I was listening to a podcast this week (Ben Greenfield) and he had a guest who made a profound statement that really stuck out to me. He had struggled with serious gut issues his whole life and he said he finally realized that he needed to be the CEO of his health. Once he made that shift he was able to do what it took to finally heal is gut and also to help others do the same. This is a concept that I think is crucial for people to understand and can completely change your health if you can implement it in your life.
I believe that most people (I used to be this way as well) take a passive interest in their own health. We are taught from a very young age that if you have anything wrong you go to the doctor and they will fix you. We begin to develop the idea that someone will SAVE us from whatever ails us. What this leads to is a population of people who are not taking responsibility for their own health. Because modern medicine is so powerful we tend to think that it can save us from anything. This leads us to make poor decisions day after day, year after year, because we feel that if something goes wrong the doctor will fix us. Doctors do an incredible job of doing this, but they can’t undo the years of poor health decisions made. This is why, even though the medical field has progressed at an incredible rate over the last century, the obesity rates in this country continue to rise and, for the first time in decades, the average life expectancy in our country actually DECLINED last year.
I believe that, in order to keep from contributing to these statistics, we need to realize that each one of us is the CEO of our health. We are in charge of what we put in our body. We are in charge of how often we exercise. We are in charge of learning how we digest different foods. We are in charge of how much water we drink. We are in charge of how much sleep we get. How much recovery work we do. How we manage our stress. What supplements we take. How we breathe. If something isn’t working in our lives it is up to use to fix it.
Part of a CEO’s job is to hire the right people. This also means firing the wrong people. Not every coach is a great coach. Not every gym is a great gym. Not every doctor is a great doctor. The law of averages means that some are great, some are average, and some our below average. It is our job to find the best people possible to put in the important positions for our health. It is our job to not only determine who to work with, but also to determine if they are upholding their end of the bargain. If they are not then it is on us to find someone else who is. It is not the CEOs job to know every detail about the business, just like it is not our job to know every detail about our health. It IS our job, however, to make sure we have someone helping us who does know.
CEOs not only have to make sure the right people are on the team, they also have to do the work. It is also our job, as CEOs of our health, to do the work. We have to be compliant. If we have a coach telling us to come to the gym 4 days a week but we only come 2, then it is on us to get more consistent. If we have a coach telling us to track our food every day but we do not track on the weekends then it is on us track every day. If we have a doctor telling us to take a supplement or a medication but we do not take it consistently it is on us to do it every day. They can’t do the work for us. They can only tell us what to do. It is on us to do it.
Changing the way you look at your health can be life changing. By taking control of your health you can start to feel confident. You can realize that ultimately, your health is your responsibility. It is scary but also freeing to realize that you are in charge. No one is going to save you. You are the CEO of your health. You are in charge of your life.