What Real Health Means to Me – Kirk
Kirk Zauderer, MBA
To me, Real Health is about actualizing my potential to form my identity by focusing on three key areas:
- Impact = How will I leave the world in a better place?
- Intimacy = How will I connect in the community to serve those around me?
- Integrity = How will I align my actions with my fundamental belief system? Alignment to integrity is what leads to ultimate happiness.
Impact
I believe every human has been put on this planet for a greater purpose: to self-actualize by fostering and growing our God-given talents. The level of success that we can realize is based on the identity we create. This identity will help us form many unique missions and help mold our talents. Each mission is like climbing a hill or a mountain. We can decide to climb a small hill or we can go after Mt. Everest. Our commitment to go ALL IN and achieve our desired level of Impact creates the margins in our lives, making our decision-making processes simple. The only way to make it to the top of Mt. Everest is with a continuous-improvement mindset in regard to our spirt, mind, and body. Real Health starts with becoming clear on our purpose by aligning every decision to our identity, which is impact-oriented.
Intimacy
I believe the reason we should desire to actualize our potential is so we can be in the service of others, helping those around us on their journey of self-improvement. A focus on giving to others brings a lot more gratification and happiness in life than a mindset of taking all that we can for ourselves. A person who is helping someone else could be thought of as a hero. A hero, from its Greek root, means, “protector” and “one that has the strength for two.” A hero has a growth mindset, which believes everything is an opportunity. He/she is on a mission to make this world a better place by serving. Real Health is about creating lasting impact by connecting in meaningful ways in the service of others.
Integrity
I believe happiness comes from an alignment with integrity, which is formed by our pursuit of truth. No human is perfect and we all make mistakes, but it is our continual desire for truth that determines our decision-making process. If our identity is formed by every action we make, then saying one thing and doing another creates a chasm in our integrity. Real Health is not the easy road, but an activation point, which creates a life that can be defined. Once the pinnacle of our mountain is defined, then every decision we make is either stepping forward into growth or back into safety. If I truly desire to actualize my potential, every decision from what I eat, to the knowledge I obtain, to the thoughts I think are either moving me closer toward or farther away from this potential.
We may look at a simple decision, such as what we eat for breakfast, as inconsequential with no impact on others. However, all decisions have consequences that build to a greater outcome. For example, if I decided for years to eat a high sugar breakfast that affected my blood sugar negatively, that could lead to insulin resistance and even diabetes. This small decision not only impacted my ability to enter into a state of optimal daily performance, but it may impact the longevity of my life and ability to serve others years from now. The other spectrum is a life where good eating choices are made leading to optimal brain performance and more energy to do the creative work that I am put on this earth to accomplish. Real Health is about experiencing contentment and happiness through the alignment of our integrity by pursuing truth.
In Conclusion
I believe all decisions we make in regard to our spirit, mind, and body should be put through the lens of the Impact we can make, the Intimacy in how we serve others and our alignment to Integrity, which ultimately develops our legacy and a life of Real Health.
Each month we have guest authors write a column for our Health Hunters newsletter with the prompt “What Real Health Means to Me”. We’ve been blown away by the content, and the variety of answers, that they have provided. We know that Real Health is very personal and health goals vary. We hope that you find their stories inspiring and will share with your friends and family as well!
All “What Real Health Means to Me” articles
If you’d like to write an article of your own, please email us at newseditor@riordanclinic.org.
