Many people falsely believe that optimal health means “perfect” health or achieving a “cure” for a particular condition. While this may be true in some situations, that is not usually the case.
Realistically speaking, the definition of optimal health is going to be relative to each individual and their unique set of circumstances and any health conditions they may be dealing with. What is optimal for one person may be completely different for another.
Be the Best that You Can Be
Simply put, optimal health means to be the best that you can be. To attain your highest sense of well-being and potential physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and to live your life as fully as possible despite any health condition, disease process, or challenging circumstance that may exist.
And the best that a person can be may vary widely from individual to individual. If you have a particular health condition or disability, your level of optimization may be different from someone who isn’t dealing with any health issue or who has a different condition than you have.
Factors that Influence Optimization
The level of optimization one may be capable of achieving can be influenced by many different factors, like how much money is available to invest, degree of impairment, dedication to the journey, compliance or effort put forth, age, random life events, stress levels, factors out of our control, roadblocks, expertise of practitioners involved, genetics, the number of health challenges or limits that exist, severity, duration, and nature of the condition or disease, backstory, and more. Each of these factors can shift over time, so what is optimal at one point in your life may change at another point.
Not all conditions can be “cured.” In some cases, optimal health is about managing the condition successfully and taking measures that ensure adequate damage control. With the right interventions, significant improvements can be made, health can be optimized, and the individual can enjoy a peaceful, meaningful, and joyful life.
Naturally, one who has a more complicated situation with many challenges may be unable to achieve the same type of optimization as someone who has a more simplified case with fewer challenges. However, that does not mean they are living any less optimally.
Furthermore, each person may have different goals they want to archive, one person may want to lose weight, while another wants to reduce chronic pain, and another may want to improve mental health or eliminate gastrointestinal distress. However, even within those parameters, it’s still individualized; for example, optimal weight can vary greatly from person to person.
Acceptance While Aiming for More
Acquiring optimal health does not necessarily mean that a person has overcome all health limitations. It may stand for living each moment of life as completely as possible, despite the condition of health. Being able to experience harmony, inner peace, and balance in the midst of the storm, having acceptance for where one is in the healing journey while aiming for a higher degree of health.
Sometimes the most powerful transformation takes place internally on an emotional and spiritual level, prompting a change in one’s perspective, rather than the condition or circumstances themselves.
How do You Achieve Optimal Health?
There are numerous ways to achieve optimal health, but as I see it, we first need to be eating nutrient-dense food and living a lifestyle that is congruent with health. There are four basic tenants that should be in place to form the structure in which you will build your healing plan and they are:
- Eating paleo or primal (individualized for your needs)
- Living green
- Breathing deeply
- Mindfulness
Once these four elements are in place, then you will expand your path and include other important strategies such as:
- Exercising properly
- Communing with nature
- Identifying underlying contributors (e.g. chronic stress, microbial overgrowth, etc.)
- Commitment
But there are a variety of other variables one should address like keeping blood sugar stable, social support, sleep, adequate exposure to sunshine, managing stress, relaxing, thinking positive, and more.
The process of achieving optimal health will be an ongoing and lifelong process. It requires dedication and passion for the goal and continual evaluation and adjustment according to current needs and circumstances. You need to define what it means for you at this point in your life and what you need to do reach the goal.
Regardless of what health condition you are dealing with, I can help you optimize your health. Contact me today to schedule a coaching session. Together we will work to assess root causes of your symptoms, personalize your diet for your unique needs, formulate goals, troubleshoot obstacles, create a plan of action to help you move toward a higher level of health and live your life more fully.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes.
“Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” ~ Vivian Greene
