Relatively Small Health Actions with a Positive ROI (& this is not about exercise!)
Busy professionals often take their health for granted (like the rest of the healthy people do!) We do that because we think, ‘I’m fine. Nothing will happen to me.’ If you’ve learned nothing else in the last three years, I’m sure you’ve learned how precarious health is and…
…how few “pockets” most of us have. It behooves us (who doesn’t love to use that word?!) to recognize that our health is the aspect of our life that allows us to have “pockets” in other areas.
Pockets are defined as the “difference between calm and crazed.”
If you prefer crazed, then stop reading. But since I assume most of us prefer calm, here are ten tips for paying attention to your health so you can protect your “pockets”:
- Get a complete physical so you know where you stand health-wise. Call to make the appointment today (especially since it’s likely to take a while to be seen). What are you risking by waiting?
- Once a year, make all the important check-up appointments that your doctor has recommended. You know what yearly check-ups I mean, don’t you?
- Don’t forget your dentist as one of your important medical appointments. It’s amazing what health pockets get eliminated when one’s dental health is in decline. Haven’t you ever looked at those pictures at your dentist’s office? Eek!
- Take a good look through your medicine cabinet. What items are past their expiration dates? Safely dispose of everything that has expired.
- Make a list of everything you DO take (including supplements) and print out a copy of this list to give to every doctor and to carry with you in your planner or smartphone. Save it as a PDF so you can upload it to your medical professionals’ websites since that’s often where you’re asked for it.
- If you’re allergic to anything, be sure you wear a medical alert bracelet whenever you go out and about. No one ever plans to have an accident and people will treat you as well as they can with the equipment and medical supplies they have, so allow them to be informed when they’re trying to help you.
- Monitor any symptoms that you have. Do you notice patterns? Just keep a log in your planner. You learned to pay attention to patterns when you were in kindergarten. It’s a skill that comes in handy throughout your whole life. Like anytime you have symptoms… (and yes, I used “like” deliberately, not as a verbal tic, in case you were wondering).
- Take a multi-vitamin. It can’t hurt. And it might help.
- Get enough sleep. Drowsy driving is hazardous to your health. There are apps that help, OTC remedies that help, prescriptions that help, and recommended practices that help. But if you never get in bed, none of these will help. Just sayin’.
- Look into alternative medicine. Therapeutic massage, acupuncture, chiropractic and others are considered to be mainstream medicine and may even be covered by your insurance. Even if they aren’t, consider them anyway.
The main idea with this list is to recognize that when your health isn’t there, ALL of the other areas of your life are affected. Consequently, the need to put in pockets for your health is the first place to give some attention if you’re easing away from “calm” toward “crazed.”
For some free downloads with more tips about putting in more pockets, you’re welcome to head here for those resources. Remember…
Pockets are defined as the “difference between calm and crazed.”
You have some control over maintaining those pockets (not complete control…but more agency than you may have acknowledged.
