Why we Ignore our Health
There are many things that we know we should do but always try to avoid doing it. The one thing that we procrastinate most is, ‘taking care of our health’.
We always say that health comes first, but in reality it is always our last preference. We always ignore important things that could contribute to our health, like exercise. We choose to sit comfortably in front of the television, instead of doing some exercise. All the modern comforts are making us lazy. The only thing we care about most is earning money and everything else is secondary. We say, ‘health is wealth’ but we live as if, ‘wealth is health’.
Almost 95% of the people, mostly in cities, follow this life style today. The rest 5% people are conscious about their health and take active measures to optimize their health through exercise and nutrition. They are an inspiration to others and they encourage others to exercise daily and keep their body fit.
Many people join the gym and start exercising with the intention to lose fat and optimize their health. But in spite of all their good intentions they start to procrastinate in few days. They make excuses to avoid going to gym, as their initial motivational boost wears off.
Let’s try to understand why we ignore our health and avoid doing exercise.
We have a Habit of Waiting until the Last Moment
Many people wait until the last day to pay their electrical or telephone bill. They have a habit to procrastinate until the last day and on the last day they run around different departments to pay their bill. This habit unnecessarily increases their tension. And this is the same attitude that we have towards our health.
We think that as long as we are not suffering from some illness our health is normal, so why bother about it. That’s why we show no urgency to focus on our health. If our health is normal, so why should we walk or start jogging now? We will start some other day when everything becomes perfect for it. But we know that we are making these same excuses for years, but we never start.
We Never Think About the Ill Effects of Our Lazy Lifestyle
We never truly ponder about the negative effects of avoiding exercise and ignoring our health. We know a large number of people in India suffer from diabetes, but we never try to think that diabetes is caused due to our lazy life style. We never think that today many young people are suffering from heart problems and we are also susceptible to suffer from such diseases. Instead we behave as if we are bulletproof and nothing will harm us, even if we follow the same lazy lifestyle as others.
We Think We could Always Start Later
This is a very damaging mentality. The time that you spent on postponing your health is the same time you are aiding to advance your bad health or disease. This means we convince ourselves that we will cover this later when we have time. If a student postpones his studies until the last day of the exam then he could never cover his syllabus and would ultimately fail in the exam. In the same way if you start caring about your health when it’s too late, then you could never be 100% healthy. That’s why start from today to think in this direction, before it’s too late.
Our Environment makes us Lazy
If you go on a walk in the morning mostly you’ll meet old people or fat people. These are those people who are already suffering from some health issues. But you will rarely come across any young or healthy person. When none of our friend is going for jogging or exercising in the gym, then why should we bother? Ignoring your health is actually a form of an illness, but because 95% of people suffer from this disease, we consider it normal. But we all know that reality is very different.
Create a simple plan that you could follow on a daily basis.
Decide now that you will dedicate at least thirty minutes every morning to some kind of exercise. It doesn’t matter whether you woke up at 6 A.M. or 9 A.M., whenever you wake up dedicate 30 minutes to exercise. It’s just that simple. No second guessing or finding loop holes in this plan. We always brush our teeth when we wake up, isn’t it? If someone woke up a little late, does he not brush his teeth that day? No, everybody brushes their teeth daily and it should be the same with doing exercise.
What challenges you could face?
You could be late for office or a meeting. You may get less time to read the newspaper. But let it be. We always say that nothing is bigger than our health, ‘as long as we are healthy, everything will be fine’. But the problem is that we only say these things and never practically follow it.
Decide you will take action this time.
Look at all the ill and unfit people around you. Think for a moment that you are in their skin, how would you feel? You will realize that optimal health is your biggest asset.
Let me tell you a short story.......
Once upon a time there was a businessman. He worked really hard every day to increase his business. His goal was to become the richest man of his city. Slowly and steadily he conquered this goal. To celebrate this occasion he built a grand mansion in the most expensive area of his city. He then threw a grand house warming party. When the guest departed he went to his bed because he was very tired and sleepy.
But as he closed his eyes, he heard a clear voice.
The voice said, “I am your soul and I am leaving you!!”
The businessman was flabbergasted. He pleaded, “You cannot do this to me. If you leave me then I will die. Look how rich and successful I have become. I built such a grand mansion for you. Where else would you find such comforts? Please don’t leave me.”
The soul replied, “My home is your body. But in order to build this empire you completely neglected and ruined your health and this body. You cannot walk properly. You suffer from insomnia. You have a weak heart. Your body suffers from numerous illnesses because of all the tensions. Do you think anyone would like to live in such a disgusting place? That’s why I am leaving you.”
Saying these words the soul left his body and the businessman died.
It may be a little dramatic story, but it teaches us great lessons. I am not saying that you shouldn’t pursue your goals, but whatever you are doing always keep your health first. Otherwise even after achieving success you will not be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
So stop procrastinating and start doing exercise today!!
“Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~ Edward Stanley
Photo Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise
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