How healthy do you think you can be? Interesting question and one I think shows on an individual personal level at least, that there is some ideal to meet.  However, considering that health and well being are evolving states, they are not static and there is no perfect level of health to attain.

“Problems that remain persistently insolvable should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.”~ Allan Watts

Still with all the technology and all the research advances there must be some ideal that we strive for.  The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) discuss the factors that effect our health status:

Many factors influence health status, including those that fall outside health care systems, such as the physical environment in which people live, and individual lifestyles and behaviours. The demographic, economic and social context also affects the demand for and supply of health services, and ultimately health status.

At the same time, the performance of health care systems is clearly crucial. Core dimensions of performance include the degree of access to care and the quality of care provided. Performance measurement needs to take into account the financial resources required to achieve these access and quality goals. Health system performance also depends critically on the health workers providing services, and the goods and services at their disposal.

So those are the factors affecting our health, but still what is health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines human health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

This quality of health and wellness is not dependent on physical well being for its expression. And because of this it is possible to discover well being in the midst of a serious or chronic illness. This may seem a simple and obvious statement however; it sets the wellness approach apart from the more common treatment approach that measures only our state of physical health.

Disease and symptoms are not really the problem.

Disease and symptoms are actually the body-mind’s attempt to solve a problem.  And just like health wellness is never a static state. You don’t just get well or stay well. There are many degrees or levels of wellness, just as there are degrees of illness. And it is the informed opinion and active co-operation on the part of the individual/community that is of most importance to the improvement of health and wellness.

Considering this, let us look at the possiblity that SELF RESPONSIBILITY is the ABILITY TO RESPOND. And if your wellbeing is determined by your ability to respond to circumstances in your life, then practicing a little more self-appreciation will more than likely help us all live healthier happier lives.

No matter what your current state of health, you can begin to appreciate yourself as a growing, evolving human being, and allow yourself to move, with love and compassion, toward a happier life and more positive state of health. Be an empowered health consumer!

http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/

OECD.org