How you take care of yourself now would reflect your overall health and well-being in the future. Our body changes as we age so our choices when we are still young would determine our body’s fate when we’re much older. There might be nothing wrong with living by the "You Only Live Once" concept as a youngster but know where to draw the line and how to strike a balance. Look at your life choices and rethink before doing anything.
Partying, drinking, smoking, or mindless eating may be fun for most and as a young individual, you may never seem to get enough of it. You live with the mindset that “there is still tomorrow” when you could do better. Unfortunately, this hedonistic and thrill-seeking way of life would only feel great while you’re at it. Once you see the adverse effects on your health, you will regret it later on. You might not feel anything change at present but count 10 to 20 years later and you would be regretting the sum of your bad choices when you were younger.
You might be gifted at sports and have excellent athletic capabilities. But if you’ve been spending the past decade chain-smoking, you would be surprised that you can’t climb a few steps of stairs anymore without huffing and puffing. Regret and shame will enter the picture and there’s no going back at this point. So what could you do now to prevent this from happening? Control the present. Change your bad habits that may be detrimental to your health. Take care of your body and choose a better lifestyle that promotes good health and well-being.
The more you live a healthy lifestyle, the more you realize that there is more to life than living as if you are to die tomorrow. You might even speed up your death if you continue poor lifestyle choices. We’re not out here to kill your joy or scare you but just to make you more prepared for the future and what the bigger picture looks like.
It is Time to Wake Up!
There are many 20-year-olds that don’t consider their fitness at all. We even live in a generation where most food is instant—instant noodles, fast food burgers and fries, high caffeine intake, and more. Yes, they’re delicious and everyone eats them anyway. Again, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of this food so much but you should have the control to take them in moderation. There is no better time to take care of yourself than now.
You think you are unstoppable in your teenage to young adult years. You radiate with a youthful glow, yet they say that this life phase is often taken for granted. As someone who is still young, you think you are invincible and won’t be encountering and developing terminal illnesses. You categorize yourself as safe from personal hospital visits. Moreover, you feel that you’ll get away with it just like you always did. But as much as we hate to break this down to you, your poor lifestyle choices would make the decades ahead difficult for you.
Start dropping those and begin with a commitment that you will live more healthily from now on. This will add years to your life and you can live with a happy and healthy body in the future. Studies show that better lifestyle choices minimize the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease by 70 to 80 percent—be it early stages of diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, or cancer.
A Northwestern University study says that staying healthy in your 20s will lower the risk of developing a heart disease in your middle age. This survey found out that most people who followed five healthy habits in their 20s – a lean body mass index, moderate alcohol intake, no smoking, a healthy diet, and daily physical activity – stayed healthy up into their middle ages.
It is Not Just About the YOLO Lifestyle
It’s not only the mindset that we factor in on why young adults find it difficult to choose a healthy living. It might also be brought about by long hours at work, making it difficult for them to find time to exercise and watch what they eat. There are also many mental battles they are faced with such as pressure at work, relationship woes, family conflict, and financial problems. Why would they then think about their future health and well-being when they have pressing present problems to deal with?
But even though it’s hard, it’s still no excuse that young adults would take their health for granted. They should take the time to regain strength by finding and living a proper work-life balance.
Be kind to yourself and do it slowly. Take out your bad habits one by one and replace them with healthy ones. Start small if you have to. It makes it easier to stick to your goals and progress as you grow. When you are able to pinpoint what you need to change and fix, then you could better control your activities and daily routine to live a healthy life.
Breaking the Bad Habits
The twenties is in between your adolescent years and the full-fledged adulthood phase. Spend the 10 years by discovering and engaging in new interests, going through new obstacles head-on, learning from your mistakes, and working your hardest to become the person you were born to be. There is really a no better phase in your life than your roaring twenties to get rid of your bad habits and work on becoming the best version of yourself.
It’s easier to break routine behaviors and habits while you're still young and open to change. This is a good phase to develop the habits you want to stay in for the rest of your life. In your 20s, your goal should be to discover the kind of life you want to live moving forward, including major career choices and relationships with yourself and others.
Be young, wild, and free but also be smart enough to know when it’s too much and that you’re putting your health in danger. There are habits that are related to well-being and survival, and there are those that only negatively impact your health in the long run.
This is a win-win situation for you. Do not look at it as a sacrifice but rather as an investment for you to live a long, happy life. Even the smallest decisions that you make today will have the power to open the way for success, both at present and in the future.
You might be overwhelmed from work and don’t get enough sleep and rest in a day. You also drink a lot more coffee than water and even forget to drink the latter. You might be working on your computer desk with a slouched back and an unrelaxed mind. You have vices and don’t control your urges in any way. Accept that these habits are bad and that you should get a head start now so that you won’t be surprised by what the future holds.
15 Things You Can Do to Better Take Care of Yourself
1. Cook your meals yourself. If you don’t cook, at least learn how to prepare a decent meal.
2. Do not consume Processed Sugar.
3. Get into fitness.
4. Visit the doctor regularly.
5. Look for sources of happiness.
6. Do not take sleep for granted.
7. Create a realistic routine.
8. Invest in skin care products and take care of your skin.
9. Be hygienic.
10. Draw the line between fun and healthy choices.
11. Be mindful and meditate regularly.
12. Take your mental health seriously.
13. Do not be on your phone all the time.
14. Go outside and get some fresh air.
15. Make small changes to take care of your body.
Final Thoughts
Prevention is always better than cure. Taking good care of your health now is much better than finally taking care of it because something is wrong with your health. Your 20s is the best time in your life to think about healthy habits and apply them as soon as possible. It also gives out endorphins or happy hormones that make you feel nice to be more health-conscious. To reiterate, the way you treat your body now will affect your health for the decades to come.
