If you think you have to be sick to get better, consider changing your definition of health.
It is easy to limit the definition of health. To some, it is merely the absence of sickness, symptoms, or pain. But what is true health? The World Health Organization defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Most people live just above the crisis line without sickness and symptoms but do not truly live well. You can always strive towards greater health and make healthy decisions for yourself, regardless if you feel sick.
Some diseases, such as viruses, have a rapid onset, but many diseases are chronic with a slow progression made possible by their environment. Researchers believe that some cancers take years to develop before they are detectable with current testing procedures. Your body is in a constant state of adaptation in response to your environment, shifting toward sickness or health at any time. Health is a continuum with disease on one end and good health on the other. You are in constant motion between the two, either shifting toward or away from health.
You can constantly be reaching for your higher health potential. Just like in exercise, you can always train yourself to run faster, swim farther, and jump higher. You can also reach greater levels of health by being proactive versus being reactive—consistently making healthy choices regardless of how you feel. Don’t wait until you begin to feel bad, have symptoms, or experience a health crisis to make healthy changes.
The physician who teaches people to sustain their health is the superior physician. The physician who waits to treat people until after their health is lost is considered to be inferior. This is like waiting until one’s family is starving to begin to plant seeds in the garden.
– Ilza Veith and Ken Rose, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine
Fresh Ideas to Extend Your Expiration Date
Change your definition of health by making decisions with the end in mind. You wouldn’t wait until your car runs out of gas to fill it up. That would be far more time consuming, dramatic, and would leave you stranded. Fill up your car while there is enough gas to get you to a fuel station. Don’t wait until an emergency to make healthy choices.
Healthy choices consist of simple additions that will direct you toward health, even if you don’t have any symptoms. Ask yourself, “What can I add to take my health to the next level?” Eventually you can begin to remove the unhealthy habits you have, but if you have already made healthy additions, it will be much easier.
Add a fruit or veggie to your meal.
- Add an after-dinner walk.
- Add contemplation and meditation into your daily routine.
- Think about and act on a simple healthy addition you can make to your life.
Make the leap from surviving to thriving. Don’t wait until a health crisis to search for a cure.
Learn More
In Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again, Frank Lipman, MD, gives tips for integrating a wellness lifestyle into your life. His blog, located at drfranklipman.com, is full of helpful health strategies and video tips.