“What gets measured gets managed”. This adage can be applied to any aspect of life. Whether it be fitness, health, finances, happiness, energy, measuring gives you a reference point. The opposite to this is unrestrained living. And whilst we would all love to live in an unrestrained way, unfortunately there is a consequence for everything.

So you say, “I can’t be bothered about diet. I prefer to eat what I want, when I want to”. That’s all fine, but you then have to be prepared for the consequences of that- weight gain, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease to name a few. And whilst the genetic component maybe there which can not be changed, there is still a great deal within our control.

When it comes to health, it is worth measuring certain things specific to your age and risk profile. Once measured they can be tracked, monitored, and corrected if necessary. This maybe blood sugar levels, cholesterol, or blood pressure. You maybe able to make lifestyle modifications that reverse the trend, or it may lead to medications that gives greater control

These days there is a whole lot of data that can be accessed and tracked through smartphones and smartwatches. Step count is a simple example of something that can be measured and accordingly can be managed. There is data supporting step counts of 7500 to 10,000 steps per day . A major Lancet Journal study showed walking 7,000 steps daily reduces the risk of all-cause mortality by roughly 47% compared to 2,000 steps, while significantly cutting rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia.

Weight of course is an easy parameter that can be measured and managed. Apart from health parameters, the same can be applied to finances, happiness and even energy levels. You can come up with your own scoring scheme. After waking in the morning and clearing the cobwebs, you can give yourself an energy score from 1-5. You can use a similar scoring system for happiness, sleep, work satisfaction. Whilst there will be ebbs and flows, naturally you will be aiming to keep all the important parameters high, in order to live a life that is to your satisfaction.

Start measuring, improve your health, and live the life you deserve.

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