Being a proactive agent for your body is required for wellness. You must treat it properly and not wait until you are in pain before taking care of it. As previously said, health is not just the absence of sickness, any more than riches is the absence of poverty. Remember that health is more than just “feeling good,” because we know that disorders can grow for years without creating any symptoms. For example, heart illness sometimes develops undiagnosed for many years before it manifests itself: in fact, the first indication of heart disease that many individuals encounter is a heart attack or death.

Let us be clear: we are not under the impression that anyone who adopts a wellness lifestyle would be immune to pain, illness, or disease. Many individuals do everything correctly and still become sick and die. Some would claim that many individuals do everything wrong but live long seemingly healthy lives. However, because we have no means of knowing who is who, we must do everything we can to limit risks and enhance our health.

In our private practice, we’ve witnessed how people’s health negligence has cost them thousands of dollars, sometimes to the point of bankruptcy. We’ve seen people who had saved and waited their whole lives to take a dream trip or send their children to college, only to have their money and aspirations sucked away to pay for healthcare costs. We have encountered clients with occupational problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome or neck/back pain who were unable to work, drive, or even sleep without agonizing pain. We’ve seen family members whose entire lives have been consumed by the need to care for an ill or injured family member. Long-term disease or disability may be devastating to a family; in many situations, it occurs in families who are already over-stressed, under-loved, and emotionally exhausted.

Then there are some people who have been unemployed due to pain or a health problem and choose to embrace new healthy habits: after a short amount of time, they are back at work producing money, taking care of themselves and their family again, and are able to save for their retirement.

We’ve heard every possible reason why individuals think they can’t afford to invest time or money in their health. However, the fact is that you must invest in your health now or risk being bankrupt later. If you don’t have the time or money to enhance your health while you’re feeling well, what makes you think you’ll have the time or money to do so once you’ve lost it? “You can make time for wellness now or you can make time for sickness later.” Anthony Robbins famously stated. You have an option.

In terms of your health, there are three primary points that we want to emphasize:

1. Health is more than just not being sick.
2. Our bodies have systems that control a number of complicated processes required for optimal balance and coordination to function properly.
3. Living a wellness lifestyle may improve your life by providing you with better health.