Ask five people to define what health means to them, and you’ll likely get five different answers. What we associate health with, how we relate to it, and what it means to us is shaped by many influences in our lives.
This website is about the journey toward better health. I think it’s important to form a perception of what real health means. It may not be the definition as you understand it, but I hope it will help you think about how you approach wellbeing.
The meaning of a healthier life changes as you begin to view it as a life-long pursuit. Affecting productivity, performance, relationships, and happiness, it is the most important investment you can make: the investment in yourself. Let’s take a closer look.
The Elusive Definition of Health
The Oxford Dictionary describes health as ‘the state of being free from illness or injury.’
Look it up in the Cambridge Dictionary and you’ll find it is ‘the condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness, or the state of being well.’
Merriam-Webster defines health as ‘the condition of being sound in mind, body, or spirit.’
And the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote this definition of health in 1948:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
If you feel these definitions are vague, you are not alone. And what does ‘complete’ well-being look like? How do we get there?
Looking at the ways that health is defined points to the difficulty we encounter in describing health in a way that fits into all of our lives. And for good reason. After all, we are all unique and it is certainly not one-size-fits-all. We all have different circumstances affecting our physical bodies as well as our minds.1 But there is one thing we all have in common that is central to the meaning of health.
Real Health
In the 4th century B.C., Aristotle associated health with what he called ‘eudaimonia,’ This philosophical term translates to ‘human flourishing.’
The ancient philosopher understood that what distinguishes human beings from all other living things is the capacity to think, understand, and form judgments based on logic. This unique ability to reason is the trait that drives our progress as humans. 2
Aristotle connected health with living in a way that enables us to develop this human quality of reasoning. In other words, living a life in which we learn, grow, and improve drives a flourishing life. This, according to Aristotle, is a healthy life. 3It is a life in which we thrive in all areas of our choice.
Good health includes feeling positive about your physical body as well as your mind. Most of all, it is about the betterment of yourself. I like to think of it as improving yourself on the way to figuring out how to do a better job of being human. 4
The World Health Organization definition hasn’t been changed since 1948. This definition of health includes ‘not merely the absence of disease.’ It is widely agreed that if you are not ill that doesn’t mean you are healthy. Viewing health as the absence of disease and as ‘complete physical, mental and social wellbeing’ isn’t inaccurate. But in the pursuit of ‘healthy,’ understanding how and why transforms your life.
Complete Well-being
Aristotle’s description of health as ‘eudaimonia’ over two thousand years ago is a definition of complete wellbeing. Human flourishing is what we are all uniquely wired for. 5
When we feed our desire for growth through learning and practice, both our minds and physical bodies improve. We are happier and more positive. Memory, creative thinking, and the ability to process information are enhanced. Physically we have more energy, heal better, are stronger, faster, more efficient, more resilient and function optimally as we age.
A truly healthy life, then, is one that is elevated in all areas. It is in this state that we show up better as parents, family members and friends. We are more productive at work, perform tasks on a higher level, and are more creative. Ultimately we are more successful.
A lifestyle of growth makes us more likely to find purpose through engagement. This is because we are more likely to be active in our pursuits and interests when we understand the desire to get better is what makes us human. We are all uniquely designed to strive for the best experience during our lives while performing at our best. In the end, this is what we all want in our lives.
Of all of the attempts to define health, that of the ancient philosopher Aristotle was perhaps the most compelling. ‘Eudaimonia’ is the way to complete wellbeing. If you want to be truly healthy, curiosity, growth, practice and learning how to improve will take you there. Get better everyday.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dejan (Dex) Zivkovic writes at The Pursuit of Healthy about wellbeing, higher achievement, and living better. He has a appeared on podcasts and as a guest writer. An anesthetist, clinical instructor and former research scientist, he serves as a member of the faculty at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
READ NEXT:
Ask five people to define what health means to them, and you’ll likely get five different answers. What we associate health with, how we relate to it, and what it means to us is shaped by many influences in our lives.
This website is about the journey toward better health. I think it’s important to form a perception of what real health means. It may not be the definition as you understand it, but I hope it will help you think about how you approach wellbeing.
The meaning of a healthier life changes as you begin to view it as a life-long pursuit. Affecting productivity, performance, relationships, and happiness, it is the most important investment you can make: the investment in yourself. Let’s take a closer look.
An Elusive Definition of Health
The Oxford Dictionary describes health as ‘the state of being free from illness or injury.’
Look it up in the Cambridge Dictionary and you’ll find it is ‘the condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness, or the state of being well.’
Merriam-Webster defines health as ‘the condition of being sound in mind, body, or spirit.’
And the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote this definition of health in 1948:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
If you feel these definitions are vague, you are not alone. And what does ‘complete’ well-being look like? How do we get there?
Looking at the ways that health is defined points to the difficulty we encounter in describing health in a way that fits into all of our lives. And for good reason. After all, we are all unique and it is certainly not one-size-fits-all. We all have different circumstances affecting our physical bodies as well as our minds. 1This is complicated by many circumstances out of our control. Social, economic, hereditary and environmental factors are significant and affect the health of our minds on an emotional level as well as our bodies. In this article, I focus on the factors that are within our control. But there is one thing we all have in common that is central to the meaning of health.
Real Health
In the 4th century B.C., Aristotle associated health with what he called ‘eudaimonia,’ This philosophical term translates to ‘human flourishing.’
The ancient philosopher understood that what distinguishes human beings from all other living things is the capacity to think, understand, and form judgments based on logic. This unique ability to reason is the trait that drives our progress as humans. 2Credit to Neel Burton, M.D. for this idea from his excellent article in Psychology Today on ‘Plato and Aristotle on Health and Disease.’ In case you were wondering, Plato associated health with ‘sophrosyne,’ or the virtue of temperance or ‘healthy mindedness.’
Aristotle connected health with living in a way that enables us to develop this human quality of reasoning. In other words, living a life in which we learn, grow, and improve drives a flourishing life. This, according to Aristotle, is a healthy life. 3The idea was one of personal development and continuously and consistently getting better physically and mentally.It is a life in which we thrive in all areas of our choice.
Good health includes feeling positive about your physical body as well as your mind. Most of all, it is about the betterment of yourself. I like to think of it as improving yourself on the way to figuring out how to do a better job of being human. 4Credit to Angela Duckworth for this idea as she wrote it in the foreword of Katy Milkman’s excellent book ‘How to Change.’
The World Health Organization definition hasn’t been changed since 1948. This definition of health includes ‘not merely the absence of disease.’ It is widely agreed that if you are not ill that doesn’t mean you are healthy. Viewing health as the absence of disease and as ‘complete physical, mental and social wellbeing’ isn’t inaccurate. But in the pursuit of ‘healthy,’ understanding how and why transforms your life.
Complete Well-being
Aristotle’s description of health as ‘eudaimonia’ over two thousand years ago is a definition of complete wellbeing. Human flourishing is what we are all uniquely wired for. 5Aristotle was quite the inspirational life coach. He was discussing self-improvement and personal development nearly two-and-a-half thousand years ago. We were interested in the betterment of ourselves in ancient times as we are today
When we feed our desire for growth through learning and practice, both our minds and physical bodies improve. We are happier and more positive. Memory, creative thinking, and the ability to process information are enhanced. Physically we have more energy, heal better, are stronger, faster, more efficient, more resilient and function optimally as we age.
A truly healthy life, then, is one that is elevated in all areas. It is in this state that we show up better as parents, family members and friends. We are more productive at work, perform tasks on a higher level, and are more creative. Ultimately we are more successful.
A lifestyle of growth makes us more likely to find purpose through engagement. This is because we are more likely to be active in our pursuits and interests when we understand the desire to get better is what makes us human. We are all uniquely designed to strive for the best experience during our lives while performing at our best. In the end, this is what we all want in our lives.
Of all of the attempts to define health, that of the ancient philosopher Aristotle was perhaps the most compelling. ‘Eudaimonia’ is the way to complete wellbeing. If you want to be truly healthy, curiosity, growth, practice and learning how to improve will take you there. Get better everyday.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dejan (Dex) Zivkovic writes here at The Pursuit of Healthy about wellbeing and ways to live better. He has appeared on podcasts and as a guest writer. An anesthetist and former research scientist, he is a clinical instructor as a member of the faculty at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
READ NEXT:
FOOTNOTES:
- This is complicated by many circumstances out of our control. Social, economic, hereditary and environmental factors are significant and affect the health of our minds on an emotional level as well as our bodies. In this article, I focus on the factors that are within our control.
- Credit to Neel Burton, M.D. for this idea from his excellent article in Psychology Today on ‘Plato and Aristotle on Health and Disease.’ In case you were wondering, Plato associated health with ‘sophrosyne,’ or the virtue of temperance or ‘healthy mindedness.’
- The idea was one of personal development and continuously and consistently getting better physically and mentally.
- Credit to Angela Duckworth for this idea as she wrote it in the foreword of Katy Milkman’s excellent book ‘How to Change.’
- Aristotle was quite the inspirational life coach. He was discussing self-improvement and personal development nearly two-and-a-half thousand years ago. We were interested in the betterment of ourselves in ancient times as we are today