Health Investment: Your Health is Your Wealth
I received an unexpected piece of mail last month…
It was a letter from AARP welcoming me to “the club” so to speak.
I was horrified. Appalled actually. In my mind, I felt, and still feel like I am in my twenties.
If you asked me to run 10 miles with you tomorrow, I could say yes, what time?!
If you asked me to bike 50 miles? No problem.
Feeling inspired to swim some laps, or hike, or ski? I am so in.
I thought of what I used to think retirement would look like. I envisioned being old, struggling to walk, how weight gain and disease typically plague older adults limiting how they can explore new places.
It got me thinking…
We spend much of our life preparing for retirement financially, putting money aside to enjoy the fruits of our YEARS of labor… only to be sidelined due to poor health.
All this time we spent focused on building material wealth, we were neglecting the importance of simultaneously building personal health and wealth.
This got me thinking about what wealth really means.
Let’s talk about the financial side. Since it is tax season, I have been listening to a lot of shows on finance and discussing with my accountant investment strategies and retirement accounts.
Financial accountants and investment gurus talk of this as “wealth building.” Regardless of how much money we have, we typically want more.
Why? Because money gets you freedom. Freedom of time. Freedom of choices.
We typically see wealth as a monetary value.
But pull up a chair and let’s chat about REAL wealth - and that is your physical and mental health and wellness.
Your health is your wealth.Even if you build up a nest egg of millions of dollars, if you don’t have the physical stamina and emotional health and wellness to enjoy that nest egg, what is the point?
We will easily see investing money as a common and encouraged way to build wealth. And regular investments on autopilot are often touted as the way to build wealth over time.
But… Why do we not see ourselves as worth investing in, too?
Why do we find mental health, obesity and disease becoming increasingly more common in older age, limiting what could be our time to enjoy the fruits of our labor, but instead spending our days ‘prisoners’ to the limitations of physical and mental health barriers?
That has to change.
Wherever you are right now in your life, It’s time to start building up your mental wealth.
Investing in mental wealth can involve activities such as:
Self-care and learning to love yourself and know your worth and value
Seeking support from loved ones or mental health professionals
Engaging in activities that promote positive emotions and relaxation, like exercise
Making changes to reduce stress and improve life satisfaction
Eating nourishing foods
Just as with financial wealth, investing in mental wealth can pay dividends in the form of improved quality of life and greater resilience in the face of life's challenges.
So, I ask you… how will you move forward and invest in YOU?
-Jada Butler
