...And the Rest Will Follow

The New Year is upon us again and no doubt many of us are thinking about our goals, particularly fitness related. Being healthy should always be at the top of our priority list. But health is multi-faceted: it's physical, environmental, spiritual, and mental. We would be wise little birdies to keep all aspects of our health and well-being in constant review. 

Our physical health is an obvious one. We improve it with exercise and eating smaller portions of healthier foods. It's a simple formula, but can be difficult to adhere to consistently. Yet our best efforts will not be wasted if we really try.

Our environmental health is in our control as much as we can choose where we allow ourselves to be. We can choose the people we surround ourselves with. We can take measures to prevent inhaling and consuming toxins by living as naturally as possible.

Our spiritual health is very individual and ranges from devout religion to simply being at peace with oneself in the choices and situations of life. Daily practices and rituals help us to maintain or achieve higher levels of spiritual awareness.

The one that ties them all together, however, is mental health. Our mind is a powerful force. It drives us to strive for or shy away from any pursuit or path. The battle for our entire health is fought in the mind. Physical, environmental, spiritual - everything depends on what you have set (and continue to set) your mind to. 

So make a resolution to feed, nourish, engage, relax, and strengthen your mind. Pay attention to the energy of people and places and situations. Stay in the positive as much as possible and remove the negative from your life. Sometimes it's not possible through willpower alone and in those cases, other options are out there. But as much as you have control, take care of your mental health. There is a line in a song: "Free your mind, and the rest will follow!" When your mind is well, you will be too. 

Share your thoughts: 

• Do you have resolutions for the coming year?
  
• Do you plan to improve some aspect your health? How?