I keep seeing headlines about protecting yourself against various illnesses or what pharmaceuticals to take for this issue or that issue. For that reason, I decided to do a pillars check-up this week and figure out how to make yourself as healthy as possible.

First, I wanted to make sure that your goals are set up properly. Is it your goal to merely survive? Is it your goal to have the highest quality of life for as long as possible? Do you have any health goals? Goals are important to all things, especially the mental game that we all have to play with our lives and our health right now. We all must start to flesh out our goals and move in that direction.

The right goals can help us get healthier, stay mentally sharp, decrease anxiety and depression, give life meaning, and give a grey world color.

If your goal is to lose fat, you have a purpose and something to work on. If your goal is to run a 10 min mile or do 50 pushups, you have something to work on.

If you want to create the best environment for your kids, you have something to work on.

No matter what goal you set, you have something to work on. Having something that is all yours of your choosing that you can work on is very powerful. It gives you a focus and a reason to get up in the morning. If you set multiple goals, you can have things to work on all day.

The trick is to gather goals that are truly important to you and that you can measure in some real way. Some would tell you that being a better husband or a great parent is a good goal to have; however, I would disagree. Those are hopes; if you cannot quantify them, mark them, and track them, they are not goals.

Athletic goals are easy; if you run a 10min and 10-sec mile, you did not run a 10 min mile, and you need to work harder. You can easily track and work on these goals.

While goals that live in the spiritual and psychological pillar can be more important, they are also much more difficult to track. Therefore, I urge you all to make new goals or recommit to old goals.

What goals are you currently working on? What goals would you like to start working on?

Check out the Chalmers Facebook Group for Wellness updates! And ask me any questions you have at questions@chalmerswellness.com. I answer all of them and look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Matt Chalmers