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More than two thousand years ago, Hippocrates, the Greek physician and father of medicine, said, “A wise [person] ought to realize that health is [the] most valuable possession.”
We are obliged to Hippocrates’ and others from the past for reminding us that fitness and health is not just a new and passing phenomenon and neither are the ways to achieve and maintain good health. The fundamentals of good health, known and proven for so long, are available to anyone who decides they want to fully enjoy the enormous benefits of healthy living.
I found the reality of this lesson brought home in the compelling story from over a century ago of an American boy, sickly and weakened by childhood diseases, who sought a refuge from his physical handicaps in a love of books and reading. As time went on, just as his mind grew strong from his studies, his body continued to fail.
His concerned father at last told his 12-year old son, “You have the mind but not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body know you will do it!” And the wise father then gave the boy weights and other gymnastic equipment and worked with him to strengthen his frail young body.
Well, this story has a remarkably happy ending. The boy heeded his father’s encouragement, and not only worked hard to rebuild his health, but became a superior athlete, graduated from Harvard University and went on to lead a vigorously active life of eminent achievement. This once-sickly boy eventually became the 26th president of the United States. He was Theodore Roosevelt, who at age 42, was and is the youngest man ever to become president.
Throughout his life, Roosevelt practiced what he called, “the strenuous life.” His energetic commitment to physical activities included boxing, horseback riding, swimming and hiking among others. Teddy Roosevelt discovered that an important foundation for good health is movement and activity. He demonstrated that our bodies are designed to get stronger as they are constantly used and challenged with purposeful physical activities.
Teddy Roosevelt, incidentally, was a great outdoorsman and probably knew more about natural science than any other President who has ever been in office, and some of his most notable achievements were in the area of conservation. He added about 150 million acres to the national forests, set up five new national parks, created the first 51 federal bird reservations and established the first four national game preserves. He loved nature and worked to preserve the environment for future generations.
Roosevelt undoubtedly agreed with Emerson’s view that, “The first wealth is health.” And with the old proverb that takes Emerson’s idea one step further by saying, “Health is better than wealth.”
Because Teddy Roosevelt’s life dramatically exemplifies the life-changing power of achieving and maintaining good health. The simple moral to his story is that nothing is more essential to building a successful life than good health.
As Teddy Roosevelt showed us, the secrets to good health are not complicated. They are known and waiting for you to discover them and, most important, to put them into practice. The blessings and joys of good health and fitness can be yours when you choose to make them priorities in your life.
Good health, you know, means having the capacity to live life fully and being able to experience the best that life has to offer. It means having vigor and energy. It is having the ability to pursue your dreams with the confidence that you will be able to accomplish them.
It’s doubtful that Teddy Roosevelt would have accomplished much in his life had it not been for the words of advice from his father about developing his body in addition to his mind. It’s worth thinking about, especially these days when so many of us live sedentary existences. We can only go where our bodies can take us, and our bodies need exercise to stay healthy and strong. So remember: build both your body and your mind. They’re a powerful combination. Teddy Roosevelt proved it.
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