Make Total Health A Business Goal.

An important part of success is having goals, and desired achievements to move toward. The better you plan your goals, with all the important ones being included, and the unnecessary being left behind, the greater chance you have of achieving them. If you do not include your total health in your goals, you risk your health being forgotten as other goals claim your attention.

A quick search on internet gave me the following two descriptions of health.

The World Health Organization describes "health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

The Wiktionary says healthy means "enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit".

Athletes and others who need their body to be functioning at peak performance focus on achieving their physical potential, and understand that physical and mental health are closely linked. But many of us do not think too much about our health until we become unhealthy in some way.

The Wiktionary description of health talks about three different types of health. These are body, mind and spirit. To have total health each of these is important.

Our bodies are created with specific needs. These include the right balance of healthy foods, exercise, oxygen, sunlight and darkness, sleep, a healthy temperature range, hygiene, water, keeping physical and emotional stresses within limits, and avoidance of poisonous substances. I am sure you could add a few other items, but normally we do not think about these needs. Instead we carry most of them out subconsciously. We know not to jump out of a 6-storey building, or have arsenic on our sandwiches. At the same time, we all like to test our limits by trying to be the fastest swimmer or drink too much alcohol on Saturday nights, and a small group of us have even got into a space rocket and left the planet completely and come back to tell us about it.

Physical well being is optimized through a healthy diet, exercise, rest and relaxation, and restriction or avoidance of drugs, alcohol, and smoking. Our physical wellbeing can be challenged by acute illness such as influenza, or food poisoning; chronic illness such as diabetes and arthritis, a disability, and injuries. To maintain or improve physical health, each aspect needs to be actively managed. It does not happen automatically, or "if I get around to it". Here are a number of questions for you to consider, to ensure that your lifestyle is good for your health.


Do you get up in the morning knowing you are going to eat well, and have a plan for your exercise, or do you "hope" you find some time?

Do you cook your own meals from scratch most of the time?

Or are you heating packet meals, or eating out and living on restaurant foods, and takeaways?

Do you know what makes a healthy diet? Have you read about healthy eating, or studied a food pyramid to know how much fruit, vegetables, grains, proteins etc that you need for health?

Do you regularly get exercise, through sport, walking, dancing, physical work activities, including some type of strengthening and cardio activities?

Do you drink 1 1/2 to 2 litres of water or herb teas per day?

Do you sleep well, and long enough for your needs?

Are you overweight, or underweight?

Do you have a regular health checkup and know your blood pressure, cholesterol, iron and blood sugar levels are normal?

Do you have any visual problems?

Do you drink heavily, smoke, or take any legal, or illegal drugs? These activities can all result in your body needing higher doses of vitamins and minerals, and can cause side effects and stress.

Do you have any other health issues that need to be attended to?

I have asked these questions to assist you in looking at your current physical wellbeing. Have you identified any areas that need improving? Are you giving your body the best care possible? Are you trying to maintain your health by staying healthy as much as possible, and avoiding the need to rely on drug therapy to survive?


Do you have a chronic disease or physical disability?

Having a health issue or disability can put your body under considerable physical and mental stress on a daily basis. This can make staying healthy more difficult than it would for most people. There are a number of things that can be done to reduce the negative effects on your health.

Keep in communication with your doctor or specialist as medical science is constantly making discoveries that may make a difference to your health challenge.

Are you using your condition as an excuse to be unhealthy? It is important to eat well and keep healthy so that a bad diet, or obesity, does not put more strain on your body. You may not be able to exercise as others do, but use your imagination and come up with something you can do. Have you heard of Oxycise? It is a form of breathing exercises that could improve your fitness. Is there a rehabilitation centre that could assist you?

The additional stress on your body can create additional nutritional needs such as vitamins and minerals. Try consulting with a naturopath, or nutritional expert who could help you improve your diet and suggest supplementation.

Having a physical challenge brings restrictions, pain and/or time consuming treatments such as blood tests, injections, mobility problems. It is very easy, and very understandable that you can get very focused on coping with your health needs, and feeling very negative and depressed about it.

At this point I want to introduce an idea that some of you will already have realized, but I am hoping that I can help a few of you to view your physical challenge in a new light.

If you have a health challenge such as diabetes, or obesity and you are constantly reminded of this when you have to test your blood sugar levels, or see yourself in the mirror, or find it difficult to move around, there are some questions you could ask yourself.

When I attend to my physical health issue, am I focused on my diabetes, or my mobility, or am I focused on my total wellness?

Do I justify my current state of health as being caused by my health problem?

If I thought very truthfully about this, could I admit that there are ways I could improve my overall health in spite of my health issue?

You have no doubt worked out where I am going by now, but I will say it anyway.
It is essential that you have a total health goal, and that you focus on, and work toward this goal, in the same way you work on your leads goal and your product sales goal. It is totally understandable that you can easily be totally focused on a health issue, but if you focus on diabetes and caring for your diabetes, at the end of the day, you will have diabetes. Will you have health? Where has your focus been?

If you are in any way familiar with the concept of success in life and business you will know that it is very important to focus on your goals and dreams. By keeping your focus on your goals, you will visualize them being achieved and you will strategize how to achieve them. This is encouraged by a positive belief that your goal is possible. In other words, make your health a goal, and focus on it.

I like to take photos, you might like to base jump, your friend could be an excellent artist. So where does that take us? Everyone is different, and everyone's different abilities bring so many flavours to our world.

There are many different quizzes and questionaires that are available online and can tell you whether you are a party girl, or a maths whiz, or like to problem solve or organize. Some of you will find this totally boring, but others will rush off right now and do a google search for "Personality Tests". Let me know what you find out about yourself! If you want any further ideas let me know.

As we are all so different, we have our own strengths, interests, weaknesses. We also have different career interests and needs. I once read a poem that talked about being an apple, and being the best apple you could be. It said if you are an apple and try to be a banana, you will never be the best banana as you are an apple. In other words, be yourself and achieve YOUR best.

Life has a habit of throwing challenges at us, and it does not wait to see if you are ready for them. Not everyone had the best upbringing, not everyone has the best health and we are not usually taught how to cope with these difficulties. And the worst of it is the fact that we are so often innocent victims who did not deserve what we got. So what can you do about it?

As I grew up, I saw adults as having all the privileges and all the fun. They also seemed to be in control and know how to handle life. My children also appeared to think that once they grew up they would instinctively know how to handle life, and have plenty of fun and money. We soon found out that looks can be deceiving!



Adulthood brings adult problems, and we do not grow up knowing how to handle them. There is often no single answer. Adulthood is a brand new learning curve and all we have is our childhood learning, good or bad, our family and friends and anyone else we choose to ask for advice. There comes a time when you have to take responsibility for your adult future, no matter who has messed it up for you. If you focus on what has happened to you, you do not give yourself the chance to put your mark on your life, and give control of your life to the right person - YOU.There are many stories of people who have triumphed over terrible circumstances and have showed the world how extraordinary life can be. Take courage from them.

Dealing with adult problems is part of being an adult. But do not think that you have to manage on your own. Learning to manage work, relationships, parenting can be very stressful and there are resources available. Some of the more serious immediate problems may need doctors, counselling, lawyers, police involvement. Less acute problems can be addressed through reading, online research, courses, talking with trusted family and friends. Many problems are best resolved through prevention, rather than curing them. There are so many resources to help with getting the best from your life. Examples of these are Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey.

Two things that can help to achieve a successful life are having respect for yourself and others, and integrity; and also to have a set of life goals. By knowing what you want to do, it can help to compare your current wants and desires with your long term life goals and see if they are compatable.

Many people feel uncomfortable with the suggestion that they have a spiritual side to their lives. Memories of childhood religious rituals, or a decision that they are atheists results in a denial of a spiritual component in their lives.

Now is the time to look at your personal beliefs and drives. Whether you believe in a life after death or not does need to be matched up with a belief that your life is important and can impact the world. Even if you do not know what spiritual beliefs were held by famous scientists, the results of their work has made a huge impact on the world.

What makes you act? Is it the belief that you are answerable to a higher power? Do you want to make the world a better place for others than you previously experienced? What do you want to be remembered for? What do you think is wrong with the world?

What gives you satisfaction and connection? What gives you meaning in your life? What makes sense when life is going wrong? Have you looked at life differently after a tragedy?

Look for ways that make you feel at peace with the world. It could be watching sunsets, climbing a mountain, or playing an instrument.

One activity I find that a lot of very driven entrepreneurs with very full diaries regularly do is to take time out. They have days away at their house in the hills, or fishing, and they report that they often have their best inspiration and ideas while having a break. I have been doing meditation in the last 2 months and I have found myself coming up with new ideas. Have you found that you have a problem that you cannot solve, and then wake up at three o'clock in the morning with the answer?

Do not underestimate the power of your subconscious, your creative side, your spiritual self in the pursuit and achievement of your goals.

Think of your goals as being the main characters in your play. They will get the limelight, be centre stage, speak the memorable lines. The negative aspects of your life are being left behind, got rid of, and will be gathering dust out the back behind the curtain. What good is Romeo without Juliet? And what about Pedro who may have had his eye on Juliet? He is forgotten, not important and of no use to the story. If your health is not in the limelight it will not survive until the final curtain.