Your health: your most valuable asset

Your health is the most important link to make your overall life the very best it can be.

Every one of us can think back to a time in our life where we had more strength and agility. You might notice that even though hard work was put into that level of health you felt lighter and had more energy in your body. We can also think of someone right now who takes their health very seriously, who prioritizes their workouts, getting enough sleep, and how they support and nourish their body.

When you think about your healthiest self in the past or that person we know who is serious about their health, what kind of thoughts come up for you? Do you have wishful thinking around bettering your own health?

Joe Pilates himself said “Physical fitness can neither be acquired by wishful thinking nor by outright purchase.”

Wishful thinking itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you lean into wishful thinking alone, you are missing the simplest step to being fit and healthy. As coaches, we see people all the time who have wishful thinking around their health and never get to the point of action. “I need to get back to the gym.” “I should be getting to bed earlier.” “When the weather changes, when my kids are back in school, when I get back from vacation, as soon as I am ‘free’…” None of those statements include the word ‘today’, and we all know that you are never really free in your schedule. The simplest step in the process of improving your health is just choosing the moment, investing the time, and starting today.

Just like wishful thinking won’t guarantee your health, neither will money. Investing money into your fitness is important and necessary, but it is also true that after a certain level of financial investment you don’t always need to spend a lot of money to have great results. We see people who do have a lot of money to dedicate to fitness, but because they did not prioritize their health earlier, their fitness is so declined that they are unable to do some of the most basic life activities. Behind their physical limitations is regret that they did not take action sooner and commit to a daily and weekly practice.

The great news is if you are still breathing, you can become healthier. We have seen people get healthier from starting Authentic Pilates seated in a chair. We have seen people get back physical abilities like flexing and rotating their spine that they were told they could never do again. If you are willing to say that the only direction to go from here is up, then you can one-hundred percent improve your health, fitness, and quality of life. We’ve seen it too many times to count.

All of us tend to think that we should wait for fitness and for taking care of ourselves to be a fun project. Yes, there are people who take great joy in creating a healthy life and becoming stronger — in fact we believe everyone can have joy in their health. But if you are waiting for fitness to be a joy ride, you will be waiting the rest of your life. It should be uplifting, but if you are serious about your best health and best life, you are there because you are dedicated to live the most fulfilling life in all areas that you can.

The true goal of a good workout is to mentally and emotionally feel better than when you started, with the physical benefits coming as a bonus. When you experience strength, energy, and health in your body, all of your life’s responsibilities become easier and more manageable and your relationships change because you are viewed by others as someone who has a high standard of self-care and how they are treated.

You can use your wishful thinking and your wallet to activate your intention, but recognize that nothing but dedication and repetition will actually give you health and longevity. Your mind, body, and spirit are waiting to thank you.