What’s in Your Health Toolbox?
The Go-To “Tools” that Help Me Stay Healthy in Mind, Body, and Spirit
I believe the biggest factors that determine your health are: 1) your attitude toward yourself, 2) how proactive you are in maintaining (or improving) yourself and your body, and 3) the health resources you have. I call this last piece my “health toolbox,” and it has undergone a vast transformation and expansion since my later-life health wake-up call many years ago.
My health toolbox has 2 main compartments: preventive and reactive. The preventive one is by far the much larger one. It is what I practice every day and how I live my life 24/7. It is comprised of the myriad aspects of movement, diet, attitude, belief, and the many other factors that go into how I feel and what I do to stay healthy in mind, body, and spirit. It is mostly what I have written about in these pages for the past year, all of which are available for you to review.
The second compartment, reactive, is reserved for when something happens, either due to sickness or injury. This compartment, too, has grown over the years with my increasing knowledge and practice about the workings of my body and brain. This part of my health toolbox includes trusted doctors, physical therapists, and other health practitioners; my insights into the many elements and conditions that I have learned are manageable on my own with effective self-treatment; and a world of knowledge I’ve gained through my reading about what’s really happening when I feel aches, pains, soreness, anxiety, or the myriad other sensations we humans use to determine what’s wrong with us when we don’t feel quite right.
An example from my life is a recurring tightness of the iliotibial band (a thick band of tissue that runs down the outside of the thigh), especially in my right leg. I had a severe episode of it many years ago that I wrote about in the last chapter of my book, titled “Learning to Walk Again.” At the time I thought it was the end of my vibrant walking life—a devastating proposition. I explored many avenues, including traditional medical ones, and finally found out that maintaining my legs from the hips down with strength and flexibility was the main solution. I still get flair-ups, but I now know that 1) resolving the issue does not require medical attention or scans or prescription drugs, 2) it is not a cause for worry or concern or anxiety, and 3) I have learned some stretches and yoga poses, along with taking occasional very low-level, over-the-counter anti-inflammatories, that ease the tightness and pain. This is a good example of that second compartment in my health toolbox, reactive, because it remains a manageable yet delicate balance between having strong legs and keeping the inflammation of those tendons at a lower level.
Both of these compartments, preventive and reactive, have lots of resources for both physical dynamics and psycho-spiritual dynamics. Examples of the latter are meditation and breathing, as well as regular psychotherapy. Enhancing my self-value is a big part of all of my practice.
When the Main Tool in the Toolbox Is “Call the Doctor”…
When someone tells me the only thing in their health toolbox is “call the doctor” when something goes wrong, they usually also admit that they aren’t very healthy or they tend to frequently get sick or injured or they simply aren’t aware of how to improve and maintain their health. These folks have a very limited health toolbox, with only one compartment and just one tool: “call the doctor.” This tiny toolbox is way too small to live a healthy, vital later life that is filled with both extra time and extra quality.
In order to grow that toolbox into something more effective, we need to have an awareness that our health, especially in these precious later years, determines the quality of how we will live out our remaining time on this planet. That’s step one. Step two is adding tools, one by one, to both the preventive side and reactive side of our health toolbox.
For example, on the preventive side, I recommend adding the tool of “awareness of your diet” by doing a detox. Other get-started tools include walking more in Zone 2 mode or taking a yoga class or starting to work with a trainer on strength and balance. Once you feel the effects of that first initiative, you will most likely feel a lot better and, hopefully, be energized to add other tools to your health toolbox!.
On the reactive side you might want to treat that foot or leg injury or discomfort that has kept you from being more active or find someone to help you fix your indigestion or help you address your tight neck and shoulders, along with the occasional headaches. I mention these specific ailments, because I have experienced them all!
Of course, your list is your list, with whatever needs doing to fix your issue. Think about whatever is ailing you and keeping you from being more proactive and preventive—most likely, it is fixable or at least manageable. (And I submit that it could be your attitude towards your health that needs fixing first.) There are solutions out there (and sometimes inside you as well). But it takes you to be engaged with them and wanting them to happen. Your health toolbox will grow in proportion to your engagement.
Take a Good Look at Your Health Toolbox
How big are the 2 compartments of your health toolbox: preventive and reactive? What resources are in there that serve you well? Are there any tools in there that are outdated or aren’t doing their job anymore? The main questions to ask yourself are “Am I as healthy as I want to be?” and “Am I as healthy as I am capable of being?” Everyone’s health toolbox has lots of room for improvement and limitless space for new tools. Make your health toolbox a priority if the quality of your life matters to you.
