In a country where healthcare costs are rising by the day, it can be hard for people to make their health a priority. For many people, amazing wealth seems wealth is the more important thing to focus on – because after all if you have enough money, you can take care of anything, right?
Wrong. The wealthy prioritize their house because they know the most important asset they have is themselves and more specifically – their health.
Health Comes Before Wealth
Without your health, you cannot build wealth. Ironically, it seems that wealthy people understand this best. Looking at the habits of successful people, many of them focus on meditation, diet, exercise, and making sure they have plenty of time for friends and family. They understand that they cannot reach their best productivity and money-making ventures without taking care of their health.
Unless you’re starting out with a nice nest egg or trust fund, it takes a significant amount of hard work to build wealth. If you’re spending a lot of time and energy managing a chronic illness or the effects of stress on your body and mind, you cannot be fully committed to achieving other goals in your life.
Research shows with the greater one’s income, the lower one’s likelihood of disease and premature death. It also shows that Americans at all income levels are less healthy than those with incomes higher than their own. Not only is income associated with Better Health, but wealth affects health is well. low-income American adults have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and chronic disorders than wealthier Americans.
To a certain extent, income and wealth support better health because wealthier people can afford the resources that are available to protect and improve health. Wealthier people tend to have stable and flexible jobs that provide good benefits including health insurance and paid leave. Wealthier people also have access to more disposable income and can find easily affordable medical care as well as a healthy lifestyle. The benefits also extended their children.
Those with a lower-income generally have restricted access to medical care and are more likely to be underinsured or uninsured. Even if they do have health insurance, they face greater Financial barriers because of high deductibles, co-pays units, and the cost of medicine along with other health care expenses.
Money Can’t Buy Health
Being in good health may give you the time and energy to make extra money but with a few exceptions, it doesn’t work the other way around. You can’t simply neglect your help over the course of a 40-year career and then expect to get it back by spending money on it. But strangely enough, that’s what we at least in the Western World seem to try to do. Instead of turning to health practices such as meditation, diet, and exercise, in the United States, there is a prescription drug available for anything that ails you.
Research indicates that the United States spends an average of $9,400 per capita on healthcare compared to $5,400 in other high-income countries. Even though we’re spending more money, our health is no better and in many cases worse. Life expectancy in the United States is three years shorter than in other high-income countries and we have significantly higher rates of preventable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Thankfully though, thanks to the miracles of research and modern medicine, natural alternatives to many prescription medications are available. With a top-quality CBD oil brand, you may find you are able to better manage your pain, anxiety, and other health conditions naturally.
How to Make Your Health a Priority
Even if you don’t consider yourself wealthy, you can prioritize your health. It is never too late to come to the realization that your health is more important than building wealth. Being a healthy person is about more than your physical health. You also need to consider your emotional health.
Start by exercising a little bit every day. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym. Simply changing your routine to include more activity is enough. Park in the back of a parking lot and walk further to the store. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. Walk more often rather than driving.
Schedule time for friends and family. During your dates, don’t work and don’t use your cell phone. This time is meant to form meaningful connections with people which plays a major role in your mental and emotional health.
Spend more time preparing your food. In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, it is easy to reach for sugary snacks and fast food. Take time to prepare and eat healthy food. You can still eat healthily and save money on groceries. You can even turn to freezer cooking or bulk cooking to prepare multiple meals at one time and save them for later on your busy days.
As tempting as it may be to just turn on the television at night, pick up a book. Whether you’re reading for fun or personal development, learning new things is part of total body and mind health. If you don’t want to read a traditional paper-based book, you can opt for ebooks or audiobooks.
For many Americans, it is a catch-22. You need health to be in good condition to build wealth, but need wealth to be able to afford the things to maintain your health. If your income is so low your struggling to put food on the table, you’re not likely to be able to spend a lot of time or resources on ways to grow your wealth. But, without the food to nourish your body and give you the energy you need, you won’t be able to work to generate any kind of income.
That’s why making small lifestyle changes helps toward building health and can also help build wealth. Remember, health is about more than being just physically fit. It incorporates nearly all aspects of our lives – mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical. Each of these areas plays a role in our overall sense of purpose in life, well-being mean, and happiness.
Money is an important part of life and it is necessary to meet many of our daily needs. However, money is not the most important thing. Focusing on it too much can be detrimental to our health. Someone on their deathbed has ever wished they had worked more hours or accumulated more money. Finding balance in your life and spending time on what really matters to you is what’s important.
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.