“Another year has come and gone again,” Jim tells his neighbor. “Where did the time go? There are so many things I didn’t get done last year and I am already so busy this year. On top of that, my doctor recently told me I need to improve my eating habits and exercise. Like I’ve got time for that.”

For many of us, the start of a new year is like beginning with a clean slate. We often have a list of things we’d like to accomplish. Somewhere on that list may be a commitment to lose weight or to just improve overall health. To achieve this goal, a change in lifestyle is needed, such as establishing a healthful diet and exercising regularly. But, that takes effort - and time. With that thought in mind, this commitment moves further to the bottom of the list.

Because time is a precious commodity for most of us, we have to prioritize things in our lives. Our jobs take up much of our time. Then we must find time to shuttle the kids to a variety of activities. We need time to maintain our house and keep the cars in good running condition. Everything in life seems to have a price tag attached to it called “time.” Good health is no different.

Incorporating sound eating habits and an exercise routine into our busy lives is not as overwhelming as it may appear. We must first set both short and long term health goals. The short term goals are designed to keep us motivated and they help us to chip away at what may seem like an impossible task. After a few months have passed, we have probably already achieved most of our short terms goals and maybe even successfully reached our long term goal. In those few months, we have established what should now be positive, permanent lifestyle habits that will allow us to maintain good health.

Time should always be made to keep our bodies healthy. If we neglect our health by taking it for granted, it may be more difficult, if not impossible, to get our health back after years of disregard. Health professionals can give us recommendations on how to maintain our health, but it is ultimately up to each of us to be responsible and implement those recommendations. Yes, staying healthy has a price tag. But the expense of not keeping our bodies healthy will eventually cost us more than time.

Copyright© 1999-2004 Kevin Kelly, LRD. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.

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