Health is Wealth: Legacy Lessons I’m Learning with My Daughter

January has a way of inviting good intentions.

Gyms fill up. Running shoes come out of cupboards. Promises are made to do better, be healthier and take more care. Most of them fade by February.

This year feels different in our house.

Jess has just started water polo training again and we are back into a shared rhythm of early mornings, tired legs, packed tog bags and mutual encouragement. At the same time, we are training together for her second half marathon, the iconic Two Oceans. It will be incredibly special to line up together again, knowing what it takes to prepare for a race like that.

Not just physically, but mentally.

The Quiet Discipline of Showing Up

Training together has reminded me that health is not built in dramatic moments. It is built quietly, in the discipline of showing up when it would be easier not to.

Some mornings are cold, sometimes legs feel heavy, sometimes shoulders are sore and some days motivation is just thin. And yet, she goes, I go, we go. Not because we feel like it, but because consistency matters more than enthusiasm.

That lesson translates far beyond exercise.

Health as a Long-Term Strategy

Five years ago, I made a conscious decision to change how I lived.

My blood pressure and cholesterol were climbing, stress was taking its toll and I knew that ignoring the signals would eventually come at a cost. Not just medically, but financially and emotionally too.

At the time, I was also spending far more than I realised trying to manage the consequences rather than the cause. Medical appointments. Medication. Supplements. Alternative health solutions. Each one promised improvement and each one added to the bill.

What I eventually came to understand was that none of them could substitute for stepping back, reducing stress, making difficult career and relationship changes and moving my body consistently.

Getting healthy was not about finding the right product or quick fix. It was about changing how I lived.

Around that time, I could also see that my own struggle was having an impact beyond myself.

Jess was navigating a difficult season of her own, trying to find her footing after Covid and working through loss and change she did not yet have the language for. I realised that the version of myself I was bringing home, exhausted, distracted, overwhelmed, was not what she needed.

That was a turning point for me.

Getting healthy was no longer just about my own wellbeing. It was about showing her, quietly and consistently, how to regain balance, rebuild strength and move forward when life feels unsteady. It was also about returning to a version of myself of which I was proud.

Better health has meant fewer medical interventions, more energy to work and build and the ability to remain flexible and independent. Health, I have learned, quietly extends your earning years and reduces the risk of being forced into decisions before you are ready.

In that sense, health is a long-term financial strategy.

Training for Life, Not Just a Race

Preparing for Two Oceans together is about far more than race day.

It is about pacing. Respecting the course. Knowing when to push and when to ease off. Understanding that progress is rarely linear.

These are exactly the same principles that underpin good financial planning.

You do not sprint a marathon (unless you’re Gerda Steyn!) and you do not rush wealth creation. You prepare, you adjust and you stay the course even when conditions change.

Sharing the Journey with My Daughter

The true reward in choosing health has been the moments I have shared with Jess.

Running our first half marathon together was more than a fitness milestone. It was a lesson in perseverance, focus and balance. I can still feel the morning sun on our faces, hear the steady rhythm of our footsteps and remember the quiet thrill at every kilometre marker ticked off.

Just three months after she had cheered me across the finish line of my first half marathon, she crossed her own. She burst into tears, threw her arms around me and whispered that she never thought she could do it. That raw mix of relief, pride and joy is etched into my memory for eternity.

Moments like that remind me that investing in health is about far more than numbers on a chart or targets on a watch.

Training together has not always been graceful.

There have been moments dragging each other up hills through the Knysna Forest where I was fairly certain Jess would abandon me entirely and run off in search of the famous last elephant. Some days she is strong and pulling ahead. Other days I am the one coaxing her along.

Strength shifts. Support matters. But the important part, it staying the course.

Bay to Bay: Finding the Joy in the Effort

We recently ran the Bay to Bay 15km together.

It was one of those races that reminds you why you do this at all. Beautiful scenery, a relaxed energy and enough challenge to feel earned without feeling overwhelming. We ran side by side, chatted and laughed when we could, went quiet when we needed to and shared small moments that only happen when effort is mutual.

When we reached the top of Suikerbossie and the ocean opened up in front of us, Jess turned to me and said, “I love this, Mom. This is my happy place,  looking at the ocean, and now the running becomes easy.”

We both stopped and took a breath, not because we were tired (well not only), but because we were in awe. There we were, running together, taking in one of the most beautiful views in the world, fully present in the moment.

We crossed the finish line hand in hand, laughing, sharing quiet jokes and collecting memories that will far outlast the race itself (Including my bollemakiesie, but I digress)..

Experiences like that reinforce for me that the real value is not the medal or the distance. It is the shared memory, the confidence that builds, the understanding that showing up consistently creates moments you could never plan for or manufacture.

This is true legacy planning. This is where the magic happens.

The Power of Example

As parents, we spend a lot of time worrying about what we should teach our children.

But the truth is, they learn far more from what they observe than from what we explain.

We instinctively understand this when it comes to money. We talk about saving, responsibility, delayed gratification and living within our means. We know that healthy financial habits are shaped early, through daily behaviour rather than lectures.

Health is no different.

Just as we would never expect a child to develop a healthy relationship with money without seeing it lived at home, we cannot expect a healthy relationship with the body without example. Movement, consistency, rest and resilience are learned the same way as budgeting and long-term planning.

Quietly. Repeatedly. By watching.

Exploring New Worlds Together

We have also explored entirely new worlds together.

Taking a diving course introduced us to the quiet hush of the ocean, the gentle sway of the water and the thrill of discovering something unfamiliar side by side. Joining her in water polo lessons pushed me well beyond my comfort zone.

Five years ago, you would not have found me in a pool with strangers, trying to remember rules, positions and which way to swim. Now I am diving in, laughing at mistakes, occasionally swallowing far too much water and connecting with my daughter in ways I never imagined.

These experiences have reinforced something important for me.

Choosing health was never just about avoiding illness or managing risk. It was about creating a life filled with energy, curiosity and connection.

And about passing that gift on. First to Jess, and then, I hope, to the generations that come after her.

A Shared Investment

Training together, failing together, laughing together and crossing finish lines side by side has become one of the most meaningful investments I make.

It costs time. It requires commitment. And it delivers returns that compound daily. Confidence. Resilience. Trust. Shared pride.

I realised that I needed to protect my own legacy, literally and figuratively.

I want to be fit and healthy enough to lift and play with my own grandchildren one day. To stay present. To stay capable. To allow the legacy to continue, not just financially, but physically, emotionally and relationally.

Because legacy is not only what we leave behind.
It is how we live, what we model and what we make possible for the generations that follow.

And that, for me, is gold.