I've heard to many times "that's just not how the world works." People use that phrase every day. "Life's not fair." That one seems to be another favorite. "People don't get what they deserve." "It's always the good that get punished." "Nice guys finish last." These phrases pollute our daily life all the time.
Well, living healthy isn't just about eating the right foods, exercising, and taking care of yourself. Living in a healthy way also includes having a healthy outlook on life. It goes so much further than the surface!
You can take the greatest care of your physical body in the world, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. If you hate your job, hate your home life, and feel that there's no way to succeed in the world, and that life is pointless, you're not going to benefit from the positive behaviors your fostering in eating well and getting enough exercise every day. The goal is to be healthy, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Only then can you truly live and be happy with your life.
Think of your lifestyle. Are you happy with your job? In my experience, that's the biggest cause for dis-ease within the body. This is the biggest area that causes an unhealthy perspective. If you're not happy with what you do for work, that trickles down into every aspect of your being. It effects your home life, your energy level, your stress levels, and everything else. It may not be easy to get a job that you love, but sometimes it's just a matter of writing down everything about your perfect job, then starting to look for one that will meet your requirements. You never know what you might find! Even just changing your perspective towards the aspects of your job you do like can change your whole work experience! As much as you may hate your job, you may find that there are things you love about it too. If you change your perspective, you may even find the things you love about your job far outweigh those you hate! You were just blinded by the negative.
The same goes with other aspects of your life. If you hate yourself and everything about yourself, of course you're not going to have any friends! If you're so concerned with other people having things that you wish you had, then you're wasting time you could be spending going out and getting those things in your own life! Jealousy is a huge distraction from getting on with your own life, for example. In the end, stating that no one gets what they deserve is much the same. Thinking that those who hurt others never get punished is rather short sited. After all, you can only hurt so many people before you start running out of people who will put up with it. It's a very lonely path that means constantly changing the people you surround yourself with. Long term bonds of friendship simply can't exist! That right there is a huge punishment. If you're an overall good person, people will see that, and even if they leave your life because of some conflict started by another negative influence, more often than not they will come back in your life once they've realized they were wrong. This is how long-term friendships are built, one of the greatest assets in life. As for other things many people believe they "deserve", it's all a matter of working for it. Yes, you may be a hard worker that deserves a great job, but you're never going to get it if you don't work for it. You may deserve all kinds of recognition for some project you've been working on, but you're never going to get it if you stop working at it the moment you don't get recognition. There's a reason they say good things come to those who wait. Getting what you deserve requires a lot of patience.
As for that final one, nice guys may finish last, but competition isn't friendly. Competition doesn't make anyone feel good. It doesn't feel nice to lose. Winning does feel great and all, but what's the point in winning? Fame? Accolades? To be known as the best? I'd rather be the last one across the finish line, but win in other ways. So what if I may not have fought to be the top of my field or the best at everything I do. I know that in the end I've spent my time making good friends and helping others in need instead of fighting to the head of the pack so I can be successful. If I stand out and end up being known, notable, or famous along the way, so be it. It's what needed to happen, and obviously it's a true mark of just being that good at what I do. I don't need it, but if it happens, it's still nice. As for the relationship front, well, most of the reason nice guys always finish last is because they don't have the courage to stand up, say how they feel, and risk being rejected. It's always too easy to be seen as the one everyone can fall back on, but you've got to stand up for yourself and speak for yourself too! Otherwise, you're not being nice, you're just being a doormat.
Living in a healthy and positive way also doesn't mean being nice to everyone all the time either! It doesn't mean being truly selfless! What good am I doing the world if I make sure my children are the happiest they could ever be if I'm miserable all the time? What good does it do me to feed the starving people in the world if I end up wasting away to nothing due to malnourishment? How can I help my friends become better people if I'm constantly letting them get away with being hurtful and negative towards me? In the first case, if I'm always miserable, my children can never truly be happy. They're going to know, and likely will blame themselves. It's also possible that I'll just snap and turn everything on them, becoming not only an unhealthy influence, but also possibly upsetting my children far more. It's better that they don't get everything they want and I take the time for me when I need it. If I'm giving them a good example of being a healthy person, they're more likely to be healthy too. In the second example, it's all well and good to feed people who can't obtain food of their own, but I can only do it for so long. If I waste away and die, I become incapable of helping those in need. In which case, they won't have anyone left to help them! Better that I take care of myself first so I can help for as long as possible. The long term benefits far outweigh the short term outcome of starving myself. Another option would be to help these people find a way to obtain food for themselves while I can't afford to actually feed them. Jesus was right, with that whole teach a man to fish thing. The third example is perhaps the hardest for people. No one wants to lose friends or see them walk away, but friendships are a two way street, as I'm often reminded. If one person is expected to give and give, but the other never returns, that person is doing just as much damage as eating all your food! They are taking away your time and energy, things that are very valuable for reducing your own stress and seeing that your own needs are met. If they can't return the favor to have everything balance, they aren't a true friend anyway.
In short, to be happy you need to be healthy in every aspect of your life. You need to learn when to say no, and not just to things you shouldn't eat! You need to learn to stand up for yourself! You need to look for the positive int he world around you, because there's a lot out there! Being healthy goes so much farther than simply looking at what you eat and what you physically do. Being healthy is a process for the whole being!
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