Practicing Preventive Medicine In Our Daily Lives

I am grateful for my health every single day. I'm grateful for my legs every time I go for a walk. I'm grateful for my hands every time I open a jar. I'm especially grateful every time I take a deep breath, because it wasn't always so easy for me. I'm grateful for my calm mind that's no longer trapped in an anxiety spiral. I want to be able to enjoy as many aspects of my health as I can for as long as humanly possible.

And I do have fears, many of which I'm sure you've thought about too. I'm afraid of accelerated aging. I'm afraid of developing dementia. I'm afraid of having a stroke. I'm afraid of losing my independence. I'm afraid of premature death. 70% of deaths in the United States are from chronic disease, and that breaks my heart. Certainly not all, but some of those deaths could have been prevented.

To be clear, we are all mortal. We cannot live forever, no matter how hard we try. It's so easy to take our state of wellness for granted, and we have no way of fathoming how precious it is until it's gone. But we can make choices today that will benefit our future and preserve our fragile health. Understanding the basis of preventive medicine and how to realistically incorporate it into our daily lives will help us enjoy wellness for many years to come!

Preventive medicine is making knowledgeable decisions consistently. The more we know, the better our decisions will be. The more consistently we make better decisions, the better we feel. The better we feel, the more enthusiastic we become about our next decision. Before long, we're chasing decisions so that we can feel the euphoria of our next victory. And these victories are investments in our future.

These kinds of decisions are all around us, all the time. Many of them have become such a conditioned part of our daily lives that we no longer recognize them as choices. That extra dash of sweetener in our coffee. Driving when we could have walked. Ordering white toast when we could have had whole wheat. Binging a television show when we could have gone to the park with our children or done something to express gratitude for our partner.

Much of our future wellness is a matter of probability – the probability that I will develop hypertension or lung disease – the probability of being in a car accident or having a heart attack. We can't control for all of the variables in life, but we can stack the deck in our favor. Being proactive positively affects probability. Every time I go for a brisk walk, I'm decreasing the probability that I will develop heart disease.

The key to putting this method to work for you is to acknowledge the truth that small steps add up to big gains, and every step you take in the right direction now is a gift to your future self. It's about investing in the things we are grateful for.

To be clear, we still have to live a little. A future without cookies is a future not worth fighting for. However, I want to make good choices now so that in 20 years I can still enjoy the occasional cookie. If I eat an entire jar of cookies today, I know that I am increasing the probability that I will develop hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes. If that happens, eating a cookie could become dangerous for me. I don't want that.

So I will eat less cookies today as a gift to my future self!

Preventive medicine is about thinking ahead, living for the long term, and investing in our future. Knowing that the decisions we make today will matter 20 years from today.

No step is too small when it's a step in the right direction. The more we know, the better choices we can make. Whenever you make a wise decision, remember that you are giving a gift to yourself.

I choose to ____________ today as a gift to my future self because I am grateful for __________.

I choose to go for a walk today as a gift to my future self because I am grateful for my mobility.

I choose to reach out to a friend today as a gift to my future self because I am grateful for my support system.

I choose to see a doctor about this suspicious mole today as a gift to my future self because I am grateful for my skin's health.

Invest in yourself. Invest in your future. Invest in your family. Commit to consciously make at least one good health decision every day. Today you decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Today you decide to add vegetables to your dinner plate. Today you decide to take some quiet time to meditate on the things in your life you are grateful for.

Continue learning about health and put that knowledge to work. Let it inspire you to take a proactive step in the right direction. Focus on what you can do today to build the future you want, and appreciate your longevity one small step at a time.

What healthy decision do you commit to making today?