Dear Dad

It's Time To Talk About Health

Dear Dad,

You have taught me so much. I live an inspired life because of you and it is now my goal to return the favor. Our relationship is built on truth, love, and fun. With these pillars in mind, it’s time that I inspire you to take control of your health.

What do I mean by health? As you should consider it, health is reversing the path toward pharmaceutical reliance and maximizing healthspan; not just extending lifespan, but importantly, enjoying what you love to do for longer. More days to travel, spend time with family, and live independently. Believe me, this goal is within reach and certainly worthwhile.

To achieve lasting health you must embrace yourself as a healthy person and act accordingly.

Sound corny? I learned this goal achieving strategy from you. It was the summer before my sophomore season as the long snapper of the Syracuse University football team. We were returning from a fun day trip to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  

You posed the question, “What do you hope to accomplish with your remaining 3 years on the football team?”

 “I think I can be a team captain senior year,” I replied.

There wasn’t any resistance from you. No reality check that team captains are not long snappers (in fact my senior year only two NCAA Division-1 football teams had captain long snappers; Vanderbilt & Syracuse).

Instead, you inquired further, “What specific actions can you take now to put yourself in that position later?”

My next response wasn’t as quick. I had to think deeply to breakdown an admirable goal into achievable steps. By this time the light turned green and our tires rolled closer to campus.

You added, “Put yourself in the position of a team captain. If you were a team captain now, what specific habits would you practice?”

I thought harder. “Well,” I began. “I can become the fittest on the team and be a leader during team conditioning. And, I can lead the team in classroom success.”

“Do those two things,” You advised. “To become, it’s helpful to accept that you already are.”

Too many people’s goals are obstructed by where they are; not informed by where they want to be. Just as you taught me returning from Cooperstown, a key to achieving any goal is to make decisions from the perspective of the person you want to become. If you want to become a football captain, start acting now as a captain would. If you want to become healthier, start acting now as a healthy person does. Embrace yourself as a healthy person and act accordingly. 

This mindset shift will make a huge positive difference in your journey to optimal health. Think about what you have tried in the past to be healthier; whether it be diet, exercise, or medical treatment. Each plan is infused with the notion that you’re destined to be unhealthy and that the salvation for your despair is the magic product or idea being sold. This is a triumph of marketing over science.

Sadly, marketing has shaped our collective medical identity around negativity. Industry has defined our starting point as unhealthy failures with a narrow path to optimal health. This is nonsense. We don’t start unhealthy. Every person’s vocation is a well-balanced lifestyle full of fun exercise and clean fresh food. We must reject the negativity notion. The healthy person within you doesn’t need any magic product or extreme routine.

The next steps are actually quite simple. Ask yourself—if I gave you 5 healthy habits to embrace that are guaranteed to improve and prolong your mental capacity, to retain your bodily movement, to travel often, spend time with family consistently, and live longer—Are you willing?

With Love,

JSR