Around New Year's most people have grandiose plans and resolutions about building a better self. Perhaps the problem with these and the reason most fail is that the plans are so far away from the everyday life we live. This is a topic we see so often that we hardly think about it anymore which is unfortunate because with the global financial strains our health will be even more important.
Plan for the long term: It is in your interest to maintain emotional and physical health in order to enjoy your life in your senior years. When you consider the added stress of fears of unemployment or actual unemployment, the possibility of having no health insurance, not being able to afford a vacation you had hoped for or literally have to worry about paying for day-to-day expenses - the last thing you would need to make life even more difficult is a health problem to crop up.
Change is difficult for most people to achieve. We get comfortable in our daily routines and although we know we should do better, making changes would simply add to the daily stress we are already subjected to. It is understandable then that the greater the required change is, the greater the chances of its failure.
Balance is the key. Keeping a daily balance in eating, working, sleeping and socializing is essential and relatively simple to maintain. OK. You say if there was a balance there would not be a problem. This is true - but we now focus on the goal - (re)establishing a balance in small steps.
Anyone who is serious about calibrating a 'better' life for themselves will make the effort of sitting down with a paper and pencil - go through their average day and see where the problem(s) lie. Most people will find work taking over their life. Overcommitment in the long run leads to less efficiency on the job as well as decreasing the quality of family life.
Please take the time you deserve to consider what you must do rather than continue to hide your head in the sand. I'll be back with more specific recommendations so we can get to work together.
