Pleasure vs. Wellness

[Anonymous]

All around us, we have choices. The wealthier you are, the more choices you have. We tend to become happy, when we are given more choices. We tend to complain, when our choices are taken away. Given that too much pleasure at the expense of wellness has potentially negative long-term consequences and that too much concern for wellness at the expense of personal pleasure provides no motivation, this myTake is about finding that balance between pleasure and wellness when making choices.

Food

Foods laden in sugar, fat, and grease may taste good, but that doesn't mean they are good for you! Without giving up the pleasure of eating orange-flavored ice cream for dessert, replace that with an actual orange. Replacing unhealthy foods with healthier alternatives is the way to balance pleasure and wellness.

Sex

From a public health perspective, sexual abstinence and having only one monogamous, long-term romantic/sexual partner in your entire life, who also have never had a romantic/sexual partner before you, are ideal habits. However, not many people can maintain prolong sexual abstinence. Moreover, social attitudes that cast a doubt on exclusive, life-long monogamy and glorify non-commital sexual behaviors just make sexual abstinence and monogamy even more difficult. Without sacrificing sexual pleasure, replace sexual abstinence and monogamy with the use of prophylactics. The use of prophylactics is not perfect in protecting against STIs and unwanted pregnancies, but it provides a middle ground for people who want to find a balance between pleasure and wellness that would be tolerable/manageable for them.

Exercise & Physical Activity

Living an active lifestyle is very important to physical wellness. But exercising too much may cause more harm than good, and exercising without any fun is just boring. If something is boring or is hurting you, then the whole activity is counter-productive. So, the main point to take from here is to maintain a level of physical activity that feels comfortable and motivates you to keep on doing it. If your daily routine or your job involves a more sedentary lifestyle or has unpredictable/irregular busy times, then weaving in more physical activity into your daily routine without sacrificing your own productiveness is the key to getting in shape. Wake up early, and go to bed at set times. If you have to climb a lot of stairs, factor in the amount of time it takes you to go up or down the stairs, so that you get exercise without being late for something. Also, whenever you have free time, use the time to do some kind of activity that keeps your heart healthy, like playing tag in your backyard or racing up and down the stairs until you get tired. Finding a balance between pleasure and wellness in exercise is a healthy way to have fun.

There may be others not mentioned here, but I hope you get some ideas that a healthy lifestyle is a win-win situation, if you have fun while doing it!