Life is like that. We are all dealt a collection of genes that is a random mixture of the genes of our parents. Each individual collection of genes gives its owner a set of advantages and disadvantages.

• Some people have the potential to become great athletes, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
• Some people could become great musicians, like Wolfgang A. Mozart.
• Some people could potentially make huge breakthroughs in science, like Albert Einstein.
• Some people could lead long and healthy lives, like Jeanne Calment.

Most of us, however, are not genetically blessed to the same extent as are these examples. We must make do with the hand that we were dealt. That’s fine. Whatever hand you were dealt in life’s genetic lottery, you have the potential to make the most of it. In poker, the person who is dealt the strongest hand does not always win. If that were true, there would be no such thing as a consistently good poker player. Over time, everyone would revert to the mean. This does not happen, Players who become World Champion of poker do not do so by consistently being dealt the best hands. They play the hands they are dealt in the best possible way. They can do this because they work hard at mastering all aspects of the game. To stay sharp, they must constantly be playing against top level opponents.

Creating health for yourself requires the same kind of consistent effort that world-class poker requires.  It is no different than what is required to attain any worthwhile but challenging goal.

How does one create health? In previous posts, I have talked about the pros and cons of various diets. I have emphasized the need to avoid chronic stress. I have recommended keeping an upbeat, positive attitude, and appreciating the good things about your life. All these things are important, but there is one more thing that is just as important. Our bodies need to be vigorously exercised every day.

For many of us, it is difficult to get the exercise that our body needs. When we are at work, we sit at a desk most of the day. When we are at home we sit on a couch in front of the TV, or in a chair in front of the computer until bedtime. This pattern virtually guarantees decline of our strength and vitality as we get older. It takes a consistent conscious effort to break out of this behavioral pattern and get the exercise we need.

My preferred exercise is running because it requires more effort than anything else that I could do in the same amount of time. An hour of running burns more calories than an hour of cycling, an hour of golf, or an hour of weightlifting. An hour of mountain climbing would be more taxing, but I fear it would be too taxing. I know my limits.

I have been a runner all my life. In my 30’s I ran in a lot of races, 10-kilometer, 15-kilometer, and half marathon. I was never a star, consistently finishing in the rear half of the pack. After I retired from racing, I continued to run five or six days a week, around the neighborhood.

Recently, I decided to try racing again, entering the Freedom 5K in Molalla, Oregon today (July 4, 2019). After a 40-year hiatus, I was once again a competitor. In Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare, the tortoise won with a strategy of slow and steady progress. That was my strategy today too. I am not nearly as fast as I was 40 years ago, but the competition in my age group (70-74) has thinned considerably. I finished first in my age group and won a blue ribbon.

What’s the lesson here?

Creating health for yourself is hard. It requires consistent effort, consistent over a long period of time. The reward for all that effort is the enjoyment you get from having a robust, healthy body to go along with a sharp and creative healthy mind. As your contemporaries retire to the couch, you continue to enjoy an active life. The blue ribbon is nice, but keeping actively engaged in life is its own reward.