Draw Your Own Picture of Well

The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." I agree that health is more than the absence of disease. But notice the word complete. By that standard, a stiff knee or a hard week of grief makes us unhealthy. Most of us would never qualify.

I believe health makes sense only when we measure it against what we're for. And I believe it comes down to one word: adaptability. A well body isn't one that never meets a challenge. It's one that can respond, find its balance again, and keep us able to live the life we were made for.

Here's how to draw your own picture of well, and start seeing your progress toward it.

Step 1: Retire the "complete" standard

Let go of the idea that well means perfect. If we wait to feel well until every ache is gone, we'll wait forever, and we'll miss the real progress happening right in front of us.

Say it out loud if it helps: "Well doesn't mean perfect. Well means able."

Step 2: Finish one sentence

Write this at the top of a page: "If I were well, I would be..."

Then finish it as specifically as you can. Not what would be gone, but what you would be doing. For example:

- Getting down on the floor to play with my grandchildren.

- Working a full day and still having energy for my family.

- Singing in the choir again.

- Hiking with my teenagers this summer.

- Waking up glad to start the day.

Well looks different at twenty, forty and ninety. Your picture should look like your life.

Step 3: Check your everyday signs

Your everyday functions are your body's report card, and they often change long before a lab test does.

There are three things I ask everyone about, no matter why they come to see me: sleep, digestion and bowel movements. To heal, we have to be able to get nutrients into the body, get waste out of it, and rest so the body can repair.

Once a week, rate each of these from 1 to 10:

- Sleep: Do I fall asleep easily and wake up rested?

- Digestion: Does food sit well, without bloating, heartburn or discomfort?

- Bowel movements: Are they regular, comfortable and complete?

Then add two more worth watching:

- Energy: Do I have steady energy through the day?

- Bounce-back: After a stressful day, how quickly do I feel like myself again?

Write the numbers down and watch the trend over the coming months. Rising numbers are health returning, even if a diagnosis is still on your chart.

Step 4: Watch your heart come back

The ability to recover can be measured. In a 1999 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers followed 2,428 adults for six years after an exercise test. People whose heart rate dropped slowly in the first minute after exercise had about twice the risk of dying, even after other factors were accounted for.

You can watch your own version of this. Climb a flight or two of stairs at a brisk pace. At the top, count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four. Rest quietly for one minute, then count again. Write down how much it dropped.

This isn't a medical test. It's a simple way to notice how well your body comes back. Check it once a month, and watch it change as you care for yourself.

Step 5: Add what makes life good

We were made for more than getting through the day. We were made to love and be loved, to create, to play and laugh, to be still, to wonder and to pray. And we're made stronger by moving our bodies, resting deeply, eating real food, spending time outdoors, and staying close to people who lift us up.

These aren't extras. Look at your week and choose one thing from that list you've been neglecting. Put it on your calendar.

Step 6: Look for shalom

The Hebrew word shalom is usually translated as peace, but it means much more: completeness, soundness, welfare, health. Shalom is a life in right order. And it isn't the absence of trouble. It's being in right order in the middle of it.

Each evening this week, ask yourself one question: "Where did I feel in right order today?" Notice it. Write it down. That's what you're growing toward.

A practice for today

Finish the sentence "If I were well, I would be..." and keep it where you'll see it. Then do one small thing today that moves you toward that picture.

Words to Carry

- Well doesn't mean perfect. Well means able.

- My body was made to adapt and recover.

- Every step toward my purpose is health returning.

- I make room for what makes life good.

- I can be in right order, even in the middle of trouble.

Tomorrow, we look at what happens when we live with the grain of how we were made.

With you every step of the way,

Dr. Jocelyn

References

Cole, C. R., Blackstone, E. H., Pashkow, F. J., Snader, C. E., & Lauer, M. S. (1999). Heart-rate recovery immediately after exercise as a predictor of mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 341(18), 1351–1357.

World Health Organization. (1946). Constitution of the World Health Organization.