It is better to lose health like a spendthrift than to waste it

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “It is better to lose health like a spendthrift than to waste it like a miser,” he was not celebrating recklessness, but urging humanity to live fully, passionately, and without fear. These words come from a man who battled illness for much of his life, yet filled his years with adventure, creativity, and purpose. Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, understood that life is not measured by its length, but by its intensity and meaning. To “lose health like a spendthrift” is to give your vitality freely in the pursuit of experience, love, and creation—to pour yourself into life so deeply that even exhaustion becomes noble.

The spendthrift and the miser are symbols of two ways of living. The spendthrift burns brightly, squandering wealth and energy in pursuit of joy, while the miser hoards his treasures, afraid of loss. Stevenson applies these archetypes to the human spirit. Health, he says, is like gold—precious but fleeting. To cling to it in fear, to guard it so tightly that you never live, is to waste it. Far better to spend it on noble endeavors, to risk fatigue in the service of art, love, compassion, or discovery. The true tragedy is not to die young, but to die never having lived.

In his own life, Stevenson embodied this truth. He was frail from childhood, plagued by lung disease, yet he traveled across oceans, explored distant islands, and wrote masterpieces that stirred the hearts of millions. His final years were spent in the South Pacific, where he built a home, befriended local chiefs, and wrote until his dying breath. Every heartbeat was an act of rebellion against fragility, every page a testament to courage. He spent his health like a king spends his last coin—on something worthy.

History is filled with such spirits. Frida Kahlo, too, lived in constant pain, her body broken by accident and disease. Yet she painted with a ferocity that transcended suffering. Every brushstroke was a piece of her life-force, a fragment of her spirit. She could have surrendered to despair, withdrawn from the world—but instead she chose creation. Like Stevenson, she lost health like a spendthrift, but her art became immortal. Through her sacrifice, the world gained beauty; through her pain, others found courage.

To “waste health like a miser” is the sin of fear. It is to live timidly, avoiding risk, comforted by the illusion of safety. Many walk this path—they guard their strength so carefully that it rots unused. They fear adventure, avoid passion, and silence the voice that calls them to create. Yet life is not meant to be preserved; it is meant to be expended in the service of purpose. The miser dies with his treasure untouched; the spendthrift dies with empty hands but a full heart. Stevenson’s wisdom reminds us that vitality gains meaning only when it is given.

The ancients would have understood him well. The Greeks spoke of areté—excellence achieved through action, even at great personal cost. The Stoics taught that one should meet fate with courage, not hesitation. And the warriors of every age knew that to live cautiously is to die quietly. Life is a sacred fire; it must burn, not smolder. Health, like flame, was never meant to be locked in a lantern—it was meant to light the path before us, even if it flickers and fades before dawn.

Stevenson’s quote, therefore, is not a call to recklessness, but to purposeful intensity. It teaches that health, time, and strength are gifts to be invested in what makes life meaningful. To conserve them in fear of loss is to betray the very miracle of being alive. Better to tire in pursuit of a dream than to rest forever in mediocrity. Better to strain one’s body in the service of creation than to preserve it for a life that never truly begins.

Final Lesson: Life’s greatest wealth is not health itself, but the way we use it. To hoard vitality is to deny the purpose of living; to spend it on love, courage, and creation is to honor the gift of existence.
Practical Actions: Use your energy for what stirs your soul. Work for something that outlives you. Rest when needed, but never let fear of fatigue chain your spirit. Live with such fullness that even if you burn out, your light remains in the hearts of others. For it is better to fade in glory than to endure in emptiness—and far better to lose health like a spendthrift than to waste it like a miser.