The Greatest Gift You Will Ever Give to Yourself

Your Most Valuable Asset

What do you value most in your life? Is it your house or car? Your investments? Is it your family? Your job?

It’s often suggested that the things we value most are those that we have worked and sacrificed for; those things that do not come easy to us.

I’d like to suggest that your most valuable possession,is one you got for free. It was given to you as your birthright as a human being. It is one of the greatest  miracles that exist, and one of the most complex mechanisms found on the planet. Should you lose this, the game is absolutely over.

The most valuable asset you will ever own is your human body.It is the vehicle that houses your mind and spirit. Powered by an intelligence not completely understood, in almost all cases it develops into the highest form of being walking the earth, able to think, feel and create on a wondrous and seemingly limitless scale.

Yet, for all it’s complexity, for all its miracle and wonder, and in light of the fact that have much control over how long it travels with us, most of us take it almost completely for granted.

Not only do we take it for granted, most of  abuse it. Regularly. Consistently. With our thoughts, with our food, and with our movement, or more accurately, the lack there of.

Yet, it’s design allows it to heal itself, surprisingly, even from the most catastrophic illness or accident.

Except when it doesn’t.

When it doesn’t, when it’s inability to repair itself reaches a critical stage, it calls to us for attention. If we don’t pay attention, it calls louder. And if we still refuse to hear, it will bring us down.

At that point, almost everything else that we value falls by the wayside as meaningless, in the face of the struggle to regain our health. We become very aware of the preciousness, as well as the fragility, of our bodies. The only other thing that increases in value is our relationships with the ones we love. Ironically, if we have been negligent, careless, or abusive with our health, they will share in suffering the consequences with you.

My Recent Trip to the ER

I was taking out the trash a few weeks ago and a felt my heart do a few flip flops. This had been happening on and off for a few months, but I didn’t think anything of it. This time, however, I put my finger on my pulse and actually felt my heart skip a beat. That got my attention. This was not some digestive thing, it was my heart. Still, I felt OK… but, why I take a chance? My uncle had just recently suffered a heart attack which he fortunately survived.

 An hour later I found myself in the emergency room at the hospital where my daughters had been born. All I could think was “I’m in the emergency room and they’re monitoring my heart…not good.” One of the first things they ask is about your family history. Let’s see, grandpa suffered 11 heart attacks including the fatal one. Of his five boys, including my father, the youngest died at 43 from a heart attack while playing basketball, and three have survived heart attacks…to say I was confronted with my own mortality would be putting it lightly.

 Long story short, they didn’t find anything, including putting me on a treadmill where I lasted longer than most. Aside from a real problem, sometimes the heart experiences irregular beats for various reasons, such as stress or caffeine.

Still, I heard my body loud and clear. Since I’ve had kids, I still walk, but not daily like I used to. I don’t get out to hike much anymore. I find I can’t eat whatever I want anymore. I do yoga daily, but I realize that I need to do more to protect my health. At 50 years old, if I don’t actively maintain it, it will decline. I have at least another 15 years of raising kids. If it took some time in the ER to realize this and motivate me, then I can only feel grateful.

Give Yourself A Gift

This holiday season and the coming new year, seriously consider giving yourself the gift of health. It’s the greatest gift you will ever give to yourself. Don’t wait until the first of the year, or until you’re in the ER, or receiving a diagnosis you don’t want to hear. When you’re healthy, life awaits you, opportunity abounds, everything is so much easier. When you’re not, nothing is good.

If you know that you’re neglecting your health, then I challenge you to make a commitment to change. Do what you can. Start small. Get off the couch, and up from the computer.  You don’t need a gym membership or fancy equipment. Start by taking a walk, doing yoga, riding a bike, or taking a class. It doesn’t take much to positively affect how you feel, and what your future will look like. Just a few consistant actions done daily.

It’s true that you are what you eat and that most people dig their graves with their teeth. Dietary habits are an indispensable part of staying healthy. Start with going through your pantry and getting rid of the stuff that you know you shouldn’t be eating. Focus on eating consciously.

I’m not going make any further recommendations because we all know what to do. If you don’t, educate yourself. There are so many different philosophies out there about how and what to eat. Find one that makes sense to you and follow it. So much knowledge out there, and for free! Your life, and the quality of your life, as well as the quality of the life of your loved ones, is literally in your hands.

I’m making a  commitment to you that I’m going to start walking everyday, and I want you to hold me accountable. My goal is to live to be over 100 years old with a good quality of life. I hope that we can hang out sometime in 2060.

If you need someone to support you and hold you accountable for maintaining your good health, I can help you. From now until Jan 15, I will give you 25% off each hypnotherapy session that you book for the purpose of greater health, including 25% off of my smoking cessation program. In addition, I will create for you a personalized hypnosis CD for you to listen to at home ($85 value). Two requirements: 1. You need to book at least 3 sessions to get the discount. 2. You need to ask the magic question: “Still walking the talk, Ted?”

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Dedicated to helping you move to your next level of health,

TMan