When we think of health we often think of diet and exercise. Maybe vitamin and supplements. For those who are really serious, you may consider sleep, stress management, and even mood as important pieces of your overall health.
No doubt, this is how we should look at our health. It is a complex structure made up of many incredibly complicated systems that all work in harmony with or in some cases against one another.
Understanding this helps us realize that while what is on your plate and what you do in the gym is important for health, there are numerous other areas of potential impact. This realization can feel rather daunting though. You think, “I can barely keep my diet together for 30 days let alone worry about getting to the gym and managing stress.”
This is where philosophy has a role in our health. Studying philosophy and how to think about things can arm us to take on the challenges that living a healthy lifestyle presents. It can allow us to change our mental framework around certain things to help us better stay on track with our goals. Philosophy can provide us with little tools for keeping our mood and energy up in times when we feel like we want to dip. Philosophy and mindset can teach us how to handle desires and cravings to prevent them from taking us over and to help us make better decisions.
It is one thing to have the desire to be healthy. It’s another thing to have the knowledge of what to do to be healthy. But it’s a completely different ballgame to change your mindset, your behaviors, and your outlook on life to put yourself in a position to make permanent health improvements. This takes effort. A lot of practice. Reading books, journaling, meditating and strengthening our minds. Taking time to think about things, especially when they relate to our health or the health of those around us.
That’s the purpose of this newsletter. To think about health and provide ideas and new ways to consider health that may resonate with you and make you more likely to be successful on your journey. So if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re already off to a great start.
Thanks for reading,
Chris Irvin
P.S. I am super excited to announce that I launched a new text message service where you get a daily text message of my best educational content and health tips. Every day I’ll send out a short educational blurb or health tip that will take a few seconds to read but can have a big impact on your health journey or even the success of that day. Most text messages will come with a link to a longer form of content if you want to take time to read more on the topic. As someone who loves creating educational content, this has been a blast to put together and I can’t wait to hear your feedback on it!