WOW Word-Of-the-Week #366: Healthy

August 8, 2011 by · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #366: Healthy 

Healthy – physically and mentally sound.

Is it important to you to live a healthy lifestyle? What do you do for exercise? Do you tend to eat out often? What do you do that brings you pleasure?

This is such a hot topic and the older I get more important to me. Every Monday the LA Times includes the Health section. Valerie Ulene wrote an article titled, “Happiness Pursued and Made to Last.”

“Health means not just the absence of disease but a positive sense of involvement and engagement in life,” says psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, co-director of the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont Graduate University. “Unless you know how to enjoy life, your life is not healthy.”

Healthy, Happy FUN!!

“Not that finding happiness is easy. The first obstacle, perhaps the  biggest, is genetics,” says Ulene. “Research shows a close genetic relationship between happiness and positive personality traits such as extroversion, openness and agreeableness. People appear to have a happiness set-point over which they have little control. Everyone experiences ups and downs. But most people gravitate back to their baseline.”

“More often than not, however, people get in their own way by looking for happiness in all the wrong places. They aren’t particularly good at recognizing what will bring them lasting joy. Although money tops many people’s wish lists, study after study has found that once basic needs are met, additional wealth doesn’t add much to people’s sense of well-being and contentment.”

This week’s focus is on being healthy. Do you have a positive sense of involvement in your life? What brings you lasting enjoyment? What activities do you engage in that make you feel physically and mentally sound? Do you feel a sense of well-being and contentment with your personal and professional life?

Reader Responses

“During my performance review on Thursday, my supervisor mentioned that as part of my assessment he talked to a number of my colleagues in the office. The response was positive, and that I am a positive and optimistic influence in the office. Also, I am helpful when people need to have work done quickly and on deadline. So, my optimism is infectious in the workplace and has made a difference with my coworkers. Needless to say, the comments certainly gave my performance review a positive glow. I have been blessed with good healthy and a positive disposition. I look at the glass always as half full. I am always looking forward with optimism, noting that the best is yet to come. In the story, the subject was quoted as saying that we always return to our baseline, and I believe that is very true in my case. I guess no matter what happens, I will react in the same positive way. Thanks for the great word, Susan. l have much for which to be grateful every day.” – “Warrior” Joe “

“I have Dr. Mike Moreno’s ’17 Day Diet’ book. I love it – 17 minutes of exercise morning and night. I have lost 32 lbs – 60 more to go!” – Katie

“I just wanted to say ‘Thank You’ for putting the thought into laying out this flow. Every once and awhile a word jumps out at me and settles in – making a difference.” – John

“I always thought it ironic that the ancient adage that is attributed to Hippocrates ‘…physician heal thy self…’ contains the word ‘healthy.’ It seems to reinforce that each individual is the ‘primary care person’ of their own health. When I observe that there seems to be more apparently ‘unhealthy’ folks (overweight, sedentary, self-indulgent) in our country it drives that point home.  I recall when the tobacco companies were the target of everyone’s ‘wrath’ as the perceived destroyers of our nation’s health. But if you look around now if seems that every food wholesaler, retailer, restaurant, fast food chain are extolling their large portions, huge servings, 3 for one pizzas deals, etc.  My doctor and I were chatting a few weeks ago during a visit and he was sharing that the number of patients suffering from diabetes had increased almost exponentially in the last few years. He lamented that genetic factors aside the majority of the diabetes was ‘self –induced.’ It’s a telling statistic that the health care industry is among the best ‘investment vehicle’ as touted by the Wall street gurus. I guess while we quite literally ‘eat ourselves to death’ we can at least invest in the industry we charge with extending our lives in spite of ourselves.” – John