Invest in Your Health

There is something to be said about a simple life. Then you don't have to work so danged hard. It's a big reason that the Danes are the most content population on the earth--they just don't force high expectations on themselves. They're content with a lot of little things that make them happy. In Denmark, they don't all need to be millionaires. They like their bikes, their cigarettes, their government subsidized education and healthcare. The rest, they just go with. That's not a bad way to go about it.

Case in point: my anatomy professor moved to America from Iran, and one of his first jobs was as a bus driver. He had lots of colleagues who vied for the longest shifts they could get, as often as they could get them. "Why would you want to work yourself to death?" he'd ask. "Because, I gotta save for retirement," they'd say. A survey later released showed that the average post-retirement life span for their profession was 9 months. He shrugged his shoulders, "Why would I want to work so hard for nothing? I'd rather take my time, enjoy my life and keep myself healthy. THEN we can talk retirement. That's why I picked a job that I can do until I'm 70, 80, 90. It's not that hard getting up here and talking to you all every day." Good lesson. I'll remember it.

As I get older I find that I'm becoming increasingly specific about what will make my life happy, and those specifics are increasingly simple. One-car household. A nice bike. A house no bigger than 1,500 sq. ft.--ideally a condo with a terrace (no yard work!) that's walkable to all the stuff I like to do. I want to live in a smaller town with a healthy, outdoor lifestyle that minimizes my commute by car. What money I'll save on yard maintenance, car payments and a big house I'll use to travel. Now that's a good life.

Saying "no" to the status quo is going to be important. You just can't do it all--trying will earn you heart disease.