1. How would you Rate Your Overall Health right now at this moment of time?
(This is about Developing Awareness—it requires a totally Honest Evaluation)
Physically - Lousy --- OK --- Good --- Great --- Fantastic
Mentally - Lousy --- OK --- Good --- Great --- Fantastic
Spiritually - Lousy --- OK --- Good --- Great --- Fantastic
2. If your answer to the above was not fantastic in all three areas – what changes would you be willing to make in your life (Developing Willingness)?
( ) Whatever it takes.
( ) Whatever time allows.
( ) Depends upon what you’re going to ask me to do.
( ) I’m satisfied with where I am without any changes – I’m willing to put up with stuff the way it is. (Know that without a doubt, whatever is going on will progress as you continue to do what you’ve always done.)
3. Would you be willing to change your diet (the way you eat) (what you eat)?
4. Would you be willing to change your sleep habits?
5. Would you be willing to read some positive books on an on-going basis?
6. Would you be willing to listen to some positive audio tapes on an on-going basis?
7. Would you be willing to read the Bible daily for some Spiritual Insights?
8. Would you be willing to join a group that discusses Spiritual teachings?
The above six questions only require YES or NO answers!
My personal belief is that unless we have balance in Spirit, Mind and Body, we will experience some disfunction, possibly dis-ease, or at least a disabling component in our lives.
Spirit Evaluation – A healthy Spirit – questions to ponder
1. Do you love Yourself, Others and Life itself?
2. Is your life filled with Joy?
3. How is your patience, with yourself and others?
4. Is your life filled with Kindness and Goodness?
5. In your dealings with others are you gentle, allowing them to have their thoughts and feelings?
6. How is your self-control? Do you allow excesses to control you?
7. How much fear is in your life? Are you a worrier? Do you feel a need to look over your shoulder?
8. Is there someone in your life, including yourself, who needs forgiving?
9. Where does jealousness fit into your life, is there anyone or anything that you are jealous of?
Mind Evaluation – a Healthy Mind – questions to ponder
1. Do you have little or no stress happening in your life? Are you content with your station in life?
2. Do you read something positive and enlightening every day?
3. Do you listen to something uplifting every day?
4. Do you associate with a healthy group of positive thinking individuals?
5. Are you involved in a challenging occupation or hobby?
6. Do you continue to be active and are you living life on the edge?
7. Have you discovered your purpose in life and are now fulfilling it?
8. Are you involved with toastmasters, a church group or a group which requires your personal involvement?
Physical Evaluation – a Healthy Body – questions to ponder
1. Are you at a Healthy weight?
2. Do you sleep well at night?
3. Do you have an active lifestyle, which includes a minimum of 30 min. of exercise per day?
4. Are you free to live life without medications?
5. Are your eating habits in alignment with a healthy lifestyle?
6. How do you match up with others your same age?
7. Are you a shallow breather or a full breath enthusiast?
How Healthy Are You?
* Rate Your Health *
Most people define health as a lack of apparent disease. The government has a term RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) which is based on the minimum amount of nutrients you can take to prevent a disease from taking over. Beriberi, Scurvy, and Rickets are three that come to mind. These are diseases which develop when we are lacking in certain nutrients.
To rate your health, draw a horizontal line across a piece of paper and at the left end put “Death” – at the right end put “Total Vitality”.
In the center of the line add a vertical mark.
From the midline mark moving towards the left all the way to “death” are levels or degrees of dis-ease and from the midline mark moving towards the right all the way to “total vitality” are levels or degrees of health.
What I have come to realize is that most people believe they are healthy only because they have an apparent lack of disease. I have talked with people who are on blood pressure medicine and as long as the medicine is lowering their blood pressure, they don’t recognize that they still have hypertension. People taking cholesterol-lowering drugs believe that if the number is okay, then they are okay. Cholesterol-lowering drugs do not solve the problem of what caused the high cholesterol in the first place.
Osteoporosis, the silent disease, goes on for years without any outward indicators. You only know you have a problem through testing or when you fracture a hip or some other part of the body due to an accident or a slip and fall.
Heart disease, the number one killer in the United States today, normally gives us some outward indicators—being obese or overweight, being out of breath a lot of the time, and certain aches and pains. Most people choose to ignore these indicators and insist that nothing is wrong and that they are healthy. I’ve read the statistics that the first indicator 50% of the people with heart problems get is death. It is such a sad state of affairs that 50% of the people with heart problems never get a second chance. They never get to change their lifestyle to enhance their health.
Before any change can take place, people must acknowledge that something may not be as great as they make it out to be. Take a realistic look at your health. Rate your health; put a mark on the line as to how healthy you think you are. Ask a doctor or other health professional to evaluate your health and add a mark on the line. Acknowledge that if you are taking medicines – as painful as it is to admit, you can’t be on the right-hand side of the center line.
Ask yourself and your doctor what it will take to get off the medications you are now taking. If the answer, is you must take it the rest of your life, your next two questions should be: 1) WHY? and 2) Do you mind if I get a second opinion?
How Healthy Are You? – Indicators of Health
1. How often do you check your Heart Rate? The health watches sold today make it easy and reliable.
2. Do you know what your Resting Heart Rate is? Resting heart rate is an average of your daily heart rate. Sleeping rate and activity rate averaged.
3. Do you know how to calculate your “maximum” heart rate? Take the number 220 and subtract one half of your age for a calculated maximum.
4. Do you know the ranges of heart rates? Fat burning (50 to 65 %) Aerobic - with oxygen (65 to 82 %) Anerobic – without oxygen (83 to 90 %) Red Zone (90 to 100 %)
5. How often do you check your temperature? Temporal scanning thermometers are the fastest and easiest.
6. How often do you check your Oxygen levels? Oximeters are now available at reasonable prices.
7. Do you monitor your Blood Sugar levels? If you are at risk of type II diabetes it would be wise to own your own monitor.
8. Do you keep track of your Blood Pressure swings? Once again if you have indications or are at risk, blood pressure monitoring devices are available.
9. When was the last time you did a food Transit Time check? Eat a small can of corn or some beets at your evening meal (record the time) and then watch for when they are excreted (record the time) the difference in time is your transit time.
10. How often do you do a Ph. Test? (acidic or alkaline) Saliva testing strips with a range between 4.5 to 7.5 are available. Acidic conditions (cells) are more susceptible to dis-ease.
11. How often do you monitor your stress levels? Simple “stressdots” are available from Mindbody inc.
12. What is your BMI? If you don’t have a chart, it is easy to find a BMI calculator on google search.
13. What is your Body Fat Percentage? The newer weight scales now give a body fat percentage when you weight yourself.
14. What is your Hip to Waist ratio? For women a ratio above .85 puts you at risk and for men a ratio above .99 puts them at risk.
15. Do you monitor the amount of Quality sleep you get each night? New devices are available for monitoring sleep.
16. What is your C-Reactive Protein Level? Over 10 mg/L – it is not good – request your doctor include it the next time you get a blood test.
17. List the drugs you are now taking – list their side effects.
Are they curing something or just prolonging the issue?
18. Activity – NEAT or EAT – NEAT is non-exercise activity thermogenesis which includes, standing, strolling, stairs, samba and stance. EAT exercises include gym exercises as well as walking and jogging.
© Michael McCright – Together i Can Inc.