Risk & Business Magazine Miller Insurance Magazine Winter 2018 | Page 13

HAPPY TO BE HEALTHY
health. For many of us, health like money
contributes to happiness mostly in the
negative; the lack of it brings much more
unhappiness than possessing it brings
happiness. It’s very easy to take money or
health for granted until it's gone.
My husband recently had surgery on
his knee. Minor surgery, something
many people have done, not risky, a very
ordinary procedure, didn't take long. But
boy, the experience of setting foot in a
hospital made me fervently, passionately,
explosively grateful for my health.
Of course, I was also grateful
for the good hospital, the
insurance, the doctors and
nurses, the relief from pain
that my husband got, his
uncomplicated recovery. So I
was also very grateful for all
that.
But most of all, I was reminded that I
should never to take good health for
granted -- my health, or anyone else's. To
be able to take a deep breath, to hear, to
see, to walk, to eat, to be free from pain...
it's so precious.
Another positive consequence of
gratitude? When we're grateful, we tend to
want to make sure that other people share
in whatever we're feeling we're feeling
grateful for. If I'm feeling grateful for the
beauty of Central Park, it makes me think
about how much I want other people also
to be able to experience the beauty of a
park.
Feeling grateful often spurs us to turn
outward, to think about the situations of
others. The trip to the hospital reminded
me of the importance of health for me,
and for everyone. It made me think about
insurance, medical care, availability (and
of course habits, just about everything
makes me think about habits) and what
steps I can take in my own life, to help
others have these building blocks of good
health.
A good gratitude reminder.
Do you find it hard to remember to be
grateful? Do you have any strategies
to help prompt gratitude? People
use gratitude journals, screen-saver
reminders, photographs and giving
thanks before meals...what else? I write
about my own gratitude exercise in The
Happiness Project.
Gretchenrubin.com
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous story,
"The Adventure of Silver Blaze," (which
includes the now well-known phrase "the
curious incident of the dog in the night-
time") Sherlock Holmes perceived a clue
in the fact that a dog didn’t bark. I find it
hard to be grateful for the problems that
aren't there. Today is a day that I don't
make a visit to the hospital a happy day.
I'm also reminded of a hilarious
scene from one of my favorite
movies, The Princess Bride. I've
watched the scene where Count
Rugen and Humperdinck
discuss the important things
in life, and it makes me laugh
every time. "If you haven't got
your health, you haven't got
anything." It's a cliché, because
it's true.
Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. She’s known for her
ability to distill and convey complex ideas with humor and clarity, in a way that’s accessible to a wide audience.
She’s the author of many books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before and
The Happiness Project. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold almost three million copies
worldwide, in more than 30 languages. (The Happiness Project spent two years on the bestseller list.)
On her top-ranking, award-winning podcast “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” she discusses happiness and good habits with her sister
Elizabeth Craft.
She’s been interviewed by Oprah, eaten dinner with Daniel Kahneman, walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, had her work written
up in a medical journal and been an answer on the game show Jeopardy!
Gretchen Rubin started her career in law and was clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted
to be a writer. Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her husband; they have two daughters (a college freshman and a
seventh-grader).
Credit: Michael Weschler
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