Developing a Health Consciousness - part 1

Articles In This Section:

· Developing a Health Consciousness - part 1

· Developing a Health Consciousness - part 2

· Developing a Health Consciousness - part 3

· Developing a Health Consciousness - part 4

· Developing a Health Consciousness - part 5

HOW WELL IS WELL? Perhaps you have never asked yourself this question. It will prove interesting to think about it a moment and doing so may start a train of thought which will carry you into a state of happiness you have not known before. When do you think of yourself as being well? When you are free from aches and pains? When you can do your normal work without exhaustion? The questions which could be asked are numerous, but the big question is: Even if you are free from aches and pains and are able to do your regular work without exhaustion is it possible for you to feel still better?

The pinnacle of well-being is mental and physical vibrancy, when you can throw your entire enthusiastic self into anything you do whether work or play; when your mind is free from worry, because you accept the problems of the day as a challenge instead of approaching them with fear; when your heart is free from hatred because you have eyes which look only for the good in others; and when your todays are better than your yesterdays, and your tomorrows are looked forward to with joyous anticipation.

Following are ten simple steps for radiant mental and physical health, which are all you need to develop a health consciousness:

1. Have an incentive to want to be actively alive—on top of the world. We can do almost anything if we really want to. This applies to physical well-being as much as it does to anything else. We might go through the motions of doing things intended for better health, but, unless our actions are backed by a burning desire to succeed, we need not look for spectacular and glowing results. It's wonderful to feel good, to have that up-and-at-'em feeling, but before we can make progress in creating such a feeling, we must have a mighty good reason for doing so. Step 1, therefore, is to acquire an incentive—a valid reason for wanting every fiber of your being to effervesce with vibrant energy. Only a few suggestions will be offered as thought starters, but for the real incentives, explore that mind of yours to learn just what it is you would like to accomplish—or be. Would you like to be a power in your community? Would you like to have the type of personality which sways people? Forcefulness is not a question of how you pitch your voice, or how loud you talk. It is a reflection of a mind alert and a body dynamically alive and vigorous. Would you like to have a large circle of admiring friends? Would you like to be the one singled out for your opinion and advice, because there is something about you which spells authority? Would you like to be elected to important posts in your lodge or club, because of your personal magnetism? Perhaps your desires might run along the lines of personal accomplishment. You may have said: "I would take up the study of music, if I felt better." Or, it might have been painting or the mastering of one of the many crafts. I may be a thousand miles from anything which nearly approaches your own incentive. You may be single and give anything for the right mate, but feel you do not have the youth or physical attractiveness to interest the opposite sex. But, regardless of what your desires are, get an incentive which will give you a reason to want to be on top physically and mentally; then you will be in a position to get the maximum good from the steps which follow.