“I believe it to be a primary principle of success;‘mens sana in corpore sano ’— a sound mind in a sound body. The mind in a weak body produces weak ideas; a strong body gives strength to the thought of the mind. Ill health is due to man’s artificiality of living. He lives indoors. He becomes, as it were, a hothouse plant. Such a plant is never as successful as a hardy garden plant is. An outdoor life is necessary to health and success, especially in a youth.”
Alexander Graham Bell
Health is everything. It has hooks in everything we do.*
Want to write a book? Want to start a business? Trying to be a top-tier designer or developer? Want to have kids? Need to learn something quickly? Feeling stuck?
Good health amplifies your abilities to have great ideas, deal with setbacks and take action when you need it. Sure, you can get by without it. You can achieve success on a crappy diet and no exercise.
But imagine what you could do if you were optimally firing in all cylinders.
The tricky thing is are bodies are incredible at adapting to our environment. The way we feel is so subjective and unmeasured. Poor health gradually becomes the new normal — and we don’t even noticed that we are feeling tired or slow anymore.
One dumb way to experiment with this yourself to understand how fundamental health is to our creative work is do the opposite: Eat only junk for a month. Sleep less than 5 hours a night for a while. Don’t move your body at all. How do you feel? Now experiment with good health: Eat clean (no sugar, no breads, no over-processed ‘foods’). Walk a little every day. Take a course that makes you move your body. Get enough sleep. How do you feel now in good health compared to how you felt in bad health?
For me, even just a few nights of poor sleep can make me feel off my game. I’ll go through the motions of the day and try to get things done, but feel incapable of what’s in front of me. I know this intuitively now, because the moment I get a great nights sleep I feel incredible.
Of course, we know health is good for us. But it usually doesn’t become essential until we face problems of bad health.
“With age comes the understanding and appreciation of your most important asset, your health.”
Oprah Winfrey
It doesn’t take much — just a step towards good health each day.
Note: Not a Doctor. If you are looking for medical Advice, go talk to a Doctor.
*It’s worth saying that the reverse is also true: Health affects everything and everything affects health. If you hate your work, or suppress your inner creative spark, it can manifest in odd health issues like stomach pain or fatigue. Is it the cause or just a symptom? Hard to say.
STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner
Daily Blog #624
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