There is a big sense of relief in our country now that the Covid-19 vaccine is available, especially since over 545,000 people have died of it in the past year.
Hopefully this pandemic will impress upon us the importance of taking care of ourselves better especially when we take a closer look at the definition of the word Vaccine.
“Vaccines stimulate a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease.”
What jumps out to me are the words “specific disease”. Fortunately the Covid-19 vaccine is about 90% effective against that specific disease. However, it doesn’t stimulate your immune system against the thousands of other diseases that we are susceptible to.
Take for example these four largely preventable diseases: cancer, diabetes, heart disease and lung disease. Combined, they kill nearly 9 in 10 people. Even though they are not viral diseases, there isn’t a shot in the arm to protect us against any of them.
However there are practical, effective and proven ways to stimulate and strengthen our immune systems that will allow 90% of us to live to age 90 with some simple lifestyle choices.
These stats and lifestyle choices are outlined in the NY Times best selling book, EAT. MOVE. SLEEP. by author and well being consultant Tom Rath whose 10 books have sold more than 10 million copies.
A cancer survivor since age 16, Rath has been obsessed with researching ways to boost his immune system and decrease the odds of the tumors in his body from growing and spreading. He states:
“As each year goes by, I learn more about how I can eat, move and sleep to improve my chances of living a long and healthy life. Then I apply what I learn to make better choices. I act as if my life depends on each decision. Because it does.”
Shouldn’t we take the same approach to our health before we are forced to do so by some disease or pandemic? It’s a fact that choosing healthy whole foods, getting regular exercise and getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night boosts your immune system and resilience.
That’s why I’m excited our organization is embracing the powerful ideas in this book and supporting us in launching our “Securing your Wellness...Everyday” teammate experience in 2021.
The book encourages each person to go to www.eatmovesleep.org and create a personalized EMS plan based on the individual’s needs and behaviors.
Each chapter of the book provides 3 research based findings on how to eat, move and sleep better and concludes with 3 simple ideas for how to apply them in our lives.
Why is this so relevant to us and our clients? Because we are in the risk management business. We provide advice and solutions to our clients on ways to either transfer, minimize and avoid various types of risks in their personal lives and businesses through the mechanism of insurance .
We also gauge a person’s risk tolerance when it comes to investing through a detailed risk tolerance questionnaire and then construct portfolio’s that are in line with those findings.
So it only seems logical to apply these risk management principals to our own lives when it comes to our health while also providing resources and encouragement to our clients with ways to improve their well being.
“Because If you eat, move and sleep well today, you will have more energy tomorrow. You will treat your friends and family better. You will achieve more at work and give more to your community.”
How’s that for a real shot in the arm?