Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!
A few days ago, I was at a local university giving a speech about how great it is to be an engineer to a group of incoming freshmen. When the request came from the university, they asked for young engineers to talk about their “successful” careers.
I guess by conventional standard I am “successful” in my chosen career. I make a decent salary that will probably be over 6 figures within the next three years and am well respected among my colleagues. I am not passionate about what I am doing, but I am relatively happy to be an engineer.
The common question that these freshmen asked was ‘how much money I make?’ That is no surprise.
But what is surprising is that no one ask how much time I spend in the office — typing at my desk, sitting in meetings, and returning phone calls. I felt compel to discuss how as a young engineer I spent 40% of my time doing field work and inspections. I loved it! My body loved it! But as I advance, I now spend 100% of my time in the office. Some days after back to back meetings, I just want to run far away.
So do I consider myself successful? No. I do not feel that I am at my optimal health. Success to me is link to my overall health and wellness. On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being optimal health, I would say that I am a 7.5.
Would I be willing to give up $10,000 of my annual salary to be as healthy as when I was in college? In a heartbeat. What about $20,000? I might hesitate, but deep down inside, I know the answer is yes.
How much of your annual salary would you be willing to give up to have the health or a 20 year again?
Until next time and thanks for stopping by.
Photo by: Wolfgang Staudt.
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