Partnering with Wellness Experts—Feb. 23
SAGe (Self-Actualized Genius)—Learn More
February 23, 2025
Sunday SAGe Newsletter Volume 23: Partnering with Wellness Experts
Happy Sunday!
Here is this week’s installment of Sunday SAGe, an email communication that shares wellness inspiration from The Wellness Ethic to help people thrive during the coming week (and beyond!).
This week, we’ll cover the basics of partnering with wellness experts. Are you playing an active or passive role when you work with the pros?
Partnering with Wellness Experts
An excerpt from The Wellness Ethic:
A common mistake when working with health and wellness professionals is to take a passive role. After all, they’re the experts, right? They are, but it is your life. It always serves your interests to be an active partner when you work with an expert.
I’ll give an example. During my daughter Emma’s vicious odyssey battling headaches, we worked with many terrific experts. But we also dealt with a doctor who doubted whether Emma felt the pain she described. His cynicism angered me. Another doctor had no interest in diagnosing the root cause of her condition. He said we would probably never find out. He simply prescribed pain relief medication. We switched doctors in both cases.
My wife and I quickly learned we needed to be in the driver’s seat regarding Emma’s health. And in typical fashion, Emma soon relegated us to backseat drivers as she grabbed the steering wheel to navigate her own life.
What It Means
Following are some principles that can help you forge a productive partnership with health and wellness professionals:
Recognize that you are your best health advocate. Experts care. But they serve many people—they’re not thinking about you constantly. You have the benefit of serving one primary person, yourself. Don’t settle for anything less than getting the care you need. Be a respectful yet dogged advocate for your health.
Trust the experts, but verify. Research your symptoms and condition. Write down your questions and get them answered when you engage with the pros. Get a second opinion when necessary. Your due diligence will help you make informed health decisions based on the best available information.
Evaluate the service you receive and make a change if necessary. Some experts are better than others. Switch to someone new if the care you receive falls short of what you need. It may take multiple experts to diagnose and treat a complicated medical condition.
Control what you can; surrender to what you can’t. Move forward by choosing your SAGe-inspired, expert-guided response to your health condition.
If you take these common-sense approaches to your partnership with the health and wellness community, you’ll put yourself in a position to get better outcomes.
Your Call to Action
How are you engaging with wellness experts? If you’re not taking an active role to the level you’d like, consider how you can be an active partner moving forward.
Have a healthy week!
