As the saying goes, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. Our health is the wellspring from which happiness derives, but it’s also one of the easiest things to take for granted, or worse, neglect.
As we get older, health becomes more and more precious, and aches, pains, and other maladies seem to pop up with more regularity. But living a healthy lifestyle — one with regular exercise, nourishing foods, mental stimulation, and time to relax and de-stress — sets you up for success in personal relationships, professional ambitions, and lifelong dreams.
These 12 quotes beautifully illustrate the importance of healthy living for both the mind and the body, and why living healthy is a worthy lifelong pursuit.
The greatest wealth is health.
— Virgil
Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners.
— William Shakespeare
I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.
— Voltaire
Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything.
— Thích Nhất Hạnh
Prevention is better than cure.
— Erasmus, Dutch philosopher
A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.
— John Steinbeck
The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not.
— Mark Twain
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.
— Jim Rohn, motivational author
Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.
— Gene Tunney, professional boxer
There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.
— Fred Rogers
To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
— Gautama Buddha
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.
— Virginia Woolf
Photo credit: Monster Ztudio/ Shutterstock
