Modern medicine has achieved much. Its ability to cure disease and save lives has given most of us the promise of a longer life than our ancestors could have imagined.
And as medical science continues to advance, more and more of us can feel confident that we will reach old age. But a decent old age is something only you can help create. The key is taking personal responsibility for your health, and that begins with knowledge.
What wellness really means
Protecting our wellness and health is more important than wealth or any type of “success” in life, and much of the secret lies in how we choose to live each day.
You hear a lot these days about wellness, and some of us may wonder what this term really means.
What constitutes wellness anyway? Is there a difference between health and wellness, or are they simply complementary terms? After all, if I am not sick, I am well… right?
We are beginning to understand that health is far more than simply the absence of disease.
It is about having a positive, proactive attitude toward your own well-being. It is about prevention, not waiting until symptoms appear and then reacting in fear or desperation.
Wellness is a voluntary choice to seek out the habits, foods, thoughts, and lifestyle changes that give you a higher quality of life. It focuses on staying well rather than waiting for disease to show up before making better choices. And if health problems do arise, wellness care looks deeper. It focuses on finding and addressing the cause rather than only covering up symptoms.
Sickness care versus wellness self-care
While it is certainly desirable to eliminate symptoms when they appear, in most cases it is even more important to address the cause. The “sickness industry” tends to focus on disease after it has already taken hold. It is largely built around surgery and synthetic pharmaceutical drugs used to manage illness after the fact. Wellness care takes a very different approach.
Sickness care reactively treats the symptoms of disease after they occur.
Wellness care proactively works to prevent poor health, reduce the risk of disease, and slow the aging process.
There is increasing evidence that no matter what your current age or state of health may be, the time to begin preparing for a healthier old age is now. The younger you are when you begin, the better your chances of locking in a healthy, active, and enjoyable final third of life.
Groups such as the Baby Boomers are already living this third chapter and are at the forefront of the quest to control aging and, in some minds, even avoid its worst effects altogether. And the good news is that for the first time in human history, we have both the knowledge and many of the tools to avoid much of the suffering traditionally associated with aging.
In the minds of some, old age itself has become something to be challenged rather than simply accepted. There is now a growing desire not merely to live longer, but to remain vibrant, capable, and engaged for far more years.
You can now join growing numbers of older adults who are redefining what aging looks like, making 70-plus the new 40. Imagine being able to feel and function more like you did at 40 or 50 for much longer than people once thought possible. How cool would that be?
Those who embrace an anti-aging lifestyle believe there is much you can do to influence how you age. If you adopt an anti-aging diet and way of life, you have a real chance of adding years of happy, active, and healthier living. It is about extending vitality as far as possible, increasing your healthy years, and delaying the most difficult aspects of old age until the very last stage of life.
What is the point of living into your 80s if you are confined to a nursing home and unable to feed or dress yourself without assistance?
More and more people are searching for a healthy, youthful life… the good life.
The desire is not simply for a long life, but for a quality old age. With the knowledge now available, an anti-aging lifestyle can help keep the body and mind younger for much longer than has traditionally been the case.
Through the habit of choosing to act responsibly, you begin to develop a strong sense of personal responsibility for your health. And that is where real power begins.
People who succeed with anti-aging practices are usually those who deeply value independence, productivity, and self-care in later life. These values become part of the way they think and live. For them, anti-aging is not a passing interest. It becomes a way of life.
Through the habit of seeking authentic growth, you begin to recognize that growth choices are present in every moment. The more often you choose growth over instant gratification, the stronger you become in every area of life.
Healthy habits include strengthening and nouriishing both your body and your mind. As you develop these habits, you strengthen your inner resources. You reinforce healthy patterns and begin propelling yourself toward real health, real growth, and real success.
Adopt these life extending healthy habits now and join the growing movement of people doing the work necessary to enjoy a better quality of life as they age. The clock starts now.
You have a right to health and wellness as you earn it through your daily healthy habits, and that means adopting an anti-aging lifestyle.
Consciousness of how the aging process works is the first step in understanding the principles that underlie an anti-aging lifestyle.
The alternative to preparing for a healthy old age is not neutral. Neglecting your health will eventually collect its payment, and too often that payment is misery in old age.
Goals of an anti-aging lifestyle:
Robust healing and cell renewal by activating the body’s self-healing processes
Health that goes far beyond simply “not being sick”
Remaining strong and energetic regardless of age
Slowing the aging process
Living a peak-performance life
Improving body composition and maintaining a healthy muscle-to-fat ratio
Becoming physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger
Being free of disease and lowering future disease risk
Maintaining wellness through every decade of life
Helping your health span more closely match your life span
The bottom line is simple. Wellness is not something you chase after you lose it. It is something you build, protect, and strengthen every single day through the choices you make. The sooner you begin, the greater your reward will be.
No matter your age, it is never too early or too late to start living in a way that supports strength, vitality, clarity, and independence. Your future health is being shaped by what you do right now. Choose well, live consciously, and give yourself the best possible chance to enjoy not just a longer life, but a better one.
The best life possible is not behind you! You’re just getting started.
Everything you need to discover and live that life can be found at:
Self-Gifts a Library of Free resources that help with all your health and fitness goals.
