Wellness Is a Journey

Being a kid has many benefits.  You live for the moment, especially during the summer.  Every day has countless opportunities for fun and adventure, from sun up until sun down.  You can eat just about whatever you want, plus have second and third helpings without gaining a pound.  You are fit and toned with all that running around, playing, swimming, bike riding, and general horseplay.  Too bad we can’t stay young forever.

As a youth, we learned a lot about health in school, the major food groups, a balanced diet, calories, and exercise.  But learning it back then just didn’t seem too relevant to our lives.  We figured it was something we’d tuck away in our brain for a much later day.  How ironic is it that time flies by?  Sometimes it can seem like in a blink of an eye 5 years has gone by.  We look back and think, “how did that happen?” Getting older is inevitable, and with this passage of time we find that all that knowledge we tucked away for a later day is now here.  We realize that we do not have the benefits that come with youth and that living in a state of wellness is truly a journey.

It’s easy to think that being healthy is a destination.  That by setting our goal of losing 30 pounds and then achieving it means we have arrived at the finish line and the job is done.  Good health and wellness is an ongoing process that requires daily effort.  It means making wise choices at every meal.  Opting for healthy snacks versus junk food.  It means sticking with a work out plan and getting off the couch even though it’s cold and raining outside.  Learning to say no when offered the dessert menu.  Staying clear of the inside aisles at the grocery store where all the preservative laden boxed “food” is.  It means choosing to stay active both mentally and physically.

Granted, there may be some people out there who seem to have a crazy, high metabolism and are thin as a rail.  Those that no matter what they eat they remain thin.  But for the vast majority of us this simply isn’t the case.  Choosing to look at wellness as a journey will help to ensure we maintain our health goals. Aging is a blessing, but continuing to age well requires an investment from us of time, energy, and care. Not doing so can result in obesity, high blood pressure, migraines, diabetes, arthritis, plus so much more. Choose to love yourself and your life.  Honor it by treating your body with the utmost care.  Make sure that you are diligent in your choices that can protect and care for you.  Stop settling for less.  Wellness is a journey, but only you can take that first step.  Begin today by making the decision that from here on out, things will be different.