I've been sedentary and am now pretty active. Without a shadow of a doubt, my quality of life, mental clarity, energy, etc, are all improved relative to my past

I've been sedentary and am now pretty active. Without a shadow of a doubt, my quality of life, mental clarity, energy, etc, are all improved relative to my past. Physical fitness is only one axis, and compared to actual athletes I'm a total turd. I only compete against myself and we all have our limitations, but yes, if you improve your fitness along one pretty significant axis, you are superior (all else being equal). It's important to remember that all else is _not_ equal though. The totality of a human being can't be measured by any one form of aptitude, but most people would be better versions of themselves if they read more, exercised more, had better diet, were more introspective, engaged in some 'spiritual' practice that reinforced humility and charity, etc. Someone who meditates is probably better than me on that particular axes. I don't seem to have an aptitude or patience for it, at least not yet. Maybe that means I need it all the more. Maybe some day...