What is good health and how do we get it

What is good health and how do we get it.
By Peter Rose FSI
Most people wish to have or to remain in, good health, but what is that? To some it is the simple absence of pain; to others it is the ability to perform a specified physical activity with ease.
My personal definition of good health is a state of the holistic self, where every part functions efficiently and contributes to the well-being of the whole person.
I guess a more simple definition is when everything feels and works right. Which brings us to another question, how do we achieve this? This is much harder to answer; each of us is an individual, what is the best way for one person is not for another, even within the same family. Within the family or any close group of people compromise has to be made if all are to share space and lifestyle in relative harmony. Human compromise nearly always means no one gets what is best for them, discord and dis-satisfaction often occur; the emotional and mental parts of our total self begin to show signs of “ill health.” This seems inevitable. But is it?
What are the three most important things in generating good health? The right food. The right exercise of the body. The right balance within the mind/emotion complex. The right ambience and motivation.
Again we come back to the individualistic concepts of “right”. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, does seem to be one of the greatest true sayings. Most practitioners of natural medicine will talk about balance, grounding, etc. but what do they mean? They should mean that each individual should find the balance that maximises their own well-being, unfortunately some mean the client should follow the path that the practitioner sets out for them; this insistence on directing the individual, is the same mistake that supporters of chemical and artificial health care make. It does not suit those who make a big business out of feeding chemicals to masses of people, in the name of health care, that each person should have individual diagnosis and treatment that is personal to them only. Profit comes from mass production, mass sales and so low costs with high margins. The need of an individual does not count, except if that individual owns the chemical company.
When we try to quantify maximising well-being we again arrive at the uniqueness of each member of the human race. The ability to achieve goals, to obtain self targeted ambitions, can be of vast importance to the well-being of one person but not even those who genuinely love them, their nearest and dearest, share that need. In fact those who are in love with another often never realise the importance the self set ambitions are to their partner's well-being and overall good health.
When you ask people what their aims are in life, you mostly get unquantified generalities. I want my children to grow up happy. I want to be my own boss. I want to be rich. I want to be free. I want the best for those I love. I want world peace. I want world domination. I want to understand. This lest is endless and so are the interpretations that can be made to any one of these.
The question what is good health can only be answered by each individual, mostly this means they want to feel better, physically and emotionally than they do now. A happy few are totally content with everything and happy in their personality and in their place in the world. Assuming this is not a chemically induced state of mind, these people should be encouraged to spread their methods; always mindful that what is best for one is not best for all.
How do we achieve good health,? firstly we each have to recognise what this is for us as a person. Then we need to honestly evaluate what state of heath we are in now. Then work out not only what we need to do to get to “good health” but also if we are willing to make that effort, pay that price.
A good practitioner tries to use outcome assessment to understand if their treatments are working, this means establishing a set of parameters before therapy starts and measuring these same parameters at stages during the treatment. It is then possible to establish what change is occurring and if that change is for better or not. Since well-being includes a large amount of subjective feeling it is quite hard to quantify many of the data points but we should try.

Write things down with date and time. How you feel about your home, your work, your lifestyle, your family, your sexual satisfaction, your diet, your amount of exercise. What is your blood pressure. How many consecutive press ups can you do. How long does it take you to walk, not jog or run but walk, to a specific place from your home. How many hours do you sleep on average. Are you in physical pain, write down what sort of pain, where it is and your own personal guide value to how much pain you feel now. Do you read much, how much. Do you do mental puzzles, how quick are you.

Put this data some place safe.

Decide what your ambitions are over; the next week, month, year, ten years. Write it all down.

Decide on an action plane to achieve those ambitions and to improve your sense of well-being, this must start with “learn more about how to feel better.” Another step may be seek help and guidance. Mostly the action plan will be things you already know, may be subconsciously, that you would feel happier if you did. Write all this down and put it with the starting data.

Your mind is now actively trying to improve your health. This is the first and most important step on the path to good health. A month after you assembled the starting data, measure them all again. Be honest, you do not have to disclose any of this to any one and it is no good trying to fool yourself. Adjust your action plan, check if your longer term ambitions need changing. You, that unique individual, are now on the road to good healthr
Peter Rose. Peter runs an on line training course in Magnetic Therapy; contact him via magneticteaching123@gmail.com