SEPTEMBER 02, 2020

Health is Wealth

Corona virus pandemic has changed the world profusely. Entire human race has been affected by it. Most of the sectors have been negatively impacted, and there are only a very few sectors which have shown positive results, in this pandemic period.

Many lessons can be learnt from this crisis. For example, how to boost our immune system, how to avoid engaging in things which are not necessary, how to maintain a good hygiene etc. One point that has become very clear to everyone is that health is the ''real'' wealth, and those who have kept themselves fit, healthy and infection-free during this time of pandemic are the actual wealthy people.

We have been taught since eternity that "prevention is better than cure" and during this period of corona virus outbreak, we have been trying to put that quote in practice too. As we don't have any form of medicine or vaccine, as cure of corona virus available with us, the only way we can remain uninfected is by following the social distancing norms. Actually, we can only practice some forms of preventive measures for keeping ourselves healthy and unaffected by the contagious virus. Speaking of health, it can be categorized in two ways, namely, physical health and mental health. I intend to write about mental health and its conditioning in a separate blog. In this article, we will be focusing on physical health aspect only.

How should we remain healthy?
First thing you should understand is that human body is mostly affected by the diet we take and our lifestyle (routine) we follow. Thus to stay healthy, we have to take extra care of these parameters. Eat a balanced diet. The general notion is that we should only eat food which are rich in protein but that is not completely correct. Our diet should include carbohydrates, vitamins, fibres, iron and other minerals too. The completely balanced diet is very important. Unfortunately, this point is vastly neglected especially by our youths. The proportion of one parameter can be more than others depending on your goal and current health conditions. For example, someone has to make the coveted six pack abs then his requirements are different from someone who is targeting to run a long distance marathon race. Hence, we need to select our diet as per our age, BMI, health conditions and our health goals.

The other thing we should understand is that our lifestyle or routine plays a very important role in attaining a sound health. There is a long lasting impact on our health by following a healthy lifestyle, which includes maintaining a routine of time we wake up. Undoubtedly, we have many advantages of getting up early. It has tremendous positive effects. When we wake up early (preferably before sunrise), we can start our day by morning walk or jogging, in a calm and serene atmosphere. We also can do yoga or meditation and keep ourselves positive entire day. For those who have a long to-do list, it always gives sense of satisfaction to complete some of the tasks earlier in the day. Whether you are a working professional or a retired person, whether you are a student or a housewife, it is always better to start your day early.

I have transformed myself from someone who used to work till 2-3 am every night to someone who wakes up before 6 am everyday. This minor change in my routine has made a lot of difference in my energy level and outcomes. The change in routine should never be done abruptly. It should be achieved by small steps at a time. For example, if you are a person who has a habit going to bed every night at around 2 am and you wish to change this time to 11 pm, then to begin with, on the first day, alter that time by just 15 minutes. Go to bed at around 1:45 am for 3-4 days, thereafter, you should try to shift that time again by another 15 minutes. Keep changing the time in steps and practice that for a few days to observe if there is any negative impact in your life due to this alteration in routine. If everything seems hunky-dory, then shift the timing again. This process when done repeatedly, with conscious effort, it becomes our new habit. Soon we will observe that we have changed our routine in a positive manner.

There are many advantages of maintaining a good health. To enumerate a few, we feel energetic and motivated at all times; we enjoy our life to the fullest; we get energy to deal with the challenges that life puts on our paths and most importantly, we save a lot of money by not visiting a doctor / hospital and putting any of our loved ones under stress. So it becomes a healthy and wealthy feeling.

Trust me on this and take some steps right now to improve your lifestyle and health. As you may know that a simple SIP (systematic investment plans) of an amount as low as rupees 500 a month can give you a return as big as many millions in the long term, owing to the compounding effect, similarly a routine of waking up early or brisk walking for a small duration on a daily basis, will give you a long and healthy life. This will positively impact your olden days, where you may not have to spend a lot of money on old age diseases.

Stay healthy, stay wealthy !!!