Our health is our most important asset. Yeah, so is family, our homes, our cars, but really what is life if we don’t have health?
So often people come to me for help because they’ve just been diagnosed with having diabetes, prediabetes, or another health condition and they want to do something about it – which is fantastic! Good on them for getting the help they need to be as healthy as they can now! But really, why aren’t we doing something about it before it gets to the diagnosis? Why are we relying on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than avoiding falling from the cliff in the first place? Now I know that what I’m saying might be a bit hard for some people to read, especially those who have health issues, or have people close to them who do. And I know that in some cases these things aren’t preventable, however in the majority of cases they are. New Zealand is a beautiful country with fertile soils and a growing awareness of health and wellness – which is fantastic! However we are also a country that have social “norms” that are detrimental to our health. What do I mean by that? Try answering these questions:
So then what happens? In simple terms, we get sick, and we rely on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. That’s right, we saw the cliff, and we fell anyway. When I say it like that, it seems so simple, doesn’t it? If we look after ourselves, nourish our bodies, keep active and look after our mental health, we should be fine. We don’t need that ambulance, and we can thrive. But why don’t we do that? Because of the social norms in New Zealand. The culture in our beautiful country has told us that we will be judged if we stray from the social norms and look after our bodies. It’s actually really sad. Now I’m not saying we should never have treats, what kind of world would that be, but we need to redefine what a treat is. It is not a daily thing! We also need to encourage one another, rather than saying “oh come on, just one won’t hurt”. I’m sure we can all relate to a situation like that! There are some simple things we can do in our daily lives to help make a change to these social norms and reduce the need for the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the cliff.
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