Health and wealth, Is Health The New Wealth?
Is health is better than wealth
If you were to ask an average group of people under the age of thirty what their aspirations were for their future, you’ll probably find that good health is not mentioned. This is not because they don’t want good health, it’s simply something that many of us take for granted. On the other hand, you’ll almost certainly hear ‘financial wealth’ mentioned as a top priority.
The Price Of Wealth
It’s perfectly natural in life to want to achieve some degree of wealth. Many of us aspire to it. Yet the very desire to achieve financial wealth often comes at a high price. Achieving financial success requires hard work, long hours, and plenty of stress along the way. It almost always involves a heavy burden on your time.
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Many successful entrepreneurs and investors who have achieved financial wealth have reported that whilst building their fortunes, they lacked the time for proper exercise, eating nutritionally correct foods and even sleeping properly at night. Many claim that they suffered from anxiety, headaches, insomnia, compromised immune systems and high blood pressure. What’s more, they often report that their quest for wealth meant they didn’t have sufficient time to focus on social and family life, resulting in a deterioration of their interpersonal relationships(1).
Wealth may ultimately be achieved but often at the cost of one’s own physical and emotional health and wellbeing. If you’re too sick to work and too unwell to enjoy the fruits of your labor, no amount of money can really make life worth while.
Case Study: The Perils Of A Wealthy Unhealthy Lifestyle
One individual who experienced first hand the perils of this wealthy lifestyle ‘trap’ was Joe Cross. Joe was an Australian in his forties with a very successful career working in the financial markets. He had spent the best part of his life working hard, building financial wealth, partying, eating and drinking. He woke up one day weighing in at 22 stone, suffering from autoimmune disease and was (in his own words), ‘fat, sick and nearly dead’.
Joe made a brave decision to transform his life in a radical way before it was too late. He underwent a journey of self-discovery and rapid weight loss. He eliminated whole foods altogether from his diet, began walking daily and consumed a low calorie juice diet for 60 days which literally helped save his life. He lost 6 stone of body weight and virtually eradicated his autoimmune disease(2).
Joe was one of the lucky ones who made a decision to prioritize health before it was too late. It is a fact that no matter how much money you have, health is one commodity that no amount of money can buy. There is no magic pill that will replicate the effects of regular exercise, no drug that can burn fat whilst we sit on our behind, no pill that can make up for lost sleep and no wonder drug that can give us a day’s recommended intake of fruit. and vegetables.
The fact is that health has to be worked at, every bit as much as achieving wealth in our lives. Achieving excellent health takes structure, planning, consistency and hard work – but the rewards are even more fulfilling than financial success. Unfortunately many people make this marriage far too late in life.
Balancing Wealth & Health
The reality remains that wealth means absolutely nothing without good health. After all, how can you really enjoy your fortune when you’re suffering from health problems or disease? Exercise and healthy eating are major lifestyle components of living a healthier lifestyle. They can prevent mental decline, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even certain cancers. In many respects health is the new wealth. Just like money health can be considered a form of currency, but one that is able to buy us not material possessions, but something more valuable – extra years of enjoying life.
Health makes life better for longer. Good health can buy more active days on this planet that can mean more experiences and more opportunities to do the things we love. We can spend those extra days doing whatever we enjoy. It may be cycling, walking, visiting the beach, going on a holiday, spending time laughing with the grandchildren or just sitting peacefully and reading a book. These are valuable and treasured experiences that can only be bought with good health, not financial wealth.
As a general rule, it is true to say that healthy people have more fun in life. Feeling rich encompasses more than just the value of your home or the size of your bank balance. It comes from within and is based upon a range of factors but most notably, our health and wellbeing. It’s funny that some of the happiest people you meet in life are not the ones with the most money. Why is this? Because for many people, having good health is the real sign of wealth.
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