I’ll wait for Monday…the first of the month…after my birthday…New Year’s Day….You know the drill. You want to take charge of your health, but you do not want to change your habits. So back and forth you go – wanting to be healthy, putting off change, convincing yourself you can “fix it when you’re ready.”

It is interesting the way people convince themselves that they can just jump onto the wagon whenever they are ready. Lose the weight in time for their class reunion. Stop smoking when life gets a little less stressful.

But health does not work that way. It does not go into a holding pattern while you indulge an unhealthy lifestyle. 

And there is no magic pill or medical procedure that, abracadabra, just erases years of neglect.

There also is no magic time in the future to start making changes.

The time to take charge of your health is now. And here are 6 reasons you can’t afford to wait.

1. Illness and disease do not magically appear…or disappear. 
   

   If you smoked for years (or if you still smoke), you should not be surprised by asthma, emphysema, or even lung cancer. 

2. Your choices today will influence your health tomorrow. 
   

   Echoing the point above, what you choose today will have consequences tomorrow. And what you experience today is, in large part, a function of yesterday’s choices. 
   
   How you eat, sleep, and exercise, for example, lays the foundation for your health and happiness today and tomorrow. 
   
   It also determines the strength of your immune system that may be called upon at any moment to fight something like an unknown virus.

3. If you ignore the basic health practices, you will shorten your lifespan. 
   

   If you are going to take charge of your health, you have to start with the basics. 
   
   There are five practices that are non-negotiable for building a healthy lifestyle: 
   • a body mass index of 18-24
   • no smoking 
   • eating a minimum of 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (What you put into your body is just as important as what you keep out of it.) 
   • exercising a minimum of 30 minutes five days a week 
   • sleeping 7-8 hours every night 
     
     Ignore or skimp on these building blocks, and your life will inevitably be shorter and less vital than it could have been.

4. The healthcare system is not set up to make you healthy. 

   If you’re expecting an annual trip to your primary care physician to be your ticket to good health, you’re living dangerously. 
   
   Not only is our healthcare system a nightmare when it comes to insurance and “who’s really in charge.” It is also not designed with a patient’s optimal health in mind. 
   
   It responds to illness and injury, but it does not help to prevent it in the first place. In fact, the number 3 cause of death is the medical system. 
   
   People, on average, spend more money and energy in the last few years of their lives trying to save their lives. 
   
   Imagine if they would invest the same financial and lifestyle choices in their lives all along. They could truly live their entire lives instead of relying on the healthcare system to rescue them at the 11th hour.

5. The only entity that can take responsibility for your health is you.

   This is obvious, isn’t it? So obvious that most people ignore it. 
   
   You are the only one responsible for all the small choices that add up to big results. 
   
   What you put into your body — including the messages you mentally deliver to it — determines how your body helps you live. Remember, every thought is a prayer!
   
   No doctor, parent, spouse, or other well-intended entity can make those choices for you. 
   
   Where and how you become informed is as much your responsibility as what you do with the information. Choose wisely.

6. If you do not have your health, you have nothing.

    Think of all the goals you have for your life. Think of the things you enjoy doing and the people with whom you love doing them. 
   
   Now imagine trying to do anything that is important to you while lying in a hospital bed or immobilized by back pain. 
   
   Imagine having to stay behind while those you love hike to an awe-inspiring mountain view. 
   
   Imagine the strain on your loved ones if you have to battle a life-threatening condition. 
   
   No amount of money can buy you another day of life when your life is done. 
   
   And no amount of wealth can replace the freedom provided by good health.

Take some time to think about what you truly value in life. Write down your non-negotiables so you actually see them and feel accountable to them.

Where does your health fit into those values? If you have not listed it, then ask yourself how many of your deepest values depend on you being present…and healthy.

Surely there is only one conclusion to draw: the time to take charge of your health is NOW. 

Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. is the father of holistic medicine. Dr. Sergey Sorin is a holistic physician as well as the CEO and medical director of the Shealy-Sorin Wellness Institute. Both doctors recommend the Biogenics® System as part of your overall commitment to self-health and enhancing your positivity.