Vision and Values: The Roadmap to Your Best Health

When you travel, what do you do before you leave your home or office? Set an itinerary. Pack. And ensure that you have everything you’ll need for the trip. Creating a vision for your own best health is like getting ready for travel. However, it’s not often the case that you have a roadmap, or a vision that reflects what you want and what you value when it comes to your best health to help guide your journey.

Why does having a vision of your own best health matter?

With so much health-related information available to you, making lifestyle changes that last are best supported with an understanding of what you want and why you want to make these changes.

Setting a vision and homing in on your values for your best health means creating a clear picture of your desired state of well-being. It also means clarifying what you value, so you can establish principles (values) that guide your health-related decisions and behaviors. Here are some steps you can take to help define your vision and values for your own optimal health:

Start by Asking Questions

Step 1: Start by reflecting on your current health, including physical, mental, and emotional components. Rather than assigning yourself a grade or number as part of the evaluation process, ask yourself broad qualitative questions like these:

• How do I feel about my current status in each of the above areas? What other areas make up my current health profile, and how do I feel about my current status in those areas?
• How does my current health support the life I want to lead?
• When it comes to my health, what do I want to maintain? What do I want to change?

Step 2: Next define your vision of your best health. As you build out your ideal state of health, begin with answers to these questions:

• When it comes to my best health, what is most important to me? Is it longevity or aging well? Is my vocation or avocation health-dependent? Does my best health support others like family, friends, or community? Thing broadly, trying not to censor yourself.
• What would my best health allow me to do? Travel? Work or retire? Continue with a favorite activity? Again, paint a vivid word picture that describes what you want your best health for.
• How would realizing my best health make me feel? Energized? Confident? At peace? Your list might include these, or other feelings unique to you.

Step 3: Identify Core Values

Finally, take some time to reflect on the values that are most important to you in life. To spark some thoughts, ask yourself questions like these:

• What are the beliefs, priorities and principles that are important for me to uphold?
• What values resonate with me? Is it honesty, integrity, compassion, or community?
• Your list does not have to be exhaustive, and prioritizing your list may help narrow it to what are absolute must-haves and what values may be secondary in importance.

Start with These: Vision and Values Examples

Ready to build your roadmap to your own best health? These examples may help you get started:

“The best version of me is healthy and able to enjoy life doing things that are important to me, like my work. I value the relationships in my life, especially with my sister who depends on me for care, so my good health supports that. When I retire, I want to be able to hike with my dog and volunteer using my skills as a professional photographer, so staying physically active is of primary importance to me.”

“I want to be the first person in my immediate family to live a long and healthy life despite a familial chronic health condition. I value time with family and friends, and the opportunity to see as much of the world as I can. Remaining independent – living on my own especially – is tremendously important to me. To do that means proactively managing my health through self-care and regular physician support. As with any trip you take, it is important to consider and plan for stops and starts. Building a roadmap to you best health may not be a linear process, however, there is much to experience, enjoy and appreciate along the way.