Recently I went to have new professional pictures taken and as I was waiting a Marine Corps veteran came rolling in his wheelchair.  This was outside the building.  He had both an American and a Marine Corps flag attached to his wheelchair.  And he was wearing a Marine utility cover.

Other than recognizing that he had been in the Marines, I noticed that he was obese and smoked.  I went up to him and said, “Semper Fi!”  That means “Always Faithful” to anyone who has served in the Marines. As I engaged in a conversation with him, he told me that he has had 25 heart attacks, lost one lung to cancer and has cancer in his liver and his kidneys.  He looked quite old.  When I found out that he was younger than me, my mouth nearly dropped.

Each of us are at choice each moment of our life in the kinds of activities we do.  They could be healthy ones or unhealthy ones.  When we were younger, we may not have thought about the consequences years later.  Our minds could not fathom that.  It is not until we reach a certain age and tell ourselves, I sure wish I had taken better care of myself when I was younger.  I hear this time and again.

At this very moment you are choosing to do something (or you may be sleeping).  What action you decide to take now regarding your health won’t show up right away.  It is the continuous actions over time that add up and they all count.  My father made choices in his life that led to his early death and my kid brother has already had two heart attacks due to his choices.  Everything we do counts and we are in control.  Even what many believe is genetics working may be in fact, epigenetics.  We can affect how our genes are expressed, positive or negative, through our behavior/actions.

Start making healthy life choices.  That includes what you eat, your physical activity, your mindset, if you sleep enough and so forth.  If you take a puff of that cigarette, then you are choosing an earlier death and a life less than optimal.  If you eat all those sugary products, it the same as the cigarette.  If you sit all day long, the same thing.

Choose to exercise more, eat healthy, breath fresh air and simply live a full and optimal life.  You can do it!  And you don’t have to be like that Marine I met, in a wheelchair, that has a hard time breathing and looks older than his years.

Decide now regarding the actions for the rest of your life.  It is your life and what you do will have consequences.  Accept full responsibility for it.

I wish health and happiness for you.

Bob