3. Your Spirit

The key here is more problematic, but usually people with a healthy spirit believe in something that feeds their inner resources and imparts meaning. So believe in something—anything—and spend some time every day with your true beliefs.

Above all, remember the ultimate secret to a healthy mind, body, and spirit: rebound. When you slip up and drag yourself down for a day, a week, a month, or even more, forgive yourself, be patient, and get right back to healthy habits. What else is there to do?

DO YOU HAVE A VISION FOR YOUR FUTURE?

I always hesitate to encourage people to create longterm visions of their future because long-term visions often turn into long-term goals, and today such goals have virtually no chance of ever materializing. How could they? Who knows where we’ll be or what we’ll be doing several years from now? The likelihood is that we’ll be doing things that haven’t even been thought of today.

Yet, it is still important not to let uncertainty hold you back. A long-term vision is like a mirage in the desert: You move toward the oasis perpetually, your destination always beyond reach; but you do keep moving toward something. The thing is, if you don’t have a vision of your future, you can become mired in uncertainty, stay in one place for too long, and eventually sink into inertia.

It’s better to move forward steadily toward an illusion than to stay in one place scratching your head and wondering what to do next. The things you learn on the way won’t be an illusion, and they will serve you well whatever the future does hold.