Healthy Lifestyle
Healthy Lifestyle | Lack of Energy | Breathing | Sleep Correctly | Posture | Pillows

Dear Dr. Suzy,   

Q. Lately, I've been hearing alot of people talk about living a Healthy Lifestyle.  What exactly are they talking about?  Is this just another phase that our society is going through?

A. It does seem that lately, we frequently hear the word "health" in conversation and in the media: i.e. health and fitness, health care, healthy lifestyle, healthy products, etc. Few of us have ever stopped and considered the true meaning of the word, however.

True health is not about simply looking healthy and attractive on the outside or having a perfect, rock hard body. Health does not come in a bottle. Optimal health comes from the inside, and is not merely the absence of disease or symptoms, just as light is not simply the absence of darkness.

Pure health is something in and of itself—an optimum state of physical, mental, spiritual, and even social well-being. It is a union of many different parts that are all necessary to make up the balanced whole. For this reason, you cannot simply change one aspect of your lifestyle in order to achieve optimal health, if other areas of your life are not properly balanced.

In the words of Hippocrates "A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession." Accumulating a vast amount of money, status, or expensive objects means nothing, if it is gained at the expense of your physical health or emotional well-being. We all have the potential to be healthier. It is simply a matter of making our health a very high priority in our lives.

The most common question that people have asked me over the years is basically this: "How long will it take?" The answer is usually simple: "The rest of your life." You are going to live in the same body that you inhabit now for all of your remaining days on this earth.

You cannot buy a brand new body when this one wears out. You cannot trade it in on a newer, shinier model, or order all new replacement parts. That is exactly why it is so important to start treating your body with the respect it deserves right now—not some magical, perfect day in the future that, inevitably, never comes.

Regardless of your past history, you can begin your personal journey of permanent optimal health at this very moment simply by making the decision to create a higher state of health and a more joyful, balanced life. It is never too late to start feeling stronger and more confident. It is never too late to start becoming the truly healthy person that you have always dreamed of being. The choice is yours to make.

It is important to remember that positive changes do not usually take place overnight. Making noticeable changes in your way of living may seem challenging at first because your body may have become a little too comfortable and passive in its daily routine and it may initially resist active change.

In the beginning, your mind and soul may choose to take the higher path, yet your body may prefer to stay at home and camp out on the couch with a jumbo bag of potato chips and get lost in some mindless television program.

Creating a healthier, more energetic lifestyle sometimes requires a complete transformation in attitude in order to break the momentum of past habits. There are probably certain things you have always known that you should not do, but it is possible that you simply have not had the necessary, strong, disciplined mindset to change the unhealthy habits.

Positive change often involves the severing of intense emotional bonds to something that is holding you back. As you grow in awareness, you may find that certain aspects of your old conditioning must change. Sometimes, the path of right action and self-change involves a radical departure from old ways.

With the shedding of old habits, however, come powerful forces of change, liberating new energies that support a new way of being—a new way of living. Instead of searching for instant gratification, you will learn to concentrate on cultivating habits that leave you with a long-term sense of well-being and calm strength.

Never underestimate the power of your mind and will. Your good intentions and desires are actual positive forces that contain the unlimited potential power to transform your lifestyle. As your way of life is shifting and reforming, keep in mind that the new life is always greater than the old, and that new beginnings lead to renewed growth, new strength, and increased energy.