How I opted to live, feel better every day

According to one of my nutrition class books, health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." As I read this definition of health, I had flashbacks of the time when I first realized that, in fact, feeling good physically isn't necessarily  proof that you are healthy. It's been 13 years since I embarked on my health journey. That means I've spent more than half my life living in less than optimal conditions. I was bitter, angry at life, resentful, overweight, depressed, and lacked energy and vitality. I was living by default and occupied with "stuff" to do and little direction of what my heart truly desired.

From my perspective, however, I was super healthy. I hardly ever suffered from a cold, the flu or had any aches or pains in my body. And to me that was proof I was doing well. It meant I felt good. And that was more than okay. However, I had a sense that there was probably another feeling or feelings that I was not experiencing. My intuition told me I was missing out on something, but I had no clarity of what it was. After some years going through some personal growth processes, reflection, failures and successes, I realized I was not as healthy as I thought I was. I was physically strong but my mental health needed improvement, my social life needed to be revamped, and my mission, vision and life passion had to be redesigned. Fortunately, life presented me with the experiences, the people and the tools that helped me transform my life. One of those first life experiences was an unexpected change in my professional career. I had been working in the communications arena for more than a decade, when I suddenly found myself working in the healthcare industry. That's when I faced disease from a different perspective. As an outsider, it was clear to me that disease presented itself not only in the form of physical pain, but in the form of mental instability, emotional pain, and suffering that went beyond just pains and aches in the body. This experience allowed me to see what I was doing wrong with my own life in terms of lifestyle. I learned so much by observing others. I gained perspective and courage --enough to determine that I from that moment on I was not going to be conformed with feeling good. Instead, I was going to strive to live and feel better every day.