Rule 2: Uphold Your Pillars of Health

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my 10 Rules for Life article series. You can find rule 1 here. Today we're moving on to rule 2, which is: uphold your pillars of health.

I've found that my overall health rests on three pillars: work, diet, and exercise. When I have these three right, it takes care of 90 % of my mental and physical health.

The rub then becomes, of course, what those pillars are in practical terms.

I already talked about work in yesterday's article. In a nutshell: what you do is not nearly as important as doing something all day. Working your butt off is essential to mental health, and luckily, you get to decide what that work is. For me, as long as I write something every day (be that a WIP article or poetry of a non-fiction book or a novel), I'm good.

Diet, on the other hand, is something I still continue to struggle with. I know that eggs are beneficial for my health both mentally and physically, so I aim to eat at least four of them every single day. But beyond that, I'm still not sure what I should and should not be eating for optimal physical and mental health. So if you know what works for you, congrats! Remember what works, and keep to it!

Exercise  is my third pillar. Whenever I can go out running, I do it every day, even if it's just for five minutes. During the winter when it's too slippery to run, I go deep water running in the public pool. And when the pool is closed (covid ugh), I go out for a walk to get some fresh air. Fresh air is immensely beneficial, do not underestimate its power! It can solve a mental knot, calm your nerves, give perspective, help with digestion... there are few things fresh air cannot solve.

Whenever I have a bad day, I can be fairly confident that finishing a work project, having an omelette, and taking a brisk stroll will turn it around.

As long as I take care of these three things, the basics are covered, and I don't have to waste precious time and energy on silly, superficial problems.

RK