by Matt Weik
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking… “Matt, you’ve totally lost your mind. How the hell does my health relate to a Rolex?” Stick with me as there are quite a few similarities that will have you go “Ah” in due time. Trust me, it will all make sense soon enough. With that being said, let’s dive into how my crazy brain works.
If the Rolex Ticks and Tells Time, What’s the Issue?
Whether you currently own a Rolex or not, let’s just say you do. You just invested in a $35,000 Rolex Day-Date. It’s shiny, the bling factor is on point, and you feel great with it on your wrist. The piece is simply stunning. You’re so proud of your investment that you use this Rolex as your everyday timepiece (lucky you).
Months go by, and you’re starting to notice your Rolex shows some signs of wear and tear. No biggie, right? Sure, it got banged around a little bit, you dropped it a time or two because you were careless, but overall, it seems to be working just fine. Little did you know, the inner workings of that caliber 3255 movement aren’t functioning like they did when you first got it out of the box.
You notice the time is slow by a few minutes every few days, and you have to keep pulling out the crown and correcting it. You think nothing of it until one day it completely stops working altogether. A common reaction would be, “What the f*ck is wrong with this thing?”
With a few emails back and forth to Rolex, you decide to ship it off to have it serviced. You pay for the shipping there (stupidly expensive), the $800 (or more) for the service fee, and then you pay to have it shipped back (again, another stupidly expensive cost).
How Does This Tie into Your Health?
The premise behind this story relates to your life, whether you’ve already read between the lines or not. Just like with a Rolex timepiece, your life and health are incredibly important, and you should do almost anything to preserve them. Most people do not have the means to ever purchase a Rolex for themselves, just in the same manner that you aren’t able to buy a new life or your health.
When you don’t take care of your body and your health, slowly, over time, things start to break down and not function properly. This can be joint health, the health of your organs, poor bloodwork, cardiovascular or respiratory issues, the list goes on and on. Many of these issues show no symptoms until something is already terribly wrong – even to the point where the first symptom results in an unexpected death. For instance, high blood pressure, which is known as “the silent killer.”
Just like with the Rolex timepiece, if you misuse and abuse your body and health, it’s going to get expensive to fix it. How much is your health worth to you? Are you willing to put in the time now to make sure everything is functioning properly, or do you have the “It’ll never happen to me” mentality until something actually does?
Many people take their health for granted, just like some people say to themselves, “It’s just a watch.” But just like with a Rolex, your health is an investment. You need to put in the time to exercise, get the right amount of sleep and rest each night, eat a well-balanced diet, and do all of the things necessary to reduce the common aches and pains that result over time as you age. It’s a cumulation of all the things that you did throughout the months and years that take a toll on your health – just like with an expensive Rolex.
Unlike the Rolex, where you can always buy a new one if you have the financial means, you don’t have that same luxury with your health. You can’t simply go online and order a clean bill of health – it, unfortunately, doesn’t work that way. Once you lose your health, you may never get it back. In fact, depending on the severity of your health issues, they could be something you have to live with for the rest of your life. Ultimately, spending thousands of dollars each year just to maintain any sort of quality of life. Is that really what you want?
How Much Is Your Health Worth?
Obviously, I took things to the extreme with the Rolex example, but my thought process and what can take place is not all that far off. So, you need to ask yourself, “How much is my health worth?” Is it worth enough that you need to make some changes immediately? Depending on how your lifestyle has been over the years, you may have some serious catching up to do.
Are 150 minutes a week too much to ask in order to exercise and help improve your health? That breaks down to only 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. That’s NOTHING! What excuse do you have? It’s actually quite selfish of you if you aren’t willing to devote that small amount of time to help live a longer and healthier life.
Think about all of those around you. Trust me, like in my own life, I’m sure you have also watched a loved one or friend’s health deteriorate and what that can do to family and friends. It’s not fun to watch that take place. That person’s poor lifestyle choices have affected more people than just them. And the cost to try to maintain your health or even get it back once it fails due to poor choices in life is extreme. It can easily bankrupt people.
I genuinely hope you take a good, hard look in the mirror and think about your life and health. What are you doing? Are you being proactive or waiting to be reactive? What will happen to your children if something were to happen to you? What would happen to your spouse or significant other if you were gone? I think it’s time for all of us to pay more attention and put a greater focus on our health. You only get one life to live – don’t waste it. And if you ever have the means to own a Rolex (while we’re on the topic), don’t abuse it. One day that timepiece could get passed down to your children and grandchildren. Make sure it lives a long life and enjoyment for generations to come.