"When you control a man's thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions." - Carter G. Woodson
I’ve devoted over thirty years to health promotion and disease prevention, and I've learned three critical lessons that I want to share with you. I hope these insights inspire you to commit to making this the year you change the way you think about health and what it means to be well.
Lesson # 1: Americans spend more on healthcare than any other high-income nation in the world, yet we have the lowest life expectancy and the highest rates of multiple chronic diseases.
Lesson # 2: The major contributors to our low life expectancy and increased rates of sickness are our environment, socioeconomic inequalities, a profit-driven healthcare system governed by complex policies, lack of access to adequate healthcare, and our behaviors and lifestyle choices.
Lesson # 3: Until we change how we think about health, things will not get any better
While there’s plenty of blame to throw at this bleak problem, blaming will not turn things around. But addressing the causes will, and the cause I'm committed to is changing individual behavior and lifestyle choices. It’s my calling!
Thirty years of research, community engagement, and personal experiences make it crystal clear to me that even though external factors play a critical role in our overall health outcomes, there are some things we can do to maintain a sense of well-being, regardless of the circumstances.
We must first undo the faulty thinking that doctors will keep us well. Many of them do a decent job of treating sickness, but the American healthcare system isn’t designed to keep us well. That is up to us. The system is profit-driven and thrives on sickness. The 2023 National Association of Insurance Commissioners reported that the health insurance industry alone netted nearly $25 billion in earnings last year, while hospitals took in a whopping $90 billion. The numbers speak volumes: the sicker we are as a nation, the more the system profits.
Changing a toxic environment isn’t easy. Improving your socioeconomic status doesn’t happen overnight. Undoing healthcare policies can take years; for example, it took over two decades to ban smoking in public places, and approximately 41,000 people continue to die from second-hand smoke. So that leaves you with the one thing you can change -yourself!
You can begin by viewing health for what it is - health is the whole person. It is the physical, mental, social, emotional, economic, and spiritual self.
When you think of health as the whole person, you understand that everything you do impacts your health - the food you eat, the people you interact with, the goals you set, the media you consume, your beliefs, and your daily routines – they all affect your health at some level.
You can embrace the fact that health is more than the absence of disease. You can be sick enough to die, yet never be diagnosed with a medical condition. Conversely, one can be diagnosed with a chronic disease, and yet be well.
Transforming the way you think about health can be challenging in a system that bombards you with messages that would have you believe that your health is its top priority, while ignoring the external factors that keep you passing through their revolving doors. But suffering from preventable diseases is an even bigger challenge.
So, I send you blessings to make 2025 the year you reshape the way you think about health and make lifestyle choices that keep you navigating the ebbs and flows of life without compromising your well-being!
My vow is simple this year: I'll allow the wings of Gratitude to continue transforming me into the best version of myself!
I’ll continue to share my small change blessons, and hope they inspire you to maintain your physical, mental, social, emotional, economic, and spiritual well-being! I’ll also be available for workshops and one-on-one coaching to help you: Build a personalized wellness plan; Understand the role of preventive self-care; Navigate the sick-care system; and Integrate healthy habits into your daily routine.
Contact me at smallchange@myrtlerussell.com. See more of my small change Wellness tips on at www.myrtlerussell.com/blog.
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