80% Of Diseases Are Preventable—So Why Do Smart People Still Neglect Prevention (And How To Fix It)
Rehabilitation Is a Choice—But You Won’t Like the Price
Housekeeping: What started in July 2023, has grown fast over the last few months. It fills me with gratitude and puts a huge smile on my face to see that this newsletter lands in 1000 inboxes every week.
You don`t have an idea how much that means to me. Ok, maybe you do. Thank you everybody for taking the time to read, engage and hopefully feel inspired.
Now let`s jump into today`s article.
Most people don’t think about their health until they lose it.
Imagine you’re watching a video of a worker in wind power construction. He explains how he was hit by a massive blade and thrown against a steel rail. His co-worker died immediately while he survived after being resuscitated twice.
His life will never be the same - losing his job and now spending his days in physiotherapy and nights haunted by nightmares of the accident.
It’s shocking. It’s extreme. And luckily, it rarely happens.
But it grabs people by the throat: They watch it with their eyes wide open, feeling vulnerable.
In one second, you are healthy and happy. The next—it can all be over.
A work accident in manufacturing often means the difference between losing a limb or keeping it, losing life or staying alive.
Cause and effect happen within a split second.
For context: This week, I conducted a workshop as a health promotion business partner with my colleague on safety and health at work. He´s the safety expert, I`m the health expert.
For three days, we taught future coaches how to foster a culture of health and safety awareness. This isn’t your average safety instruction, where you fall asleep after two minutes—boring.
Our approach is different: It includes games, quizzes, videos, and group tasks—much more engaging because it triggers emotions.
How?
During a break, I spoke with one of the attendees who summarized a major challenge in workplace safety versus health.
"If I reach into a running machine with my hand, it will get damaged or I may even lose it. But when I eat an unhealthy diet, I have no immediate feedback. It might have adverse consequences in the future—or not."
This was the same guy who had lost over 20 lbs over the last few months to be around his kids for as long as possible. He was concerned with the consequences of his lifestyle.
What he was referring to is that you may avoid adverse consequences by living a healthy lifestyle—true.
In an instruction round of that same workshop, another employee said:
"I feel good, why would I change anything?"
What this guy missed is that immediate cause and effect in health does exist.
Another fitness coach put it perfectly: "More energy, confidence, and a sense of achievement are only one workout away."
The truth is that most people rely on rehabilitation instead of prevention.
It’s more convenient now, but it leads to major problems in the future.
Why leave the comfort zone today?
Just because someone is healthy now despite an unhealthy lifestyle doesn’t mean they will be in the future.
In fact, they probably won`t. Hoping for the best, but not working for it is like driving a car with the check engine light on, ignoring it because “it’s still running fine.” Then one day, the engine dies, and the cost isn’t just money—it’s time, stress, and regret.
You don’t buy insurance after an accident. So why do we treat our health, relationships, and finances differently?
The hidden cost of waiting until something breaks isn’t just discomfort. It’s lost opportunities, forced limitations, and the gut-wrenching realization that you could have prevented it all.
Most people don’t think about their health until they lose it.
This is Health Creator, a weekly publication that helps busy professionals like you get a high-performing body and stress-resilient mind.
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Prevention Buys Freedom and Rehabilitation Buys Time
Prevention is a choice. Rehabilitation is a necessity.
Think about your bank account: The more you overdraw your account, the higher the interest you have to pay.
Same with health: One risk factor is bad enough, such as being overweight, but if you keep adding more, you might find that you need medication or medical care earlier in life = Health Bankruptcy.
Now vs later is not exclusive to health: Consider for example
Finance → Do you invest early, or do you scramble when the bills pile up?
Relationships → Do you nurture them daily, or only show up when things are already falling apart?
Career → Do you stay sharp and adaptable, or do you wake up one day and realize you’ve become obsolete?
The fact is: Freedom isn’t given. It’s built through consistent, intentional effort.
The Hidden Trap: We Underestimate the Cost of Inaction
We assume we’ll always have time to fix things later—until we don’t.
Let`s picture James as an example of a busy and successful person. Maybe you see yourself in him.
He`s a high-performing executive, he thrived on stress, late nights, and skipping workouts because he was “too busy.” At 48, a heart attack forced him into a different reality. His job took a backseat. Recovery became his full-time focus. His body dictated what he could and couldn’t do—not the other way around.
The worst part? It wasn’t just about him. His family saw a different man—one who struggled to keep up with his kids, who no longer had the energy to enjoy life. He didn’t just lose health; he lost time, experiences, and confidence.
But James’s story isn’t unique. It’s the trajectory many people follow without realizing it.
This is not about making you feel scared, but becoming aware of the potential of prevention.
Keep in mind that Studies show that 80% of chronic diseases (like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke) are preventable through lifestyle choices. Yet most people only change after the diagnosis.
The person who stops prioritizing movement in their 30s doesn’t notice their joints stiffening until their 50s.
The person who shrugs off stress and poor sleep in their 40s doesn’t realize how much energy they’ve lost until their 60s.
The person who eats mindlessly for decades assumes their metabolism will always “handle it”—until it doesn’t.
Small neglect compounds over time. It’s not sudden—it’s gradual, creeping up until one day, the body you once took for granted no longer works the way you assumed it always would.
The better way?
The Alternative: A Proactive Mindset for a Life Without Limits
When you invest in prevention, you buy options. The ability to:
Handle stress without breaking it down.
Enjoy experiences without your body dictating what’s possible.
Travel without worrying about pain or mobility issues.
Stay independent as you age, instead of relying on medications and assistance.
Imagine two futures:
You are at 65, strong and energetic, playing with grandkids, traveling, and living life on your terms.
Or
You are at 65, struggling to get out of a chair, relying on others for basic needs, looking back and wishing you had done things differently.
The difference isn’t luck. It’s the sum of small, daily choices.
Take Back Control Today: Small Shifts, Big Impact
Walking is the lowest hanging fruit. Yet, many don`t get nearly enough of it.
Imagine the average German (my friends from other countries, it doesn`t look more promising for you) walks 800 m per day (0,497097 mile) - disastrous.
I couldn`t put it any better better than my friend and fellow writer
Are You a Sad Sack of Sedentary Human or do you walk more to die less?
Walking is great in may dimensions, but if losing weight is your main goal, check this graphic to get a realistic picture of how walking will slowly but gradually melt your body fat.
Mark it in your calendar: Tim is starting a 30 day walking challenge, starting on April 1st.
You shouldn`t miss it because
Accountability and encouragement in the members-only chat
A photo scavenger hunt with a daily prompt
Set your step count or distance goal and share it with the group
For more info, here`s his original post.
One day later, on April 2nd, we go live: We will talk about
Consistency
Basics vs. Details
All or nothing-approach
And Walking of course
A post and mail with details will follow.
Do you have any questions? Tim and I are happy to cover these in the live-session.
See you there.
I prefer to think in most cases you can delay but not prevent disease. In the case of the 49 year old heart atack, exercise and diet improvements would have helped him delay it or increase chance of surviving but there is still almost certianly an underlying problem such as high LP(a) that would cause a heart atack so young.
Congratulations on 1000 subscribers! With articles like this one it’s clear you’re delivering quality for your readers.
I work on industrial sites and know of plenty of accidents where a worker’s life changed in an instant. These get a lot of focus of course. At this time it doesn’t seem like companies here in Canada are interested in tackling the food or exercise part of their workers lives, only physical and mental dangers presented by the work itself. Everything else is left totally up to the individual. Like you say, the bill will come due but it will be one or two decades later, so it’s hard to connect action to reaction.
But there is an immediate payoff in increased energy and vitality. It has to be experienced to know the difference.