Health is a Skill

When you were young, your parents may have enrolled you in piano or guitar lessons.  You may have developed a passion for basketball, soccer or some sport.  Or you may have enjoyed drawing, painting or theater.  How do you develop any skill? Usually you get a coach or teacher with more knowledge and experience in doing the skill you want to develop.  Your coach sees the big picture, knows how to break it down into smaller pieces that you can practice basic skills or techniques.  Then you practice and put in the work on your own.  How do you master something?  You put in a minimum of 10,000 hours of it.  Along your journey, you develop your passion and skill, it becomes easier and you develop the psychomotor skills required to advance into higher skills. It is about enjoying the process, learning and understanding the craft, developing the discipline and habits necessary to advance and master a set of skills.  Health is no different than learning any other skill.

The problem is that we aren’t taught about health as kids growing up or even as adults.  And when I say the word health, what I mean is the different aspects of the human condition that builds a strong and balanced body that can easily express health.  What are the different skills required for the big picture of health: understand you and your emotions, what stress looks like to you, how you manage your stress, proper nutrition, hydration, exercise, sleep, recreation or having fun to nurture your inner child, to recharge your battery and ultimately supporting optimal function of your nervous system with chiropractic care.

Most of my patients that come and see me have a certain level of education (thinking and beliefs) about health, certain habits and disciplines that abuses their body which ultimately leads to the expression of their symptom or condition.

It is like their health education and habits are at a grade school level. My job as a doctor, which means teacher, is to educate my patients on how their body works and what they can do to take better care of themselves.  It is to take them through high school and college levels of health and habits.  The more you understand how the body works, what makes your body weak and where to put your focus and energy to support and build your health, the easier health becomes for you.  It is easy to take a history, do an exam, identify the cause and put someone on a care plan.  Where the rubber meets the road and what separates healers from a doctor is empowering the patient to think, act and live their life from a place of strength and confidence.  A strong and balanced body doesn’t get sick.

Health is a skill that requires a level of education and understanding.  Health requires thinking a certain way, mastering basic skills and implementing habits that strengthen the body.  Health isn’t hard, it just needs to be a priority.  I help coach my patients to a higher level of thinking and living.  Symptoms and conditions cannot exist in a strong and balanced body. It really is that simple.  I strongly recommend taking baby steps towards better health.  When we know better, we do better.

Check out Dr. Keith’s Wellness Workshop here.