How to Take Charge of Your Health and Your Life

I originally entitled this article “The 5 Secrets to Taking Charge of Your Health and Your Life.” The marketers told me to do it. But you know what? These aren’t secrets. But they might as well be secrets, because TOO FEW OF YOU (probably including you, reading this article) ARE TRULY HEALTHY!

Headaches, low energy, moodiness, gassiness, weight gain around your middle, achy joints… For most people, these are not the “inevitable” side effects of life and aging as you may presume. You can take simple steps to help alleviate these symptoms and others.

So, what are these 5 steps to getting truly healthy? Here they are:

1. Fabulous food. Refuse to settle for fake food, the very same food that has become a staple in our Standard American Diet (otherwise known as “SAD”). Lay off the Caffeine, the Refined foods, Artificial additives / colorings / flavors and alcohol, and Pesticide / hormone / gas-laden and genetically modified foods. In other words, no more C.R.A.P. The real stuff is unbeatable – in flavor, in nourishment for your body and for your soul’s satiation, and in price as well. Food? Seems pretty straight forward, right? But true health demands that you address the other aspects of your life that can either feed or deplete you…
2. Real relationships. You Tweet and Facebook all day long, but where’s the real-life love? Family, friends, soul-mates, your community. Get out there, get involved, get real. Also let toxic relationships go and die a natural death. Really, you’re doing yourself – and the other person – a favor.
3. Mojo & movement. Rev it up. Sweat it out. Our bodies want… crave… live to move and groooove. Let it have some fun. This does not mean you have to become a gym bunny (boringgg). Carry your groceries home. Take a hike. Go jump in a lake. Remember how joyous and alive you can feel when you move. Sorry, I have to say it:  just do it. Even if it’s just standing 15 minutes a day, which is the best I could during my health crisis.
4. Wonder-ful Work. Work shouldn’t be a four-letter word. If it is, and has to be in the shorter term, find a creative outlet that reminds you who you are and what it means to express yourself fully in this world. Ultimately, however, seek out that less-traveled path and find your true passion. I promise you – there’s nothing quite like it.
5. Know Your Self, HealThy Self ™. Get to know yourself again. Stop thinking for a minute and let your true, subtle Self emerge from all that chatter in your head. Reconnect your head to your body. You know your body best. It’s always sending you signals. Learn to listen to them. Heed them, before it has got to scream so loud that it’s “too late.”

If any one of these areas is broken, it can severely impact your health to the point where it won’t matter how much broccoli you eat.

So what’s it going to take?

Do you have to have a major, sneak-up-on-you-and-whack-you-in-the-face type of wake up call at the ripe old age of 32, like I did, to pay attention to your life, and your health, at this level? Or are you more in tune with your reality than that?

Ask yourself…

“Do I want to live my life stuck in this so-so, mediocre state (or worse) like I’m doing now, or do I want to be high on life pretty much all the time?”

It’s your choice. What’s it going to be?

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© 2009 Delicious Health, Inc.

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“Simla Somturk Wickless is an integrative health, nutrition, and lifestyle coach whose mission is to transform busy bodies into healthy, balanced beings (TM). To learn how to increase your energy, tame your stress, and take back control of your health, register for her free monthly eZine at www.enjoydelicioushealth.com.”