Tech giant Apple recently unveiled another swanky new Apple Watch, along with the catchline, ‘The future of health is on your wrist’. And it made me think.
Nowadays, we talk about health more than ever. ’Everyone has it’. You can eat it, drink it, rub it on your skin. For many, it’s an enjoyable hobby. For others, a relentless pursuit. You can buy stuff to make you healthier and you can sell stuff to make other people healthier.
Big product companies become super successful because they make you believe you need what they sell in order to solve problems they’ve convinced you exist.
Health is everywhere. Yet, people have never been more confused.
How do you even ‘do’ health? If we ‘all have it’, and it’s as simple as putting it on our wrist; why bother?
Asking a group of people ‘what does your health mean to you?’, will be met with as many responses as there are people.
Everyone has their own worldview of health, with endless ways to express it.
I’ve spent a good chunk of my career testing people, coaching people, trying to help them find their expression of health; what it all means to them.
There appears to be two clear constants.
1. Health isn’t a constant. It’s not guaranteed, either.
One of the oldest people to ever have lived, Emma Morano, said the secret to long life was ‘being single’ and ‘eating two eggs a day’. Another supercentenarian, Violet Brown, reflected on one of the Ten Commandments as her secret weapon.
We’ve all known older relatives to happily smoke and drink their way to a huge age with relative ease. And, sadly, we hear stories of fit young adults die far too young of something nobody could’ve guessed coming.
It may not be completely predictable, but this is for sure: Health is much more easily taken than it is given.
For many, the value of health lies not in longevity, but in ‘healthspan’. In other words, being healthier for longer; not simply living for the longest time possible. And when it comes to health-span, there are two fundamental choices that provide a sense of long-term assurance (more on those, shortly).
2. Health is usually rooted within a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.
Samuel Johnson once wrote, ‘Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.’
Providing this quote is a not-so-selfless attempt to justify my constant utilisation of a question endured by parents of young children everywhere.
‘Why?’.
This question is invaluable when working out what your health *actually* means to you, and how you’ll achieve it.
In almost all cases, a persons intrinsic view of their health and its value lies in something far deeper than ‘I want to be thinner’, ‘I want to stress less’ or ‘I want to feel healthier’.
Almost everyone I’ve met during my career has wanted to become a healthier version of themselves.
But despite the ambitions and good intentions, many struggle to escape the trap of behaviour change transience. Or, the ‘yo-yo’ effect.
Lose weight, then regain it. Get fitter, then lose it. Eat well for a week, terribly the next. And so on.
Without delving deeper and self-reflecting on what really drives you and your choices, the chances of life-long health change and transformation are minimal (at best).
Your health is precious. Priceless, too.
It doesn’t define you, but it does enable you to do all the things that will.
However, if great life-long health isn’t guaranteed, are there things that at least predict life long health?
What things can we all do to give our health a chance to thrive?
It can be a tricky task sifting through the myriad of information to find an answer.
Here’s two things you can do to give yourself some real health insurance.
You don’t need to spend any money to get them. Or wear them on your wrist.
- Forget apples. Being fit and strong keeps the doctor away!
The therapeutic-ness of exercise is too often forgotten.
It’s no surprise that physical fitness is a good thing, we’ve known this for generations. It’s also no surprise that we are not always active enough.
It’s the ultimate in cognitive dissonance. Perhaps it’s because we’ve lost our incentive, in evolutionary terms.
Studies have repeatedly shown that fitter, stronger people live longer, have fewer diseases, have better mental health and enjoy life more.
You can do this anywhere you want, with anything, whilst talking to anyone. For free. No small print, no catch.
If you want to do health, and do it well, keep moving! Stay as fit and strong as you can or are able to. End of.
2. Keep your friends close, and your health closer.
One thing is for sure. Our physical and mental wellbeing are truly, inextricably linked.
It was reported in the 80’s that quality social connections directly contributes to physical health.
People with good quality relationships live longer and experience better health.
More recently, it’s been shown that perceived social support is a stronger relative risk factor for a variety of physical health outcomes, in comparison with many we intuitively rate more highly.
A quick search will showcase many first-hand accounts from palliative care nurses who describe the top regrets people express as they face death.
Not making time for relationships and not being your authentic self are common entries.
Australian nurse, Bronnie Ware, shared, ‘Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it’.
Having a gazillion followers on Insta-Face-Tok means very little when compared to the handful of real, genuine, loving relationships with the people closest to you.
Take time to nurture these connections and treasure those people, and good health will follow.
There are many things we can choose in life. Being human isn’t one of them.
We are not like smartphones, where we have one app for one thing, and a separate app for another. We are not compartmentalised like that.
We are whole, and every single part of our wellbeing is interconnected.
We care about things and we’re passionate about stuff. We love, and we live.
And your health allows you to continue doing so.
However old you are, wherever you are in life; treasure your health.
It’s more than useful. It’s a crucial, integral part of your being.
Stay fit, and make the absolute most of the relationships closest to you.
In doing so, you’re giving yourself a solid foundation on which you can tackle life and everything it’ll offer you.
And, in your own pursuit of ‘why?’, take time to reflect on what actually matters most to you, and have the courage to follow it. You’ll thank yourself for it later.
Be authentically you.
