ENDURE: March 13, 2015

Spoiler Summary: We know our health is important, but very few of us think of it like as a bag of gold-bars or a house made of bricks.....what if we did?

If you've been reading along for a while, you know that I love old quotes.  Whether they be motivational or just thought provoking, it tells us so much about the timelessness of certain challenges we face.....and reminds us that there are a few things that seem to stand the test of time - making them key to our ability to live the life we want. 

 

One of my favorites is the old saying that goes "if you don't have your health you don't have anything". I have no idea how old that saying is - a quick google search yielded many different folks, including Hulk Hogan, that the saying was attributed to.....but something tells me it was around before the Hulkster. It's so simple, however so pertinent.....but it got me thinking - do we really believe it?  Or is it one of those things that we want to believe.....that health is at the root of everything that makes us who we are....but I'm not sure we really act like we believe it - at least not always.  How would life be different if we acted on the premise? That if without health EVERYTHING would be worse......would we change the way we get through our day?

Recently, more and more experts have gotten behind an idea that is very similar and seems to make a lot of sense. They have tried to help people view health, not unlike our wealth, as a "asset".....something that we hold dear AND can be used (leveraged?) to help us achieve our goals. Just like financial freedom, the greater the health asset, the more likely we can do the many things that make us happy with the people who make us happy. For example - the greater health assets we have, the more likely we will be able to enjoy those hard earned dollar-assets; And, as we are so clearly learning in the research at every turn, like finance or real-estate, the greater our personal health asset, the far greater likelihood we are to have something to pass down (habits, healthier genes being expressed) to future generations. 

 

It can be a bit abstract, because it's not as easy to see as leaving something tangible in our will (the way we can with money or property) but if every time our children or grandchildren (or anyone else we interact with) model the behavior and actions they see us do, which the research so clearly shows they will, we are handing this asset down every day of our life - giving the gift of healthy and safe behaviors, showing those we want to take care of in the future, how to use the tools of the prevention and performance trade.

But maybe it's not entirely abstract - could you measure this asset like a physical asset? Of course! It would include some measure of "metabolic equivalents" (which tells us a bit about "the foundation"). It would include some measure of "total functional movement" which is captured by measuring a combination of strength and range of motion as well as balance and stability (and tell us a little bit about the integrity of the frame and the moving parts).  It would need to include some measure of the "smart systems" (problem solving perhaps?) as well as the safety against external forces like bad weather (measures of stress and fatigue).....and it would probably need to have a maintenance log that makes sure it's being taking care of and that we're investing enough for the future.

Maybe we'll get there at some point.  Maybe we'll all start to focus on accruing more health assets and minimizing our liabilities in an effort to build a house of bricks and skip the house of straw.....it's not easy (bricks are heavy sometimes)....but it's worth it.