There is a saying “health is wealth”. Money can buy anything but not a good health. Taking care of yourself should always be the main priority. But that is not the case in Singapore. With rising healthcare problems beginning to rise among adults aged 30. It is, therefore, critical for one to take proper care of their health.
Why People aren’t Prioritising their Health
There is a common saying that your 20s are your prime, you need to start hustling early to ease the breaks as you reach your 30s, therefore you should work more. Then, at 30, another saying is you are at your working prime, make the most money you can now. This endless pursuit of wealth has led to a generation of working adults prioritizing wealth over health.
Wealth first over Anything
In Singapore, the rising cost of living and slow-growing wages have made many Singaporean forced to work longer hours and burn weekends. Our generation is known for its hustling culture. Not having an extra side hustle or additional income would classify one as lazy or incompetent.
Out of 153 countries, Singapore ranked 31st in terms of happiness. However, we ranked top in terms of healthy life expectancy, and perception of integrity in society. In terms of GDP per capita, we came in 2nd. Our society is rich; we live longer and healthier lives, and we have an efficient system built upon the foundation of integrity. Yet, there are other factors that may be preventing us from reaching the top places in terms of happiness. These factors are much closer to the heart. This has caused a canceled work culture in the Singapore workspace where work is seen as hellish work. This has led to rising stress-related illnesses caused by overwork can lead to heart attack, stroke, and cancer.
Fast food Culture
Not many would take the time to sit down and worry about their growing health problem looming due to overworking. To work longer hours, Singaporean prefer to have fast-food meals over a proper meal as they are deemed a lot faster to have a meal. However, many do not know that the food we eat also plays a part in our active lifestyle. Having a proper nutritional base diet would build more robust immunity. If you were to spend days eating solely fast food, you might find yourself with breathing difficulty
The rising FIRE Movement Culture
FIRE, which stands for financially independent retire early has been a trendy topic in recent years. There are a total of 5 different FIRE movements with each movement having its own investing growth path. However, the one which is most popular is called the FAT FIRE. It is a culture of mostly working hard grinding early in the early time of our life to learn to make more money at an early age to invest. The idea of having to work to invest as much to live off of investment has been widely popularized. While this idea may intrigue and create a drive for young folk to invest early. It created a hostile work day and night culture to maximize time to make money.
What the FIRE movement lack in educating is learning how to better take care of one’s health during their hustling lifestyle. While it is true that making money at an early age can really powerful because of compound interest. Taking care of one’s health should be equally important as daily habits, the saying “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away” is a common quote to remind others that taking care of one health is something money can’t buy. Solidifying the importance of health is wealth.
Why you should Prioritise Health over Wealth
Ask any older folks in their retirements about the top 5 actions they regret not taking. Not taking care of your body would constantly rank top 5 among them. Many people will say to themselves, ‘I enjoy smoking’ or ‘I don’t like to exercise’ or ‘I just like to eat — who cares if I die a little sooner? The problem in this day and age is you’re not going to die sooner; you’re going to be stuck with 10 or 20 years of chronic disease as modern medicine keeps you alive. The important saying prevention is better than cure, it’s better to care for your health and not have others care for you.
How to take better care of your Health
Taking care of one’s health is a lot of work. There is a need to regulate the meals that you take, have proper 7 hours of uninterrupted rest, exercise regularly, and take an intermediate break in between long work hours. Therefore, people aiming to stay healthy are looking for a quick and efficient way to stay healthy. Here are some of the best ways to stay healthy.
Simple ways to Keep Fit
Walking for 30 minutes a day can help you lose weight, control your blood sugar, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, and reduce stress. Can’t do 30 minutes? Three 10-minute walks per day work just as well.
Cost: Invest in good walking shoes, which range from $60 to $120 at sporting goods stores and online. Running shoe work, too, but can be more expensive. Good shoes will serve you well, but be sure to replace them every 400 miles or twice a year, whichever comes first.
Eat Healthily
It’s hard trying to eat healthily, especially when you have little time to have meals. That doesn’t mean you won’t have the time to get a proper healthy meal. The HPB (Health Promotion Board) is a government organization committed to promoting healthy living in Singapore. The organization promotes healthy living by promoting healthy food products. Some of these healthier choice food items are either labeled ‘Low in Calories’, ‘Low in Sugar’, or ‘Healthier Choice!’. More Cafeteria food stalls are now finding ways to get their food labeled healthy as there are greater demands for these labels. As almost all cafeterias have at least 1 promotion by HPB, it should make eating healthier easier.
Proper Uninterrupted Rest
National Sleep Foundation guidelines advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night. To get better rest, removing all distractions distracting you is crucial. And the number 1 cause of distraction from us in the first world getting a good rest is having our phones right beside us. Learning to set your phone to silent and not disturb are some ways to help get you the rest you need.
Taking care of your health
Oftentimes, we forget about our end goal and strive for our near goal. The end of financial freedom from hustling all day is retiring with good health to spend time with loved ones. Instead, we continuously chase after the rat race, trying to make more and more money. Forgoing the importance of taking care of one’s health. Therefore, it is crucial that everyone working should take care of their health no matter how demanding work can be. Because health is wealth.
