Become self-empowered - Take Control of Your Health and Life

All my life, I've heard "your health is all you have". And when I was younger, I said, "well, okay, that may be true, but I think I need a boyfriend or a job". But as I've gotten older I definitely understand what that phrase means.

Good health is so important. We need the energy and vitality that good health gives us to create the next third of our life.

Now, aging often has some negative connotations and we see that in our youth obsessed culture. We don't want to get old. We don't want to look old, and we don't want to be old.

And here's the thing. If you have the opportunity to live long enough, you will be old.

And so how can we make that the best time of our life?

Aging is often associated with some negative things like frailty and disease and memory loss. And I have to say that a lot of those things start when we're younger and they happen from diseases or illnesses that aren't properly treated as we go through our lives. So naturally by the time you get to be in your sixties, you are going to be sick and frailty can come from some of these disease process as well as memory issues. They don't just start when you're 62 or 65. No, the seeds are planted earlier.

The other thing that impacts aging a lot is how we ourselves feel about aging. What we tell ourselves is so important, it impacts how we feel, and it impacts our health. A lot of us will say things like, well, I can't because I'm too old or I wish I was 30 again or I can't play basketball like I did when I was 20. Of course not. Now you're older. We are a new generation of "olders". This is a term used by Ashton Applewhite. She's an author and she wrote a book called "This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism". And it's a great book on ageism and many other things. I encourage you to read it.

So we've made a lot of gains in our lifetime. 200 years ago, our lifespan was about age 39. Now it's 79 or even a little longer. So we've hit the goal of longevity, but it's not enough to just live many years. The other piece of it is to have a good quality of life. We are different. We are working longer. We are starting our own businesses. We are traveling. We are finally getting to do the things that we always wanted to do, but really couldn't before because well, we were starting a family or growing a career. This next third of our life, we get the opportunity to really discover who we are to allow our creativity to flow, whatever that looks like. And to do that, we need good health. We need the energy to really explore and find out who we are.

I'm going to say that it is never too late to improve your health. Now is the time to start. Taking control of your health and your life puts the power in your hands.

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Elaine

https://www.drelainestewart.com

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.