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Dai Manuel’s Whole Life Fitness Manifesto

financial health in your golden years, but the more financially fit you are now, the more golden those years will be.

Speaking from personal experience, it wasn’t until I commit-ted to a “forced savings” model that I started amassing funds. I set up a savings account with automatic monthly transfers, and in 12 years, I was amazed at how much I had put aside.

Of course, I believe that consulting with a financial plan-ner is the best way to go, as I’m a big believer in working with industry experts for assistance in improving the areas of my life where I know I need help. It’s beyond my area of expertise, or the scope of this book, to offer anyone financial advice. But, as a personal lifestyle coach, I do ask my clients how they think of their future. That’s because you want to increase your ability to live a life full of yes opportunities. (By the way, if you are looking for some great resources to help you with your financial fitness, check out the recommended reading list on my blog.)

Fun

Each strong wall contributes to the fun we experience! That’s why fun is the roof in the “house” of the five Fs. Ensuring your family, faith, finances and fitness involve fun is key to enjoy-ing your life, and moving through life with a fun-loving atti-tude is only possible when all of the other elements are strong and healthy.

Fun can be a great motivator to move your body, too. For example, in Stockholm, Sweden, a public staircase was modified to look and sound like a piano. People “played” the “notes” as they climbed or descended the staircase. In this experiment, more than 60 per cent of participants chose to climb the piano rather than take the escalator, just for the fun of it! And in Moscow, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, commuters were given free rides on the subway if they performed 30 squats. So cool.

No matter what your personal priorities or goals, the five Fs are integral to a richer, happier life. Like the walls of a house, the integrity of the whole structure is compro-mised if any one of the five Fs is weak.

Dan Buettner

Do you want to know the secrets to a long life? It starts with some simple practices, according to research by bestselling author Dan Buettner. In The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Buettner chronicles his travels to “blue zones” around the world, where there are higher numbers of people who lived to be 100 years old. He found that, generally, people living in blue zones:

Incorporated more physical movement into their daily lives than in other regions of the world

Had a sense of purpose

Practised stress reduction techniques

Didn’t eat beyond feeling 80% full

Opted for largely plant-based diets i.e. less meat

Drank little alcohol

Attended faith-based services

Lived close to their families

Belonged to groups that supported healthy behaviours, such as a running/hiking group, book club, Boy and Girl Scouts, etc.

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