Health and well-being – something we all aspire to. The World Health Organisation define health as “… a state of complete physical, mental, social & financial well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

With this in mind, how many of us assume that because we don’t make many trips to the doctor, or have nothing physically wrong with us, it means we must be OK? 

True health and well-being focuses on the whole body and mind, not just a part of the body or the symptoms of a physical problem. It is made up of four pillars; physical, financial, mental and social and all of these dynamic factors help us through the day and keep us going.

Sometimes things happen to us that affect one of these pillars and because they are so interrelated, the impact of not getting help, or not being able to deal with one of them can turn a relatively simple problem into a potentially life changing issue. If your personal financial situation is unhealthy, it’s a known fact that this leads to problems in other areas of your life, affecting your social, mental or physical well-being. In contrast, if your physical, mental, or your social health is poor, we know that eventually this leads ultimately to significant financial issues.

In 2017 I aim to complete 4000 miles of walking, swimming, running, kayaking and cycling to raise money and awareness for Ben. Ben are an independent charity who support the motor trade and their associated industries to provide tailored, holistic care and support services that focus on these four main pillars of peoples’ health and wellbeing: financial, physical, mental and social. They help to educate and enable people to navigate through set-backs and tough challenges, empowering them to make lasting, positive changes as well as enabling them to maintain and improve their health and well-being.

Each 1000 miles represents one of the pillars and to make the challenge interesting, I will be adding some extreme elements to it to signify the burden felt by those experiencing problems in each of the pillars.

I will be tracking my mileage on Garmin and Strava (so all miles have to be physically travelled), if you wish to monitor my progress you can follow regular updates on my facebook page here;

https://www.facebook.com/ben.org.uk/

The first 1000 miles will represent the Financial pillar and soon I will announce the set of challenges that will make up this first 1000 miles.

Donating through Just Giving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.