So, What Are You Most Thankful For?

So what are you most thankful for? Being that it is Thanksgiving I hope that some of you have pondered this a bit. It’s interesting but when most people talk about what they are most thankful for it is their family, friends and health that top the list. Why do I find this interesting? Because I don’t think most of us concentrate on these things in relevance to them being what is most important to us.

Think about your average day or week. How much of that time is dedicated to family, friends and your health? Most of the people I come across are so caught up in the daily grind that these self-imposed most important things are not at the top of the list. People are very quick to say they are too busy to make phone calls, visit loved ones or get in a workout. It is everyone’s favorite excuse; I’m too busy.

Other people have no problem accepting this excuse because then they can use it too. What goes around comes around, right? Can you imagine if next Thanksgiving you did not have your spouse to be thankful for? Can you imagine if by next Thanksgiving you had lost a dear friendship because they tired of your excuses? Can you imagine that next Thanksgiving you no longer had your precious good health? Like the old saying goes, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’.

Good health is so valuable but you would never know it by the way many people treat it. Let’s face it, we take it for granted. We act like it is a birthright and it will always be there for us. It will never happen to us, just the other people, right? I’d like to take the famous JFK quote and turn it around on you. ‘Ask not what your body can do for you, ask what you can do for you body’.

So what can you do for your body? You can nourish it instead of just filling it with useless and empty calories. You can move your body instead of having it sit in front of the TV. That’s it you ask? Yep, that’s it. Just think about it, your amazing body and all it does for you and all it asks for in return are healthy nutrition and movement. Is that a bargain or what?

The time to really think about this is now, before you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clogged arteries and excess body fat and the many diseases they cause. Many of you already have one or more of these conditions. Have you taken responsibility for them? By taking responsibility you are regaining control of the situation and when you know that you are in control than you will do what is necessary to reverse these ailments.

Healthy nutrition and exercise have been proven to not just stop the progressions of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but to actually reverse them! I hope that has you excited and ready to take action! Too often I see people wallowing in self-pity because of their high blood pressure when I know that they eat sodium rich cold cuts, red meat, processed cheese and other junk food. Why should we feel sorry for someone who won’t take any responsibility? Frankly, I don’t feel sad as much as I do angry.

I feel that most people in our society are on a very slippery slope when it comes to their health and it is scary. It’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves, and it should be at the top of our priority list.