When we reach a certain stage of life we are confronted with the reality – and question – of how we have lived that life. Did I care passionately about something? Did I care about my own unique contribution to life and if not, what DID I care about? How has my life mattered in the grand scheme of things? These and other questions have occurred to me since I first sat down to write “Healthy Aging & You” just before my 60th birthday in 2006. I have noticed as the years have passed since that moment that I have become acutely aware of the power of my thoughts, words and choices.

I feel liberated now from my past and not concerned about the uncertainty of the future because I am now part of the “flow of life” – living in the present. As I have become inspired to write again, I am feeling blessed to be able share with you the lessons I have learned along the way that enabled and empowered me to find my own voice and arrive at a place I call CLARITY. Being clear on WHO you are, what you BELIEVE to be true, and WHY you are here makes life seem so simple – and yet exhilarating – and surprising. I feel alive and hopeful and grateful each morning when I wake up. With this idea in mind I enter each new day with a passion I cannot diminish in any way.

What can you expect from today? How will you BE in life today? How will you respond to the challenges that come your way? Finally, what choices will you make today that WILL influence your tomorrow? I will share three key ideas with you that will help you answer these and other important questions that most certainly will arise as you “grow older – and not old”.

Thoughts

In my spiritual philosophy one of the principles we learn is that “thoughts are things” – meaning they are REAL – and from them springs forth our reality in form. Each of us is the vehicle through which our reality forms based upon our thought patterns and biases. What we entertain mentally has a profound effect upon how our lives unfold. Thoughts are creative. They form the foundation of our contribution to life itself.

The thought that I needed to write again occurred to me when I became aware of the ideas I was thinking about this past week. The article on learning to value oneself was the first one that had been present in my consciousness. Today my focus is on helping you “find your voice” and so this article is now “front and center” in implementing my new choices. I respond to these – and other thoughts – the same way as I have over the past decade – by taking specific ACTION – with purpose.

Since writing is a part of what I consider to be one of my natural gifts, I will express these ideas in written form today – and as a speaker at a later time. My purpose is to help “change one thing in one person’s life today” as I have alluded to on my new website (healthyhappyfit.com). This process repeats itself quite easily for me now because I have become “responsive” to life’s urgings within me and I no longer question the process. I just DECIDE and follow my thought patterns to my next step and then wait patiently for my next thoughts to emerge. This is HOW life unfolds if we allow it to BE in our lives.

Question: When do you schedule time to “listen to your thoughts” and let them find expression in form in your life? Something to consider.

WORDS

Words are the form our thoughts – and subsequent ideas – take when we allow them to move forward in our consciousness. Consciousness is nothing more than a “state of awareness” and without coming to a place of awareness we cannot grow from where we ARE to where we want to BE. I am very careful to choose words that are hopeful, loving  and filled with a sense of gratitude for when we are grateful for what we have – more of the good of life can be added to our experience.

I want more in my life of all that is good – and that I finally know I deserve.  Some of this good is recognizable to all of us and includes inner peace, prosperity, abundance, friendship, health (both inner and outer), harmony – and many others too numerous to mention here. You get the idea! I no longer want to “fight” for I want in my life because fighting implies opposition to something and I am no longer in opposition to anything. I have decided to “reach out by reaching within myself” and let my gifts do my work for me.

If your words DO indeed have power within them then CHOOSE them wisely. As Thumper’s mom said to him (Bambi) “if you got nothing nice to say then don’t say nothing at all”! That sentiment seems to work fine for me so remember your words are the vehicle through which your thoughts become “real” so choose them wisely and you WILL rewarded in kind. Your life will have become so much more meaningful and fulfilling just by simply letting your thoughts be heard in the kindest and most loving way. “Getting” becomes “giving” and this is where life expands to “meet the thinker”!

CHOICES

Making choices represents the REAL power of living life ON PURPOSE. It is in making choices – from the simple ones to the complex ones – that we set in motion the outcomes we will experience in the future. Being “in the present” means NOT staring at your phone 24/7 or not “looking up” to acknowledge another human being with a smile – and a greeting. I see this everyday in my life and it is MOST disturbing to me. Technology “runs” our lives and we have become oblivious to our surroundings – or the people that inhabit them. We CANNOT succeed in life if there is no longer a present because we are living in the past – or preparing for a future that has not yet come.

Choices reflect our priorities – or lack of same. I never want to NOT think about my choices because I know they establish my path forward. Writing and speaking come naturally to me and I want to “embody” my choices because I want them to represent me in the BEST possible way. I am always going to choose that which will enable me to be “the best example of the change I wish to see in the world”. How about you? What is your best look like to you? THINK about WHO you ARE today and ask yourself: Am I choosing wisely and if now why not? You WILL BE rewarded in kind for your “thoughtfulness”!

IN CONCLUSION

Our thoughts, words and choices reflect WHO WE ARE today. Are they helping us or hindering our progress? Finding “our voice” means that we know WHO we are and WHY we are here. Let your thoughts speak volumes FOR you through the words you choose and the choices you make. Let the world “see” the REAL you and know within yourself that you not only CAN but ARE making a difference by your very presence in the world. Leave your regrets behind and never have to live with guilt again. Be free to live the life you always dreamed of living and START TODAY! Don’t wait for tomorrow for we may not get tomorrow. Believe in your power and express it with love, authority and clarity! You will be amazed at what happens next! Travel well.

Reprinted with permission from Nicholas Prukop.

Nicholas Prukop is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer & a Health Coach, a fitness professional with over 25 years of experience whose passion for health and fitness comes from his boyhood in Hawaii where he grew up a swimmer on Maui. He found his calling in writing his first book “Healthy Aging & You: Your Journey to Becoming Happy, Healthy & Fit” and since then he has dedicated himself to empowering, inspiring and enabling people of all ages to reach for the best that is within them and become who they are meant to be – happy, healthy and fit – and be a part of a world where each person can contribute their own unique gifts to life.

If you need help in designing a fitness plan, you can contact Nicholas Prukop via email at runningnick@sbcglobal.net or read his inspiring book Healthy Aging & YOU.

The world today is dedicated to technology, advancing research and the access to unlimited information on all manner of subjects. Each of us relies on technology not only for our questions about life but also for receiving the answers. And oh, by the way, we want our answers NOW! The speed with which we live our lives is increasing everyday and sometimes it can be very frustrating to realize that we can’t “have it all – and do it all”.

In my opinion, what has been lost in the race to become technologically advanced, is the notion of healing our illnesses and addressing underlying CAUSES so that we may each partner with ourselves as positive and loving participants in our own care. The field of healthcare is also undergoing a transformation in the 21st century – a paradigm shift if you will – toward ever more increasing complexity and technological innovation. For the individual this has many positive aspects, but in many ways it is also becoming increasingly difficult to navigate – and understand not only “what it is – but how to use it”.

When I was a child, we saw our doctor for our shots and annual checkups for school. There were relatively no other aspects of this relationship than seeking help if we got sick or injured. The doctor was very often a family friend and most of the time was able to spend quality time with the patient on each visit.

Today we rely on the healthcare system to serve a wide variety of very complex health needs. The doctor is very often busy and can spend relatively little time discussing our issues in depth because the system is designed to maximise results, revenue, and optimise time. Specialties are now common for everything from brain, heart and lungs to bones, hormones and many others that require a referral from another physician and these visits typically involve further testing at each stop along the way (more complexity). The patient is “processed” and drugs are almost always involved in any recommendation or treatment.

The juggling of information and treatments is a significant part of any participation in the healthcare system of the 21st century. This complexity – and cost – is a major part of the challenge we face going forward in designing a “patient – doctor” partnership that can hopefully restore “some” of the basic strengths that were once a part of the “older” system of delivering healthcare to people when it was really a personal and individual service.

The partnerships that are most important in today’s world of healthcare are the following: pharmaceutical, insurance, medical, government, hospitals, and finally the doctor. The doctor is stuck between a “rock and hard place” because the system is driven by money and profits for the most part. Insurance companies control the payment systems and the patient – and doctor – are left to try and understand billing systems and other ramifications of the “treatment process”.

The healthcare model of the future

The way I see it now is that we are EACH responsible for our own health (the new paradigm) and the outcomes of our choices will determine the results that we obtain in securing – or losing – our health. In the period between 1988 and 2011, I was unable to afford health insurance so I “bet on myself” and the result turned out well. I used my fitness world as my insurance program and made sure to protect myself from risk to the best of my ability while training my body, mind and spirit to be as healthy and fit as possible.

Once I qualified for Medicare at 65 in 2011, I continued to behave as though I had no insurance and have done quite well with this strategy to the present day. It does not mean that I will NEVER need to see a doctor or use the insurance I now have, it just means that I have been able to live in a world of my OWN making without ever being “stuck” in a system that does not know me and could care less about what I need. I believe I am an example of the possibility of health as it could exist in the future if we each take care of ourselves properly every day of our lives and remember the aspects that WILL characterize our true individual healthcare program:

• what we think – whether our thoughts are constructive or destructive;
• what we eat – whether we eat healthy and natural foods as opposed to unhealthy, packaged foods full of preservatives;
• what we feel – whether our emotions are positive (e.g. love, compassion, patience, understanding, etc…) or negative (hatred, anger, frustration, etc…);
• what we choose to do (or not do) – a number of lifestyle choices such as smoking, fitness and using drugs, will impact our health;
• what we believe.

This “wellness” concept I am describing is in “play” today in many forms and is increasingly becoming the “model” by which all healthcare programs will be judged in the future. True “prevention” to me is NOT only testing for disease but depends on making the best choices we can every single day of our lives and becoming responsible and accountable for those choices going forward (personal responsibility). I am not saying we will never need others to help us because the unforeseen aspects of life always have a way of “showing up” in our lives regardless of how carefully and thoughtfully we have behaved in our lives.

What I believe to be the healthcare model of the future going forward will be a partnership not only with ourselves but with professionals who have the time, knowledge, and ability to address our needs from an aspect of “healing – not curing” what ails us.

When my father passed away from cancer in November of 1983 at the age of 64, he had taken on no responsibility for what had gotten him sick in the first place. He had also taken no part in his treatment to try and overcome the challenges he was going to face going forward. I believe this “passive” behavior played a part in contributing to his death at a relatively early age. Smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and many stressors “seen and unseen”, “known and unknown” (and much more) probably “disabled” his ability to know what was happening to his body as he aged.

This experience at age 37 probably did more for me than I will ever know since I would be tested in the years ahead by many failures, challenges, hurts, resentments, guilt and suffering – all CAUSED by me and the choices I made in my own life. The ONE thing I did right was make a commitment to my OWN health and fitness needs and when the time came to deal with the consequences of my choices – I was able to DO SOMETHING I loved – and that was run. This is why I can say today that running saved my life – because I truly believe that it did. Fitness was my anchor. My advice to you today?

• Get moving!
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Don’t smoke.
• Create positive health habits by making thoughtful choices.
• Don’t wallow in the past and dump all your regrets.
• Don’t let your fears dominate your thinking and be open to change.
• Bless your gifts and those that love you.
• Be grateful for being alive today and never take your life for granted.
• Remember to smile everyday and be open to new experiences.
• Get off your phone and step away from your devices – and computer – and “take a break” from self imposed pressure and stressors.
• Finally, take time to be with your own thoughts and let them “wash over you” until you feel happy with what you are thinking. WHAT WE THINK – WE BECOME”.

Originally printed on HealthyNewAge.com. Reprinted with permission from Nicholas Prukop.

Nicholas Prukop is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer & a Health Coach, a fitness professional with over 25 years of experience whose passion for health and fitness comes from his boyhood in Hawaii where he grew up a swimmer on Maui. He found his calling in writing his first book “Healthy Aging & You: Your Journey to Becoming Happy, Healthy & Fit” and since then he has dedicated himself to empowering, inspiring and enabling people of all ages to reach for the best that is within them and become who they are meant to be – happy, healthy and fit – and be a part of a world where each person can contribute their own unique gifts to life.

If you need help in designing a fitness plan, you can contact Nicholas Prukop via email at runningnick@sbcglobal.net or read his inspiring book Healthy Aging & YOU.

It is challenging to try to cover such a broad topic as aging over the decades. Each one of us is different and our lives reflect our own unique choices and belief systems. However, I do feel that sharing my thoughts on how to age well based on my experiences and making some of the suggestions I would make if you were my client is well worth the effort.

I believe that when we celebrate our birthdays, we get to reflect on what we have accomplished in our life so far – and have become – as a result of the choices we have made over the years. Fitness for me was always a choice that was a “given” – one that I am truly grateful I never had to think about making because it was “who I was” on the inside.

The value of a life well lived is in the legacy we leave behind at the end of it. I have often thought over the past two decades about my own legacy. How will I be remembered? Is it in my words? My deeds? My character? My integrity? Or all of these – and more.