Love, Health and Badassitude

Published: January 21, 2021

It is my opinion there is a three-ingredient recipe for living a happy and fulfilling life. The ingredients are love, health, and badassitude. With those three, everything else is possible. Let me break it down so you can see where I’m coming from.

Love

I start with love because it is the foundation of life. It is my belief that everyone at some point in life was the recipient of love. Whether it was the love of nurturing parents or the kindness (another type of love) of strangers, somewhere along the line you were given enough food, hugs, love to where you are today.

“When emotional deprivation and lack of love occur, physical growth slows down or stops. The body enters into a survival mode where vital, basic physiological functions are preserved at the cost of physical, mental, and social development. The longer the child is in survival mode, the more permanent and negative the effects will be. Once a child is adopted and the amount of love, care, and stimulation increases, the body ceases to be in survival mode and will start recuperating.”

Source: The Conversation: Can a Lack of Love be Deadly?

“But touch is even more vital than this: Babies who are not held, nuzzled, and hugged enough can stop growing, and if the situation lasts long enough, even die.”

Source: Psychology Today: Touching Empathy

So, no matter how miserable a childhood you might have had, at one point in your life you were loved or else you wouldn’t be here.

Health

I find health to be a derivative of love. I’ve found, from experience, the healthier I became, the more and the deeper I was able to love.

When I talk about health, I’m talking about physical, mental and spiritual health. When they’re in alignment, love flows.

In our society, we focus on physical health and strength. Between finding the right “diet” and proper workout schedule, the outward appearance of physical fitness is often misconstrued as being healthy.

Having a perfect physique without a healthy mind and healthy spirit is unbalanced. Health is an inside-out endeavour and unfortunately, I see too many people going about it from the outside-in.

Badassitude

The final ingredient in my 3-part recipe is badassitude. Approaching life from an angle of love with a well-balanced healthy body, it’s easier to cultivate badassitude. By that I mean a strong moral compass and the chutzpah to do what needs to be done. No fake or false self deprecating behavior. I’m talking straight from the hip, authentic, let’s get things done attitude.

Badassitude isn’t about being rude or disrespectful. It’s not about bullying or forcing people to do what you want. Badassitude is about self-confidence, love, and fairness to do the right thing. A balanced person with badassitude enters a negotiation with a mindset of win-win, never win-lose.

Approaching life with love, health and just the right amount of badassitude is a winning recipe for a happy life.

About the Author: I am Felicia A. Williams, a wife, mom, grandma, writer and eternal student.

Last Modified: 21 January 2021