I'm fresh off the bat from feeling like death. See, I fell ill. And, I didn't want to listen to my body. I told my snot nose where to get off and proceeded to live my life in the way I'd been living it when I was healthy. Doing exercise. Eating what I want. Saying no to rest. And then, I got really ill. More than once. It was awful. The kind of illness that has you asking for your mom. So, while I'm still aware of what that feels like, I thought I'd write five rules for myself to help avoid it in future. Because, I have a tendency to forget that I'm vincible. Maybe someone else finds them useful too.
Rule one: Don't take your body for granted. When you're ontop of the world - running around and climbing mountains, the last thing you think about is taking extra care of your body. You're so arrogant you think It'll just take care of itself. So, you eat like crap, you refuse to rest, and you do silly things like dancing barefoot in the rain. Don't do those things. Consistently eat your fruits and vegetables. Limit your sugars. Do not disregard sleep. Most of the time, you'll be fine. But, when you do eventually get sick - which you will - you'll be ill-equipped to deal with it. So stay humble when you're feeling strong and you'll get back easy when you're feeling weak.
Rule two: Know when it's time to admit you're sick. Be honest with yourself. You always want to tell yourself everything is still okay, like if you don't speak the words, then what you're feeling will go away. Simply, you're delusional. And, you've been brought here by fear, and denial. Stop being a baby about it. Let go of this dilusion and accept that you're feeling sick. The sooner you do this, the better. It can be that infamous scratchy throat, or that first sneeze that feels sinister. Whatever it is, doesn't matter - so long as you don't ignore it. What you should do instead, is drop everything, and see rule three.
Rule three: Rest. Yes, yes - you have things to do. They can wait. If you do them now, you'll be doing them badly anyway. I am familiar with your reasoning. You don't want to lose a day or two of rest. But, as a consequence, you will lose more in the end. You got sick. Yes, it sucks. Yes, you'll lose some strength and some time. But, rushing to get these back is like making debt to make money. Be better. Stop thinking you can wish this away or suffer through it. Rather, go find your hole, and crawl into it. And don't come out before you're sure you're ready. And, even then, take it slow. Trying to run before you're ready to crawl, will just end you up back at square one.
Rule four: Hydrate. It speaks to what an imbosile you can be when I have to remind you that drinking enough water is important. Alas, here we are. Is your throat sore? Drink some water. Do you have a cough? Drink some water. Is your tummy runny? Drink some water! It's really not a complex formula - being sick takes resources to combat against. Water is a fundamental resource that your body uses for nearly everything. Do no neglect it. And don't wait until you feel you've been crawling through the desseert either - drink water consistently. Throughout the day and during the night - you'll thank me later.
Rule five: Take the meds. Don't be a hero. People smarter than you have contrived antidotes for every conceivable condition, coming in all forms, shapes, and sizes. You'll want to be all primal and stuff, and want your body to fight the illness on it's own. Somehow, you'll convince yourself the natural way is better. This would be a moronic approach. And you will pay for it, dearly. Please. Listen to me. As humans, our big brains are our evolutionary advantage. They are what's sets us apart. So use yours. Go to the pharmacy or the doctor and get the medication that you need for the things that you have. Not to do so, would be to act like an idiot. Don't be an idiot.
Right. That's five simple rules to remind me of my vincibility. I really hope this is the last time I get sick for a while.
"Health is not valued till sickness comes."
- Thomas Fuller