photo credit: poslovni savjetnik

There’s lots of people in this world who spend so much time watching their health that they haven’t the time to enjoy it.  ~Josh Billings

In my first post, I posed the question “what does being healthy really mean”? This week, I want to go deeper and ask why you want to be healthy. I want to know what lies underneath the surface and motivates on us a holy grail-like mission to secure an often unattainable goal, perfect health.

What drives your desire to be healthy? HONESTLY?

I could sit here and pretend that all my personal motives are pure. That my desires to be healthy stem from a place free of ego. But, well, then I’d be lying – and that’s just not healthy, now is it? Yes, on a physical level, I care what I look like. I like to be lean and tone. I dye my hair to hide my grays and I pretty much always wear mascara. So, essentially, part of why I want to be healthy is so I can look good. Fact.

But I also want to be healthy so I feel good, mentally and emotionally. I don’t have much guilt around my food choices because I keep it balanced. Yes, I eat meat (occasionally). Yes, I drink a few beers with my friends. And no, I don’t always eat organic. Furthermore, when I feel good physically, my body image stays within a healthy perspective, too. I hate fat talk and how frequently women engage in it.  I also want to live a long, productive life. It’s hard to manage a teaching schedule, private clients, writing recipes and blogging if I feel like crap. When all of these things are in alignment, I feel rooted in and connected to my purpose.

But I see what’s going on in my classes. Yoga has become the trendy exercise du jour, with Groupons packing classes with those trying to find out what all the hype is about (not that this is a bad thing, but that’s a whole other post.) Brand name yoga clothes like lululemon athletica are becoming more popular. Plastic surgery keeps people looking young. Advertisements for products ranging from cereal to face creams promise that eternal youthful glow. People are definitely gravitating to the healthy look, it’s become an image to uphold, regardless of what is actually going on in day to day habits.

So the question is this: What external motivators drive your desire to be healthy? And if this is how our society as a whole will become more well,  is it enough?