Our Physical Limits
When we were born, we were not given a choice for our body type. Our parents’ DNA affected our bone structure, our hair color, and our skin color.
And, although we can develop our own strengths and agilities, we do have some physical limitations. Knowing what those are can help us live a healthier life.
Not everyone wants to be a competitive athlete looking for a sport to compete in. That would require physical training that most are not willing to endure.
However, our long-term health does require us to be aware of certain things about our bodies.
First, your bone structure is designed to carry a limited amount of weight beyond your muscle structure. Therefore, body building or the accumulation of body fat can reach a point of having an adverse effect on your joints.
Second, building strength and endurance can be very beneficial to your health. Therefore, exercise is essential to long life. The key is to learn how to reap the benefits without doing more than your body will allow before causing damage to muscles, bones, or joints.
Third, we are what we eat. Our bodies are dependent on us making good food choices.
I want you to be healthy. The key question is “Do you want to be healthy?”
I know that not everyone was born with ideal body potential. If you were, feel blessed and thankful and sympathetic to those who were not. Then, make good choices to stay healthy regardless of your body design.
Know your physical limits to build a healthy lifestyle.
Our Financial Limits
Our health will affect our financial well-being. That is why I include this topic as part of how you can build a better mindset for money.
Do you like the feeling of having financial limits? I don’t. That is an attitude. Being confident will help you be more positive about financial potential rather than limits.
Physical injuries will affect your attitude about financial potential. Physical limits tend to limit financial hopes.
However, I believe that our mental outlook can overcome physical limits.
Let’s look at your reasons for working to increase your limits, not just facing them.
A Reason to be Reasonable
Though I think you should recognize your current physical, mental, and financial limitations, I also believe you can change those limitations.
You may be limited physically but exercise has been proven to increase your strength and endurance. In most cases, regular and increasing effort will net results beyond what you thought possible. That will create a positive reaction and build your self-confidence.
You may be limited in your skills and knowledge, but education has been proven to add useful knowledge and skills to do things you did not understand before. Study and random reading could lead to new interests and spur new opportunities for you to pursue.
You may feel limited financially but good health and added knowledge will encourage you to pursue opportunities. And opportunities are defined as those activities that can help you build assets and hope for your financial future.
Any education related to your finances, such as money management, budgeting, spending controls, saving and investing, and making long-term financial plans, will help you to increase your financial potential.
Let us reason together to make limits grow over time.
The Long-Term Effect of Short-Term Decisions
Decisions to read and exercise can have an accumulating effect on your long-term financial condition. Those decisions are habits that need to be developed. They do not come naturally. Most of our habits come from those with which we associate, like our parents and our friends.
For us to make positive changes, we need to consider our current habits and how well they work for us. Sitting in a quiet place with a pen and paper to reflect on your habits for an hour or so can be quite a revealing self-examination.
The second part of that reflection session would be to consider what changes you can make in your habits to add a beneficial influence on your well-being.
You can change. The key is to recognize that a habit becomes an involuntary action that needs conscious, repeated action to replace the old habit with a better one.
Daily habits, good or bad, will have an accumulating effect on your health, your mind, and your finances.
Reflect on that. Are you happy with where your habits are taking you?
Why Health Leads to Wealth
I used to do lawn work on the side. And one of the families I worked for had many plans for retirement. But sadly, they were careless about their health. Their health failed, which ate up the money for their retirement plans.
If you focus on your health, you will have potential for fewer health issues and fewer medical expenses. This means less demand for your income which means more potential for savings and investment.
Your goal needs to be on building financial assets instead of pressing your limits for current enjoyment. With good health, you can live longer. Remember, what you save today may be needed when you are much, much older!
The saving habit, which good health will help facilitate, can lead to compounded earnings, which can lead to wealth!
What Is Your Calorie Price Point?
Now, I must address something I have difficulty with myself. Calories and the cost of too many and the wrong kind.
I have allowed my body to accumulate volume beyond what my bone structure was designed to carry.
This can potentially be a health issue. In fact, I just recently had to start taking medication to help with a build up of cholesterol in my blood vessels. The good news is that a better diet could reduce my need to stay on that medication. But will I be willing to work on my diet?
The question is whether I can create some good habits to extend my life expectancy. Since I want to live to be 100 years old or better, I had better make the effort to make that possible.
I need to look at food differently.
I need to weigh myself daily to remind myself of how well I am doing.
I need to decide on the price I am willing to pay for good health.
I need to recognize my calorie price point. That is the point at which the calories I consume begin to harm me rather than help me become healthier.
Granted there are good calories and there are bad calories. That is a subject for another blog. But the key to reducing the load on my bones is to recognize that the main issue is my fat accumulation.
To lose weight by reducing calorie consumption, you need to be aware that you will have to eat fewer calories than your body uses by about 3,600 to lose one pound of fat. The fact that we can identify how much less we need to eat to lose weight makes it scientific. I did not say “terrific”!
However, there are a lot of emotions tied to eating. I know that because I love to eat! And some things taste really good!
For good health, though, we need to learn our calorie price point, what calories to eat for health and how many calories become our breaking point.
Mind Over Calories
Calories come in fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. It helps to be aware of how your body uses each of these types of calories.
Your body uses or burns calories in carbohydrates first, then proteins and fats last. You should make this subject a personal study.
Knowing how your body uses these types of calories and how it converts fat calories back into carbohydrate calories when you eat less than your body needs will greatly increase your chances to make a mental plan for better health.
You must look at food beyond what tastes good. You must consider how your body will use those calories you are choosing to eat.
You will also see how exercising has benefits beyond building strength and endurance. Your body also burns more calories, which can help you lose some fat or allow you to eat more without adding fat.
This is a way to build a plan to help you put your mind over calories!
Eat to Live
There is an old saying, “Eat to live, don’t live to eat.” I often think that saying would have been a good thing to put on my refrigerator door when I was much younger!
Ask yourself, do you live to eat? Or will you eat to live?
Food producers do what they can to promote you to live to eat!
However, for you to eat to live and reap the financial benefits of good daily eating habits, you must learn to ignore the hype and consider your calorie price point.
What calories will benefit you? What is the cost of too many calories? What calories are good and which are bad?
“Eat to live” for a better financial future!