Do you have what it takes to be healthy for the long haul? Health and happiness can surely go hand in hand, but it’s all too common to find that one’s health slips over time-or can be lost instantly with the diagnostic words of their physician. I hope you realize that while the #1 and #2 health priorities (diet and exercise) are certainly important-they alone do not define nor provide you with the health you are looking for. There are many more health habits that can significantly improve your overall health, longevity, happiness, and wellbeing. Here’s a list of the most common habits of healthy people, polled from citizens of countries such as Sardinia, Greece, Italy, Finland, and Sweden, where over 35% of the population lives to 100+ (compared to a dismal 1% for the United States).

#1 Healthy People Invest In Their Health All The Time (Not Just When They Are Sick) The healthiest people in the world recognize that health is never a guaranteed and that it’s their greatest asset (more than their work, house, cars, etc.) As such they are prepared to invest their time, energy, and money into it. Many of the healthiest people set aside resources for the healthy tips listed in this article-everything from the food they eat, to the products they use even to the services they receive to enhance their health. Healthy people view their health equal to that of a money amount-constant withdrawals with no investments equals disaster. The healthiest people in the world strive to deposit more into their health account than the withdrawals-creating a net of positive healthy outcomes. Considering the average American spends $5,000 on sickness care annually-it hopefully doesn’t come as a shock to you that healthy people spend that, and often more, on their annual healthy activities (fitness, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, diet, supplements etc.)-in fact many of them have health checking/saving accounts they deposit into regularly.

#2 Healthy People Utilize Alternative Not Conventional Health care. Simply put-healthy people do not view conventional medicine (annual checkups, prescriptions, or medical procedures) as the approach to their health needs and many even avoid following standard medical recommendations. You won’t find an healthy person taking a medication-rather they will always seek to find a more natural alternative. This even applies to OTC products-a healthy person will seek the cause of their health problems rather than masking their symptoms. They view medicine as what it was originally intended for-emergency care only. Most healthy people do not need their MD to tell them what to do-they already know what todo and how to achieve similar or better results using natural means (often with the help of the health coaches).

#3 Health People Hire Health Coaches One common theme you will find with healthy people is they often have someone (usually an alternative practitioner, holistic health professional etc.) coaching them on how to achieve optimal health. The challenge with how most people thinks/view their health is retroactive vs proactive-ie focusing only on their health only when it becomes a problem-rather than seeking to always improve their health so that there is never a problem! Why hire a health coach? For the same reason you hire a financial coach/advisor. You want to grow your assets and don’t know how todo properly-so you seek those who have experience in what you have little. Wouldn’t you pick a financial investor who has $100 Million net worth over one that has only $1 Million net worth? It needs to be the same with your health. Is your medical doctor the healthiest person you know? If not, why are you following their advice? Strive to locate a health professional who has himself/herself exactly what you are looking for-then make sure their patients also have the same results.

#4 Healthy People Know Something Different About Diet/Exercise While diet and exercise are certainly important-healthy people do not put all their eggs into those two baskets. Yes, you need to eat real food and move your body-that’s not just a good idea its central to life! But… healthy people know there is a right way and a wrong way to diet and exercise. Most healthy people practice intermittent fasting, cyclical dieting, seasonal eating and do not spend hours in the gym-rather they workout using burst/HIT workouts which are only 15-30min in length. They know that traditional Govt/FDA/USDA recommendations for diet /exercise are designed to keep people from being well/healthy by severely decreasing the recommended intake amounts. Therefore, healthy people often take higher doses of suppleness and follow food intake plans that are counter to traditional advice.

#5 Healthy People Take Care Of Their Top Health Priorities You can go 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen and only 4 nanoseconds without your brain sending electrical-chemical messages through your nerve system. Why is this important to know? Because it reveals your bodies functional priorities. As crazy as this may sound, you will get more out of increasing your water intake than changing your diet. Likewise, you will get even more out of increasing your breath/oxygen habits than drinking water. And to top it all-you will see an exponential change in your health if you address your posture, flexibility, and spinal health than anything else. Therefore, all healthy people invest in chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, stretching/yoga etc. They know the #1 priority for health is proper body function-especially proper spinal function.

#6 Healthy People Have A Strong Sense Of Purpose and Passion I’m sure you are familiar with the Mark Twain quote “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” One central theme among healthy people is they know their “why” for life. It’s that why which drives them to be healthy in the first place-as you can’t truly live or experience happiness without your health-its required for you to fulfill your purpose/passion and why. If you struggle to find know your purpose-pray and ask God to reveal it to you. You can also begin to improve your health by modeling the habits of healthy people described for you here-as you become healthier you will often find your passion and purpose. If that doesn’t work, follow the advice of Bishop T.D. Jakes-“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.

#7 Healthy People Hold A Different Definition Of Health Most people struggle to really define health-is it feeling good? No-you can feel great and be sick. Is it being of good weight? No-there are plenty of thin people dying daily. Is it perfect medical tests? No-there are scores of people who died days after a perfect medical report. What is health then? It’s the understanding that health is everything about you-your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional connection to yourself and those around you. It’s the ability for your body to perform at 100% of its innate, inborn, God given ability-which by the way is to heal itself-only when given the right environment and resources-which will certainly happen when you follow these 7 habits of healthy people.