Health is Wealth: Prioritize These Key Areas in Your Life For a Successful Year

To be healthy is when you have reached the condition of optimal well-being. It is when you are free from any infirmity, pain, or defect. We tend to think of health as exclusively relating to our physical state of being. However, being in good health is a complex, interconnected web that involves several facets. Being deficient or unhealthy in one area can affect several different areas of your health. Therefore, in this new year, it is important to prioritize being healthy in all aspects of your life word. Here are four key areas of your health you should focus on to have a prosperous year. 

PHYSICAL HEALTH

1. Of course, this is the most obvious one. Despite it being obvious or cliche, so many people go year after year without ever making it a priority. Though you may be able to ignore your physical health for some time, it will eventually catch up to you. It may seem logical to sacrifice your  physical health in order to take care of your family, or meet your financial goals. However, your kids need a healthy, able-bodied mother, and there is no point in having a lot of money if you aren’t healthy enough or alive to enjoy it. 

A good place to start on your physical health journey is at the doctor’s office. Do a complete physical, including blood work, and a pap smear. This will allow them to see if you are deficient in anything or if you have abnormal levels of something. For example, they will be able to tell you if your blood sugar, blood pressure, or cholesterol is too high or low. Also, if you have been experiencing any abnormal symptoms in your body bring them to your doctor’s attention. It may be something minor. But it could also be something life-threatening that can be stopped with early intervention. Going to the doctor can be a scary experience and ignorance may be bliss. However, it is better to know if something is wrong so you can tackle it head-on. 

Going to the doctor is important but you don’t always need a doctor to tell when you need to make some changes to your diet and lifestyle. Making a complete 180 turn in your physical health can seem like a daunting task if you’re trying to do it overnight. Instead, start with small incremental steps. For example, maybe just start with walking 10 minutes a day, home workouts, or cutting out sugary drinks. 

MENTAL HEALTH

So many of us women go through life and we experience pain, trauma, and heartbreak. Instead of stopping to deal with it, and unpack it, and heal, we find ourselves burying it, ignoring it, and just learning to live with it. 

Mental health issues can affect the decisions you make concerning your relationships, finances, physical health, and other areas. Therefore, it is important to nip any mental health problems at the root in order to live the prosperous life you so desire. 

Similar to dealing with your physical health, the best place to start with your mental health is at a mental health doctor, or therapist. Many people discredit the need and value of therapy and mental health care. They fail to realize that psychology is a science no different than that practiced by dentists, orthopedists, or oncologists. We trust doctors with our bodies because they’ve spent years studying the science of our bodies. Similarly therapists have spent years studying the mind and brain. With their years of study, they can diagnose and treat whatever mental ailment you are dealing with. 

I believe that everyone should try therapy at least once, even if you don’t think there is anything wrong with yourself. A therapist can act as a mirror so we can see ourselves in a way we were never able to in the past. For example, it may take a therapist for you to see that you suffer from anxiety and that’s why you are always procrastinating. 

Now, more and more insurances are offering therapy as a covered expense. There are also a myriad of different resources for free and affordable online therapy as well.  

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

Humans are made up of three parts- body, soul, and spirit. For optimal health, it is important that each one of these is aligned. The body refers to your physical nature such as your bones, flesh, and cells. You take care of that by living an active lifestyle and eating right. The soul refers to your mind, will, and emotions. Think of your soul as your personality. You can take care of that by doing therapy and other self-care activities. The third part of our human trinity is the spirit. This is the intangible part of our being. The spirit was created to connect and communicate with God, a spirit. The best way to take care of your spirit is through prayer. Other spiritual supplication such as reading the bible, listening to sermons, and connecting with others who can help strengthen your faith can also help. 

It can be so easy to focus on your body (physical health), and your soul (mental health), while neglecting your spiritual health. That is because our spirits are so intangible that it can be hard to recognize when something is off. So how can one tell if they are spiritually unhealthy? The best way to gauge this is to check if you are bearing the fruits of the spirit as described in the book of Galatians, chapter 5. It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  Lacking love for humanity or you having no joy and peace are signs you are spiritually unhealthy. 

If we are one-third spirit, it is important that we are not neglecting our spiritual health. It can lead to a life void of hope and purpose. When you are spiritually healthy you will not be limited to a natural perspective of this life based on what your eyes can see. You will be able to have a spiritual, heavenly perspective concerning what’s going on in your life and the world. Being spiritually healthy will also help you to hear God’s voice more clearly. You will hear him as he directs your path on what to do and warns you of what not to do. 

If you’ve been allowing life and other things to distract you from prioritizing your spiritual health, 2022 is a great time to turn that around. Try finding a local church where you feel at home and can find community. If that is not possible for you yet, try connecting with one online. In between services do not neglect prayer and time reading your bible. Journaling or writing out your prayers is another great discipline that can help build your spiritual health.