For those tired of only doing something about your life after you have hit bottom, read on. There comes a time in life when you have to take a step back and assess your method of operation. If you are happier than anyone else you know, as healthy as you want to be and do not live from medication to medication or therapist to therapist, this article may not be for you.

New Scoring System

In this country, we have grown to believe the only time you call a doctor is when you are sick. That philosophy has extended over into our financial life as well as our legal life. I have heard most lawyers do not have wills. If this is true, it confirms my point. The reason for this is simple. Most of us live life on the defensive rather than the offensive. We never address problems until they are active, real life problems. By this point, you are fighting an uphill battle and getting control of a situation becomes far more difficult.

Nevertheless, fight you must to get into a position of strength concerning how you run your life. Our new scoring system is not going to recommend help only when you are sick or broke or confused, it is going to talk about doing necessary exercises every day in your life so that the cumulative effect overmore than fifty years produces a more fulfilling life rather than one that never quite reaches a level of health, wealth or happiness.

Vibrant health is the highest level of health and should be sought by all of us. We should work hard every day to reach this level. Declining health in the absence of symptoms is the second level and symptomatic life (Code Blue) is the third and lowest level of health. We need to incorporate those habits that will continually improve our health in that undying effort to get back to vibrant health and to stay there.

8 Secret Steps

1) Nutritional Supplementation - it's time to accept that none of us will ever eat the perfect diet, so do the next best thing, supplement your diet. We all have very specific needs and there are hundreds of products out there to choose from. If confused, talk to an authority (even me-RunningDr@aol.com).

2) Sleep - I consider death is the only "cure-all" that God has given us, but sleep is the closest thing to a "cure-all" while still offering us an opportunity to enjoy our future. A good 6-8 hours a night on a quality sleeping surface is essential if you hope to reach that ripe old age of eighty. Nothing in life can be good after a lousy night's sleep.

3) Exercise - exercise should not be looked at as excitement nor should it be looked at only for vanity reasons. Exercise is the essence of life. It personifies the Pain Theory, which states that all of us will be much happier in life if we voluntarily include some level of painful activity on a daily basis so that we are better prepared for unexpected pain when it comes. It also strengthens many parts of the body and mind and gives a good reason to feel more comfortable when drinking beer.

4) Chiropractic - this has nothing to do with me being a chiropractor. I do not even practice anymore. This deals with the fact that the nervous system is the electrical system of the body. If nerve energy has restrictions or interference in the spine, i.e., the joints of the spine become locked up, known as a subluxation, then we are going to experience some level of dysfunction. This can be either pain, tingling, numbness, weakness or reduced vitality of organs, glands, muscles, etc. Chiropractors specialize in locating and correcting these subluxations of the spine. As runners, the abuse our backs take and the joints that lock up make a good chiropractor a runner's best friend.

5) Diet - just because it is tough to eat a good diet does not mean you should not continually work on it. The difficulty in eating a good diet will never cease, but the benefits are huge and well worth a gold medal effort. I try to live by the 85/15 Theory, which states that you should do the right thing 85% of the time and do what you want to do (within reason) 15% of the time. The critical part of this theory is to overwhelmingly enjoy yourself when you are cheating. If you feel guilty, you are not following this theory and if you happen to become sick, alter the ratio until you are well again.

6) Attitude - you are what you think. Cheer up!

7) Great Music and Good Humor - listen to Livingston Taylor if you do not know what I mean.

8) Medication - only when the above seven did not do the trick.

Finally, remember that health and happiness takes effort. Good habits will get you there the quickest. Follow the above the best you can and you will soon qualify as the happy man in Mark Twain's saying-- "Someday you'll meet a happy man with nothing and realize you paid too much for your whistle." Have a great month.

Dr. Maggs can be visited at Dr. Maggs or e-mail Running Dr. or (800) 987-7845.