What Does It Really Mean to Be Healthy?

This week, I had the pleasure of joining Katy Hansell on The Impact Whisperer podcast for an episode called "Chasing Longevity: Reclaim Your Vitality."

During our conversation, Katy asked me a simple question:

"What does health really mean?"

So what is Health Really?

Most of us think of health as a collection of numbers—our cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, or strength. Those measures matter because they tell us what's happening inside our bodies. But I've come to believe they're only part of the story.

Health is really about building the physical, mental, and emotional capacity to keep living the life we want—for years to come.

This question about health is one I think about often — and one we spend a lot of time exploring inside RECLAIM.

So thinking about health, of course, our health markers matter, like:

Cholesterol.
Blood sugar.
Blood pressure.
Body composition.
Strength.

They give us valuable information.  But lately I've been thinking about them differently.

The Dashboard vs. The Destination

Health Markers are a lot like the dashboard in our car.

We glance at the dashboard because it tells us what's happening under the hood.

But we don't drive by staring at it.

Our eyes stay on the road ahead.

The same is true with our health. Just as we glance at the dashboard while we're driving, our health markers help us know when something needs our attention.

But we don't lose sight of where we're going.The destination is the life we want to be able to live.

What Are We Really Working Toward?

When I ask clients to picture the years ahead, they don't tell me they want a lower cholesterol number.

• They tell me they want to hike with their grandchildren.

• Travel without wondering whether their body can keep up.

• Carry their own luggage.

• Get down on the floor to play with little ones—and back up again with ease.

• Continue building a business they love.

• Volunteer.

• Explore new places.

• Wake up with the energy to embrace the day.

In other words...

They want the freedom to keep saying yes.

When You Know Your Destination … Daily Choices Become Easier

Think about it this way: 

No one dreams about having lower cholesterol.
We dream about the life good health makes possible.

That perspective changes everything.

Because if our goal is simply to "be healthier," it's easy to become overwhelmed...

The best diet.
The best supplement.
The best workout.
The newest research.

It can leave us feeling like we're always behind.

But when we have a compelling vision for the future —when we know the life we're trying to build — our daily choices become connected to something much bigger.

We don't strength train simply because someone told us we should.

We strength train because we want to keep hiking mountains.

We prioritize sleep because we want the energy to fully participate in life.

We nourish our bodies because we want to feel strong enough to keep saying yes.

No one dreams about a cholesterol number.
We dream about a life.

And something remarkable often happens.

The dashboard begins reflecting those choices.

Cholesterol improves.
Blood sugar becomes more stable.
Blood pressure comes down.

Not because we ignored the dashboard...
But because we kept our eyes on the road ahead.

What’s Your Right Next Thing?

If our goal is to build the strength, energy, resilience, and independence to keep saying yes to life...

Then the question becomes much simpler.

What's my right next thing?

Not the ten things I should change.
Not the perfect routine.
Not everything I think I should be doing.

Just...

What's the one choice that would give my future self the greatest return?

• For one person, that might be making strength training a consistent habit.

• For another, it's finally protecting sleep.

• Maybe it's adding more protein to each meal.

• Learning how to recover from stress instead of simply pushing through it.

• Taking a walk after dinner.

• Calling a friend you've been meaning to reconnect with.

Healthy aging isn't built by doing everything perfectly.
It's built by consistently doing the right next thing.

Every Healthy Choice is an Investment in Tomorrow

And when you get that next thing under your belt, you'll probably ask yourself, OK, what's next?

Always remember, very healthy choice you make today is an investment in tomorrow.

• The hike you'll still be able to take.

• The trip you'll feel confident booking.

• The independence you'll be grateful you built long before you needed it.

• The people you'll be able to show up for.

• The life you'll still be able to fully live.

That's what inspired me to create the Healthy Aging Assessment to help you discover where your greatest opportunity may be right now.

Because sometimes the hardest part isn't making a change.

It's knowing where to begin.

The assessment is designed to help you discover your strengths, identify your biggest opportunity, and uncover what your own "right next thing" might be.

If you're curious, I'd love for you to take it.

You may discover that your next step is simpler than you think.

And if you'd like to hear the conversation that inspired this reflection, I've included a link to my discussion with Katy Hansell on The Impact Whisperer podcast below.

Hope all of this gets you thinking …..