It is such an important part of our lives, being healthy! How much importance we give to it is another matter.

Over the past few weeks, a thought had been playing in my mind – why are so many young, seemingly healthy people, falling sick or passing away? A couple of incidents happened within my known circles, and they only added further anguish to these thoughts.

As I thought more about this subject, I naturally started to think about my own lifestyle and what am I doing right or wrong – at least as per my understanding.

Over the years, I have been generally taking care of myself, eating in moderation, exercising regularly, and switching off from work as much as I can. So, my self-rating on some of these aspects was quite ok. But then, there were a couple of things that I wasn’t doing very well on.

Sleep, for one. My sleep patterns had been disturbed for the past few months and while I had tried to make it better, there was still room for improvement.

Controlling my urges in between meals. Having been disciplined at it in the past, I had loosened my reins. Resulting in random snacking at times, all in the day.

Taking stress about things that can be avoided, and always being worried about something or the other going on in life. I have always wanted to do my best, and that naturally leads to high internal expectations, creating tension and stress at times.

Most importantly, I had not got a health checkup done for a couple of years. No excuses here, apart from general procrastination.

As I took stock of these shortfalls, I started to map out improvements needed. Over the last couple of weeks, I have made conscious efforts to sleep on time and not overstretch myself on weekends. I have also become disciplined again about what I am eating, to the degree I can. Avoiding stressing myself about small things, while making peace with how things are, rather than fighting them all the time.

And finally, after some nudging in the office as well, I went ahead and got an extensive checkup done. There are a couple of concerns those tests unearthed, which is a good thing.

Knowing is half the battle won, they say. I say, it is just an internal acknowledgment and unless paired with action, doesn’t mean anything. So, next in line is a plan to bring down those identified troublesome markers.

Having turned wiser from this experience, I reflected on what took me so long to recalibrate!

I think it was just the fallacy of everything is fine with myself, and it is only others who get affected by health concerns. Too much overconfidence, or ignorance.

Probably a reason why a lot of us are unhealthy and unaware about it, leading to an illness or a never-thought about turn of events…