day well from a business standpoint but also manage their wellness too. Now, I’m not saying you have to hire a personal chef and in-home trainer to work you out six days a week – although that would certainly make it easy.

Simply prioritizing your time to be active and building it into your routine is enough.

The book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear discusses the power of habits and routines.

Routines do not have to be fancy or complex. But if you want to emulate some of your favorite success heroes in this way, feel free to do so.

You can simply start your day with a few things you are grateful for, some exercise and a pre-planned healthy breakfast so there is one less thing to do in the morning.

You can also go nuts and add a five-minute cold shower, 20 minutes of meditation, and 30 minutes of reading capped off with a journaling session. But let’s start small and keep this new habit manageable.

Having a morning routine that you follow every day, just like brushing your teeth, has the potential to impact your health in far greater ways than many of us can ever imagine.

Another way to view the “health is wealth” idea is that our health may truly be the only wealth we will ever own.

Something we say often at Park Fitness is that a main objective we have for all our members is to keep you in the game. Largely that means that everything we do is with the intent of keeping you safe and minimizing risk of injury.

But the notion of “keeping you in the game” could also mean the game of life.

A colleague of ours once said that the greatest function we can have as fitness professionals is to add to life.

For example, imagine a special older relative in your family; next, envision your favorite artist; and lastly, think about the person you would most love a hug from.

Now what if that special relative can see a few more birthdays and be a part of a few more important family moments? I don’t know if you can put a price tag on something this special.

And how great would it be if that favorite artist was able to live longer and produce a few more beautiful pieces that make your heart sing?

And is there anything greater than to be with the person we treasure most and have them around to offer us more hugs? This could be one of life’s greatest rewards.

The best part of all this is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Something is greater than nothing and 1% better each day is 37 times better after one year.

So what are you doing today to be a tiny bit closer to your goal of health?

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to pass on the ice-cold baths. However, a morning workout is definitely in my future.