It takes more than hard work to master health.
skeeze / Pixabay – It takes more than hard work to master health.

I posted a saying the other day on Facebook. It said, just because it offends you doesn’t make you right. We tend to remember only what we have seen and learned from our birth. We don’t learn from history anymore. We don’t learn from our mistakes. As a result, we tend to make the same mistakes our fathers and grandfathers made.

We eat and drink and they become habits. We do it to maintain our weight and health. Our choices are influenced by certain things. If I am a vegan, an advocate of Paleo or Atkins, or just enjoy meat and potatoes, I am literally a victim of the history or my choices. How does one break out of his or her habit?

When I think of the masters of all they surveyed, I think of those professionals who controlled the places they lived in and worked. I think of Navy SEALs.

My daughter texted me five sayings about Navy SEALs the other day. I read them and agreed. They typify the masters of their trade – warfare. However, can that same philosophy address the process of aging and health? I believe it can. Here are five things I gleaned from several articles I researched about Navy SEALs.

Number ONE. The only easy day was yesterday. You must constantly push yourself to be excellent. You don’t achieve it one day and it stays with you the rest of your life. Mastering diet, nutrition, exercise, etc. does not mean that what you know today becomes dogma for the rest of your life.

It is not easy to stay on the path that will lead you to excellent health when you pass your hundredth birthday. You must keep yourself motivated and focused.

Number Two. Pain is weakness leaving the body. We live in comfort zones. It is rare when we push ourselves outside our comfort zones. It hurts when we exercise a muscle. However, the muscle becomes stronger. It is sometimes painful to eat certain foods, exercise at specific times, meditate, avoid toxins, etc.

Knowing something is good for you and doing it is sometimes at cross purposes. It is difficult to break a habit or addiction. But, for success, it must be done.

Number Three. The more you sweat in training the less you bleed in combat. Navy SEALs train harder and longer than their enemies to survive. Most of us want a nice, healthy and enjoyable retirement life. Yet, the clear majority of us are not enjoying our health when we retire.

Like pain, the sweat of daily decisions and actions becomes tedious and not much fun. But, we don’t keep the end in mind. We tend to focus on the here and now and not the future.

Number Four. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Almost all of us avoid discomfort. For example, I don’t like taste or smell of cabbage. Is it good for me? The sulfur molecules in cabbage are required for my body to repair itself. There are other choices that don’t taste or smell like cabbage.

But, what about exercise. Some of us really don’t like to exercise. We must accept that some things in life are required whether we like them or not. There are no substitutes.

Number Five. No plan survives the first contact with the enemy. This is originally attributed to Helmuth von Moltke during WWI. Mike Tyson has a similar saying. Preparation and training must become part of our lives. You must know what you are going to do before you do it.

There are times that things don’t work according to plan. Then you must know what options are available and adapt accordingly. Be rigid when we must and flexible when forced.

I advocate balanced nutrition combined with the lowest caloric intake possible. It has been shown in many models to be the best option to attain great health and a longer life. Add to that intermittent fasting with an alkaline body and you have mastered the requirements to keep yourself healthy.

Yet, we must do more. We must avoid toxins, learn to reduce stress daily and exercise in many ways often. These seven lifestyle choices combined with the five dictates listed above should improve your chances to attain old age with the ability to do anything you want to do.

 

 

 

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