Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle: Tips that will Change your Life by R. E Smith

Make the right choice

Recently I had a lengthy conversation with my Doctor about Personal Health. After leaving the office it had me thinking about how we often ignore the signs that indicate our health is deteriorating without even giving it a second thought. It is medically proven that when we are young our organ systems work in tandem to digest, absorb, assimilate, and metabolize just about anything we consume. Also, it recovers and rejuvenates itself at a faster rate. However, as we age it is important that we take good care of ourselves this is partly due to the fact that our body slows down as we grow older and we become more prone to lifestyle illnesses. Therefore to experience a long and successful life we must maintain a healthy lifestyle.

What is a Healthy Lifestyle? 

The term healthy lifestyle refers to a balance in all areas of our life which includes a complete physical, social, and emotional health. Therefore we must have a balanced meal, exercise regularly, abstain from all forms of recreational drugs, get adequate rest, and become more spiritually grounded. Consequently a healthy lifestyle emphasis the overall improvement in the quality of life.

Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

It is not easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle especially when we have never thought about regulating our daily life. To maintain a healthy life and to be at peak performance takes hard work, dedication, and determination. However, if we follow the simple tips outlined below we will be able to manage our daily activities. How we live and activities we perform make us who we are as human beings and the most balanced individuals are the ones who accept themselves for who they are and work towards improving themselves and overall quality of life.

Tips to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

The tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle can be placed into three categories Physical, Social, and Emotional health hence we will exam these three areas and assess how we can improve our lifestyle.

1. Physical

Our physical well being is important because as we all know the body is a complex organism and whatever we consume will reflect our health. Therefore we must pay specific attention to certain areas of our lives such as maintaining a balanced diet and exercising regularly.

• Balance Diet- To maintain a balanced diet is easier said than done and many of us start only to stop as soon as we have started however we must be consistent in maintaining this aspect of our life because our physical health is very important and once it starts to fail our bodies become susceptible to various lifestyle diseases such as Hypertension(High Blood Pressure), High Cholesterol, Diabetes (Sugar), Obesity, Colon cancer, and Strokes to name a few. Therefore it is necessary to speak to a Doctor and Nutritionist about how to improve and maintain a healthy diet. 

• Exercise- It is important that we exercise regularly or participate in activities that allow us to sweat a little and burn a few calories in the process. One of the positives about modern technology is that many of our smart devices contain an application dedicated to improving our physical health and well-being. Additionally, exercise can include but is not limited to going to a gym or getting a personal trainer. There are so many things we can do at home without the help of a professional that will get our blood pumping, for example, taking a walk/run in the morning or in the evening, skipping, cycling, swimming, and even playing a sport. These are simple activities which will improve your physical health. 

Stay Sharp, Stay in Shape

2. Social

We are all created as social beings and our social health may sometimes take care of itself but the desire to socialize can sometimes do more harm than good which makes it absolutely important to maintain a balanced Social Life. To develop this lifestyle we must do the following:

• Chose the activities that you want to participate in. This is because there are social activities that will expose you to issues such as discrimination, lowering of self-esteem, participation in drug, or even criminal activities. Let us stay away from this overly obsessive nature of wanting to fit in and please everyone. Let us strive for success and respect rather than to be liked by everyone because to be liked by everyone is a key ingredient in the formula called FAILURE. So let us work to OVERCOME FAILURE.

• Assess your Social circle and interactions to ensure that the persons you are associating with will positively impact your life. This may also require you to eliminate some persons from your social circle if they are unwilling to help you develop your lifestyle practices. For example, it is good to browse the web because it allows you to find useful tips to improve your lifestyle however the use of the web can also become a Social Hazard oftentimes leading to you neglecting those you care about the most. Also, it can be as simple as limiting the number of Social Events that you attend, and only choose those that correspond will the changes in your life. Never put yourself in a socially awkward position or in a position where you feel pressured to do something you may regret.

3. Emotional

Sustaining your emotional lifestyle is key to preserving your health because we must be comfortable in our skin and not be emotionally retarded because it can lead to stress, anxiety, mood swings, depression, unlawful behavior, and even mental illness. Therefore it is our responsibility to ensure that we balance our emotional health. To do this we must include the following : 

• Me time- It is highly important that we pause and refresh our emotional battery. If we are constantly trying to control and fix everything around us it may lead to severe mode swings, stress, and anxiety. Therefore it is important to set aside some me-time so that you can do the things you enjoy the most with little to no distractions example, reading a blog or book, painting, cooking, watching television, listening to music, eating chocolate ice cream or even sleeping. Whatever you enjoy doing just set DO IT and care for yourself. 

• Quality time- It is frequently said that laughter is the best medicine, and one of the best ways to get some good laugh is to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones. Try to enjoy the moment by having fun laughing, taking photos, going on a vacation, and just enjoy the simple things in life because they are our blessings. For example, you can play a game ( games night), watch a movie, karaoke, camping or even a Barbeque. Sometimes we are so caught up worrying about everything else that we spend little to no time focusing on our emotional health.

4. Spiritual

Humans are uniquely created as spiritual beings and one of the best ways to enhance your health is to improve your spiritual connection with God. Our lifestyle is not complete without reading a word of encouragement, reciting a Mantra or Psalm, and Praying. It is amazing to know that many of the challenges that we face are because we have lost faith and finding our way back to our roots will undoubtedly improve our lifestyle. There is absolutely nothing we can do without taking into account the moral guide and quest for personal fulfillment that we get from a deeper spiritual connection with God.

Conclusion

We only have one life to live hence, it is important that we maintain a healthy lifestyle. Never believe that your current state of being is optimum because there is always room for improvement. Let us evaluate where we are now, where we want to be in the future, the type of health condition we want to be in, and start working towards it today. Let us plan because planning is the key to success and the success of our health starts with us becoming proactive and taking control of our own physical, social and emotional wellness.