Get Physical

How many times have you heard, "You just need to eat right and exercise”? It has become the mantra for our health conscious culture. But for most of us it sounds like we're being sentenced to a life of hard labor: pumping iron and sweating away on a treadmill plus boring eating – broccoli, low-fat cottage cheese, broiled chicken – doesn't sound like much fun. Investing in your health has to become more of a journey toward well-being and less of a task if you're going to make this a lifelong commitment.
Many people take their bodies for granted. They burn the proverbial candle at both ends. They eat fat food, only move when absolutely necessary and expect that there won't be any consequences to their neglect. But there are. Maybe not immediately, especially if you're in your twenties or thirties when you still have a warranty on your body, but sooner or later it's going to expire and your disregard for your health is going to catch up with you. Think about it for a minute: would you drive your car with the oil light flashing? Not likely. Would you put low-grade fuel in a Ferrari? Never. However, amazingly, we all too often abuse and ignore our most precious vehicle.
Your physical health is fundamental. Your body is the vehicle through which you express yourself and your life. When something's wrong with your body, when you're in pain or feeling out of sorts, you can bet that everything else in your life is affected. Your health needs to be one of your top priorities. Caring for your body is critical to living a high quality life. When you're in a state of optimal health, just about everything else in your life is better. But like everything else, this requires effort. For those of you who have ignored your bodies, now it's time to rediscover them.
My physical well-being is essential to my sense of fulfillment and I am making my health a priority.
Food for Thought:
Incredibly, many of you think nothing of spending hours researching and then days or weeks shopping for a new car or an appliance for your home. But you find it difficult to carve out 50 minutes a day to do something that will improve your health. Don't wait until you get a wake-up call in the form of an illness to begin taking care of your body. Make diet & exercise an unshakable priority.

Adapted from an excerpt from "Life Lessons for Women” by Stephanie Marston, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen