What is the value of your quality of life?
My job revolves around doing my best to improve someone’s quality of life, whether they know it or not. It doesn’t matter if it’s my patients at the hospital or your average Joe at the gym, I am in this profession to make someone’s life easier through fitness. If you know me, or have read any of my blogs before, you know that I use exercise as a form of medicine. Similar to a doctor who may prescribe a pill to ultimately mask your issue; I prescribe exercise to hopefully treat or minimize the limitations of chronic disease and injury. But it doesn’t stop there.
Personally, I am a big planner. I have most of my days planned out to the hour and sometimes even the minute... I know where I will be next Wednesday at 10:37am and know exactly what time to put my phone down to get 8 hours of sleep before my 4:30am alarm goes off. Psychotic? Maybe, but if you don’t plan to succeed… well you know the rest.
I plan everything I can and don’t worry about what I can’t control. One thing I know I can control, to an extent, is my health and quality of life. I am a HUGE advocate for exercise and fitness as a preventative measure rather than reaction. Be proactive not reactive my dad has always said, and I use that in every aspect of my life.
Want to know my future plans? I plan to enjoy life to the fullest and I PLAN for my body to never be the reason that I cannot do something, no matter my age. Obviously shit happens, but why not give yourself the fighting chance? I PLAN to run around with my children in the yard (one day LOL) and I PLAN to be able to squat down (ass to grass) to pick up my grandchild when they waddle my way. I PLAN to be able to walk the streets of Greece when I am retired, and I PLAN to be able to walk up a flight of stairs easily when I am 80 years old. I PLAN for my age to never be a factor to why I don’t do something, and I PLAN for my body to never set me back until it absolutely has to.
So why don’t we all plan this way? Why are there 60-year old’s bound to a walker or wheelchair due to lack of mobility and lack of strength? Why do our parents and grandparents say, ‘I can’t do that, I’m too old’ or ‘I just worked all day, I need to rest’ (mind you, they have a sedentary job)? Why are we always surprised when a 70-year old does a deadlift with a barbell? Are we all just so complacent when it comes to our health? Why do we accept the thought of our age being a barrier to experiences? Do we not value our life as much as we think?
So, again, my question to you: what is the value of your quality of life?
I hope you answered somewhere along the lines of: there is no number or thing that has enough value.
If we can learn to plan our life past the number in our retirement savings and plan to enjoy the worlds experiences without our bodies being a limitation, then I truly believe as a society we will be healthier and happier. What’s a million dollars in the bank, if you can’t enjoy that trip you’ve always dreamed of?
I’m curious. Let me know your answers to my question above. Feel free to comment on my Instagram post, this blog post or send me a private message!
