Everyone can be Healthy and Happy With This Understanding

“All the suffering, stress, and addiction
comes from not realizing you already are
what you are looking for”.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn

Deep within our being, hidden amongst collected treasures, is a knowing that we can grow. We can be more, do more, and we can have more. We may have a notion of what that something is, but it is not clear. Not knowing what to do and not finding the means of how to do it, are common obstacles. One way of getting better at who we are is to realize that we already have what it takes. That does not automatically make us engage in behaviors that will move us north, but Purpose Driven Health is a beautiful tool that can aid in the process.

Purpose Driven Health is a powerful concept that works to combat obstacles and doubt in search of our better self. It is a process, a process of gradual growth that we add to who we already are. Our body, our mind, and our spirit are developed according to past experiences. Behaviors, occurring in and out of past contextual situations, happened for us. Those behaviors shaped us into the person that we are today. Bringing awareness and gratitude to our current self, while wanting to grow into an improved future version, is what we want.

But when we are in a state of “not knowing” we run into problems. When current reality does not allow change to take place, we keep failing at doing the same thing, over and over. Losing and finding the same weight, failing to write the book, or ongoing procrastination to start the business, are not acts of intention. Rather, it is because we are not sure of how to do it. Some essential information is missing from our knowledge base.

But there are times we DO know what we need to do in order to become better at being our own selves. It is innately imbedded in our being. New Year’s resolutions are evidence of that. But human nature is a funny thing; we want what we want, and we want it now.

Self-discipline and will power often fly right out the window when the situation at hand is not conducive to our good intentions. Our favorite dessert makes us forget about the weight loss pact, a late morning sleep in makes us forget about the book we want to write, and an unplanned vacation empties the business fund. Excuses galore convince us to put our growth goals on hold.

This study from Pub Med reports that only 19 % out of 200 persons who attempted self-change as New Year’s resolutions, succeeded after two years. Some reasons mentioned as cause for those who missed their self-change goal, were attributed to personal control, excessive stress, and negative emotions.

Personal growth is not easy. But it becomes easier when we come from a place of abundance, rather than lack. When we celebrate the wonder of who we already are and decide to engage in behaviors that make us better by putting self-defeating behaviors on hold, we come from a place of abundance. But when we believe we need to change behaviors because we are not good enough the way we are, we come from a place of lack.

My parents’ experiences, suffering and dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), were unfortunate, to say the least. My father died from a heart attack at age 41, and my mother suffered a debilitating stroke when she was 64. They lived in Norway, but CVD is a global problem and leading cause of death. They were both smokers, and their awareness about health deficits caused by smoking was low. Cigarette smoking, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors that have the potential to cause Atherosclerosis. These risk factors may lead to CVD, heart attack or stroke.

Atherosclerosis is hardening and or narrowing of the arteries, caused by plaque and fat build up in the intima. The intima, also called endothelium, is the inner lining of the blood vessels. Between 2015 and 2018, 126.9 million US adults experienced some type of CVD. Many died prematurely, younger than 70. That is not all right. Knowing that most conditions related to CVD are preventable is not common understanding. It is hard to fathom that in America, one person dies every 34 seconds from some condition related to CVD.

“Those who cannot change their minds,
cannot change anything”.
-Georg Bernard Shaw

What is lacking here, is the understanding that we are not only our bodies. Physical risk factors are as much related to the mind and the spirit, as they are to the body. We are universal beings created from three main parts. This trilogy is interrelated and is composed of the body, the operating system, the mind, the control station, and the spirit, the essence of who we are. The sooner we grasp this realization, the sooner we can create our own health and happiness. We can master ourselves and live the life of our dreams.

“Good health and good sense
Are two of life’s greatest Blessings”
~Publilius Syrus

At the height of my career, working as a nurse in intensive care, I was in complete disbelief when I cared for patients who were unable to improve their health condition. They were non compliant with their medical regime. They did not follow their prescribed diet restrictions, did not comply with medication adherence, did not follow up with rehab, and they were therefore unable to improve their lifestyle. By no means, this does not include everyone. There are patients who do everything right and still suffer relapse. They are compliant with their medical regime, but still have difficulty managing their blood sugars and their blood pressure.

Others were unable to deal with the day-to-day self-care that was needed to keep their condition in control.

Conditions, meaning diabetes (DM), high blood pressure (HTN), heart failure (HF), chronic kidney disease (CKD), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to name a few. As I mentioned, often it had to do with not taking medications as ordered, unmanaged diet regime (excess salt, sugar, and processed food), continued smoking and excess alcohol use, or failure to follow up with doctors’ appointments. They were in and out of the hospital for the same reasons, same admitting diagnoses, different day.

Why was that? Because as humans, we like what we like, and we want what we want. Me, myself, and I ditto that characteristic. I humbly admit to the ignorance of my own thinking. Many of these poor patients had little understanding of how to help themselves. I, on the other hand, a nurse, had both the theory and practice in my back pocket. Why would I fail to be compliant in healthy self-care? I finally got it. Once I understood the underlying process of Purpose Driven Health, self-management becomes easier.

Working in a community hospital had more advantages besides proximity to home. As nurses we often get to know patients and their families well. Through the years, we cared for parents, adult children, family, friends, and people who worked in the community. Human bonds are strengthened during crises. Watching patients who had been through a difficult health recovery, exit at the other end of the tunnel, was exhilarating. To watch patients be discharged from intensive care, and be moved to a step-down unit, floor care, or to home, was cause for celebration. To readmit the same patients, often in a graver condition, was heart breaking.

“To understand and to be understood
makes our happiness on earth”.
-German Proverb

First, I thought, it had something to do with not having enough health literacy. Health literacy skills are not in abundance among the general population, not then and not now. When our complete being is including in our perception, it takes more than just knowing the how to do something.

The advance of electronic health records is wonderful for the medical community, but many adults over age 65 have difficulty navigating the technology. I then understood that noncompliance is often related to lack of focus. Older adults, then and now, have plenty of challenges in their lives, and multiple places to direct their attention. But as humans often do, we place our own priorities last and in the wrong places. The practice of mindfulness and meditation can improve focus.

The realization that meditation was a concept that could improve health conditions and patient’s outcome, was embraced by the medical community. I started a journey into focused awareness meditation from the Yoga tradition, and I never left. The benefits of a consistent meditation practice are enormous. Studies show that training the mind not only provide us with clarity and focus, but it also improves cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life. It lowers the heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. Because meditation lowers stress and cortisol levels, it also raises the awareness that we are not our thoughts, we are the observer of our thoughts.

When we decide on a goal, a conscious and sincere objective, meditation can help us to get there. But patients were often still non compliant with their mindfulness practice. Trust me, when I say, it takes one to know one. My own health practices were far from perfect. Trying to understand human behavior is never ending, but worth every effort. Besides the body and the mind, we must also include the spirit in order to get the full picture. Our essence plays a role in formulating the anticipating hope to make personal growth a reality.

“He who has health has hope,
And he who has hope,
Has everything”.
-Thomas Carlyle

The objective of health education is to improve quality of life. It is about improving the state of our being, find meaning and about being happy. My obsession for studying, learning, and teaching was relentless. I could not stop. At the age of 69, I was admitted into the master’s program for Health Education & Behavior, at the University of Florida. The classes I took there were imperative to my understanding of human health behaviors. Finally, I got it. It was not only about the body and the mind, but it was also about the spirit. Health is like life; it is all encompassing.

Out of this newfound wisdom grew a solution that not only has the power to attain better health and more happiness in body, mind, and spirit. It has the potential to bring us closer to our higher self and realize our purpose. That’s when the puzzle pieces of what we call life come together and fit in harmony, peace, and joy.

Health and happiness are two concepts that are difficult to define. We all want to be healthy and happy. Both states are based on a subjective perception of wellbeing. Because that perception may mean different things to different people, it is hard to define. Health and happiness are not to be found outside of ourselves. It is what we are. I am healthy, I am happy. It is a state. But like soap bubbles, now we have it, now we don’t, it evades us. Health and happiness can be a permanent part of all of us. Bringing awareness to what matters becomes our state of being complete.

"What the mind of man can conceive
and believe, it can achieve”.
-Napoleon Hill

Now, at the age of 72, I have come full circle. I have a comprehensive understanding of how to help myself, and how to help anyone who wants to step up to new beginnings. I know how to create better health and more happiness in body, mind, and spirit. I got it. My body is metabolically healthy, my mind produces thoughts that help me, and my spirit nurtures the essence of who I am, without any apology.

Your body is the operating system. It needs to be cared for at the cellular level. Your thirty thousand plus cells need oxygen, water, nutrients, and good intentions. The benefits of a well nurtured body are unlimited. Cell by cell, the energy produced by a nurtured body has the potential to set you on fire. It can give you stamina you never knew existed. But you need some awareness of why and how it works. Like other operating systems, it occasionally needs upgrading, especially when we are over age 65.

Your mind is the control station. It has the power to plan and think thoughts that drive you towards your dreams and the good life. Health and happiness grow there. Just as easy, can we think thoughts that drive us down the rabbit hole. Despair and self-limiting believes live there. We don’t have to think the same thoughts that we thought yesterday, and the day before. We can change them. By placing our awareness on what matters, thoughts can be changed in a flash. The control switch is in your possession, at any age.

Your spirit is the essence of who you are. It is the home of your higher Self. Your attributes, your desires, and your potentials live there. Think of your essence as the intellect, formed by your thoughts. The effect of those thoughts creates emotions and desire. That desire is uniquely yours. It is something that you do not share with anyone. Only you know what that something is. That something is essential to create growth and meaning in your life. The spirit, your essence is the light in your life.

Adopting the understanding that body, mind, and spirit complete us, help us become northbound. That connection is what makes us whole. Rest your awareness there. Celebrate your age, your history, and your wisdom. Know that you already are enough. Allow Purpose Driven Health to guide you forward, and health and happiness will be rolling at your feet.

🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.

What is your unique attributes? Sign up to my website for free information that can help you become a Northbound Spry.

Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.

Go to www.northboundspry.com. and sign up for free information that can help you move north.