I was reading this article recently and there was a paragraph that really stuck out for me. It stated:

“My spouse is a physical therapist at a nursing home and she sees death on a near daily basis, and has the opportunity to learn from those who are willing to share their life lessons. The most frequent comment has been something along the lines of, “I wish I would have chosen to be happy”.

It made me think of other articles I had read about people on their deathbed and the things they thought about when looking back on their life. For example in this article the five most common regrets that people express are:

• I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
• I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
• I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
• I wish that I had let myself be happier

It made me reflect on my own life and the way that I live. It also made me think about the clients I work with and their pursuit of “health”.

I’m in my mid 30s and I posed the question to myself that if I was to find out I was on my deathbed in 5 years, would I feel short changed with the things I have done to be healthy?

And the answer I came up with was no. I genuinely enjoy doing the exercise that I do. I love going for walks and running. I enjoy lifting weights and doing circuits. Yes I’m doing these things to increase health and hopefully longevity, but I also enjoy doing them regardless of what happens.

Same thing when I think about food. I eat in a way that supports my health that I genuinely enjoy. I don’t feel deprived or restricted or that I’m eating food I actively dislike just because it is healthy. So even if I’ve got it completely wrong and what I’m doing isn’t supporting my health, I wouldn’t resent what I’ve put myself through.

And so I want to pose the question to you. Do you enjoy the things that you do to support your health? Are you eating “healthy” foods or doing exercise through gritted teeth, constantly telling yourself it’s for the better? In the not too distant future if you were on your deathbed would you resent the wasted time and energy you put in to being “healthy”?

The sad truth is that none of us are going to make it out of this alive. At some point we are all going to die and so we just have the decision of how are we going to spend our time while we are here.

Maybe another helpful question would be to ask is “why do you want to be healthy?” or “why do you want to live for a long time?” For what?

All too often I see people whose “pursuit of health” is crippling to the point of destroying their life. All they think about is food and exercise. Far from enhancing their life, it’s shrunken it to the point of non-existence.

It’s like the idea of living as a prisoner of war to age of 102. Yes longevity might be great, but do you really want to live for that long in those conditions? More so when you realise that the front door to the prison is wide open and instead you are keeping yourself there by your own volition.

Too much of the pursuit of health is a pointless goal. The idea of better health for the sake of better health. Instead better health should be for the sake of being able to do more, to have better relationships, to pursue your passion, to be able to run around after your kids, to be able make a difference, or to [fill in the blank].

Health is not the end goal but rather it is the catalyst. It makes it easier for you to do the important things in life. But it’s not a prerequisite. Because you can have people in the worst state of health that do amazing things in this world, just as you can be completely healthy but are contributing nothing beyond living in your head.

So much of the work I do with people is to assist in making them healthy. And not just healthy physically, but mentally and emotionally. But the most important thing isn’t about creating this health, but about getting people to use this health for the better.

So I will leave you with the questions again: Why do you want to be healthy? Why do you want to live for a long time? For what? Hopefully the answers to this can put your pursuit of health and longevity in context.

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