Are you like Joel?

I love to meet new friends. You never know who you may be sitting next to. My wife and I were having dinner at a great local restaurant called Connors, amazing chicken scampi. We were seated at the bar enjoying a nice Cabernet. I started talking to a nice gentleman who was alone next to us. Joel was picking dinner up for him and his wife of 60 years, Mary. My wife and I were both surprised to learn that Joel was 82, because he looked much younger. I asked him what his strategy had been to stay in such good shape and take care of himself.

He said he has always been active during his career as a veterinarian. He grew up on a farm and his parents taught him the value of always having a quality vegetable garden he and his wife enjoy tending to. He and his wife had been avid juicers for decades and started their day that way. He marveled at how much better the juicers are today and easier to clean.

He had worked out at a gym until he turned 75, but then decided to make a change. He has a current streak going of the last seven years of walking their two dogs every morning. He has not missed a day and he said part of his motivation is how excited his two dogs are to go with him. I agree, Motion is Medicine!

He has consistently invested his time to be in great shape, ‘drug free’ (which is rare at 82) and happily married. He is the epitome of the advice I give every audience. Think long term, avoid instant gratification and strive to take great care of yourself now, so that in the future, you are in the position to enjoy all that you have worked so hard for. Consider your HEALTHSPAN not just your lifespan! How long will you be mentally sharp, drug free and physically active to enjoy your life. I am going for 100….and it is an active 100!

You either invest a little of your time and money each day RIGHT NOW to take care of yourself OR neglect to do that and then you will likely have to spend MAJOR amounts of your time and money, experiencing massive stress to REVERSE a major health challenge you could have avoided.

If you have read this far, I commend you. All behavior change starts with some kind of moment that triggers the decision. Maybe reading this will be your trigger event. You can start a streak right now like Joel and everything can change for you. Everything in your life has led to this moment. It is not an accident that you are reading this post. Take action now. Please share with others.

Check out EmployeeWellnessVideos.com for proven ways to drive healthy habits at your company – one video every 10 days, online library, action questions, quartler webinar and much more. The goal is to help people who have prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension….not manage but REVERSE their situation.