Go to Health!: How Much Is Your Health Worth?
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Sadly, while the vast majority of people claim their health is of paramount importance to them, they are unwilling to invest the time and effort required to improve their own health. They particularly bristle and stall at the notion of having to invest their own money to do the necessary things to improve, and then maintain, their health, foolishly believing: "my insurance should do that."
How much is your health worth to you when you lose it to some major illness or disease? Well now, for everyone, the answer is crystal clear: "Spare no expense! Gimme the works. I want all the latest and greatest technologies: MRIs, CTs (especially those new full-body scans), surgeries, drugs, tests, more tests, more drugs, and more procedures. Whatever it takes, man. Money is not an option. I don't want to die and besides, my insurance will cover that!"
Which takes more time and effort? Doing the simple things it takes to be healthy like exercising regularly, buying, cooking and eating healthy foods, spending quality time with your family and doing things you enjoy to control stress? Or, being sick and going for repeated doctor's visits or out-of-town trips to specialists, trips to the pharmacy, hospital stays or tests, recovering from surgeries or procedures, fighting for insurance benefits, deciphering and arguing about medical bills, etc.?
Which costs more? Investing in things that promote health, like having a health coach and going for wellness care, having a gym membership, buying quality foods, buying a good bed, going for a weekend get-away with your family, etc. Or, paying insurance deductibles, repeated co-pays for doctor's visits, expensive tests-procedures and surgeries, the costs of multiple drugs and medical devices, visiting nurses, traveling expenses, lost time from work or perhaps even losing your job?
Hint: medical bills are the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcy and a major reason for industry outsourcing.
Which (being healthy or being sick) will be the major determining factor in your quality of life, your life span, your happiness, your self-esteem, your energy level, your outlook on life and your relationships with your spouse and family?
Can you think of anything more important to you than your health and the health of your loved ones?
Everything in life is a continuum: either it is getting better or it is getting worse. How is your health now as compared to five years ago? What will your health be like five years from now?
What are you doing, each and every day to improve your health? Nothing? Almost nothing? Then how can you expect to BE healthy? Are you living with the delusion, as so many are, thinking that by taking daily medications to control your blood pressure, to lower your cholesterol, to manage your blood sugar, etc, that you are healthy? If you were healthy you wouldn't need the medications!
Do you really believe your health insurance will keep you healthy? It only pays for disease care. Isn't that, by definition, too late?
Can you think of three things that you know that you can do that would make you healthier? Did you think of taking more drugs, having more tests or going for surgery? Or, did you think you could eat better, exercise more and control your stress better? What drugs can do that for you?
Achieving and having health throughout your life is possible and easier than you think. First and foremost, you need to understand exactly what health is and is not. Then, you must take personal responsibility for your health making daily lifestyle decisions to promote health. Next, you need to make your health a high priority goal and make a commitment to yourself to achieve it. And, finally, you must be open to making the requisite changes in your life and be willing to work on being healthy every day.
You need a health coach. Give me a call when you're ready to "Go To Health."
Peter D. May is a chiropractor and certified chiropractic health coach with a practice in North Adams.
