Wouldn’t it be great if you could predict the future? Surely you’ve thought about buying a stock before it grows exponentially or inventing a product that everyone in the year 2050 will be using. While I can’t help you fulfill either of those dreams, I can tell you confidently that there’s something you’ll desire even more decades from now.
Virtually all young adults have their sights set on wealth, meaningful relationships, and memorable experiences. However, our priorities change as we age. Almost unanimously, older adults list good health, not wealth, as their top desire. Failure to invest in their health at a young age is often their biggest regret. This probably doesn’t surprise anyone, yet people choose to ignore this fact until health concerns arise. Unfortunately, at this point it’s often too late to significantly change your trajectory.
Health should be treated no differently than a retirement account — investments that you make when young will be amplified over the years, and the later you start the more difficult it becomes to end up in a good place. For whatever reason, the need to think about your future finances comes naturally, while the need to think about your future health is ignored until the last possible moment. This is true despite the latter being the one that will be most important to you in your sixth decade and beyond.
Another way of thinking about this comes from one of our mentors, longevity physician Peter Attia. He says that he asks his patients if they would trade places with Warren Buffett, and the resounding majority say no. Sure, you would instantly have all the money you could ever desire, but you’d also instantly be 92 years old and limited heavily in what you could do with your newfound fortune. Not to mention, you will have gone from potentially having decades of life left to only a few years. In this example, people subconsciously acknowledge just how much they value years of good health.
It’s an immense challenge to motivate people without ailments to make further investments in their health, but this is what’s required if you want to put yourself in the best position possible in the future. There’s nothing wrong with seeking money, experiences, and relationships — those things are all components of a satisfying life. But no one can say whether you’re placing too much or too little emphasis on each of these domains. One thing is certain, though, and it’s that hardly anyone places too much value on their health. It’s one of few areas where you can almost predict the future, and be confident that you will wish you had done more. Hopefully this insight encourages you to act now, because there’s no better time to invest in your health.
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