Blog #44 Link to Audio 🎧
I read recently that one of the reasons we don't start or stick with any healthy lifestyle change is that we don't really look at life in totality. What does that mean? Most of our life we live day to day and don't really think about our future. We don't answer the Who, Where, What and Why's of our life. If we took some time and envisioned our future, and what would it take to get us there, we wouldn't be living our current compromised "healthy" lifestyle.
It seems like whenever we turn on the news, read a magazine, or scroll social media, we find helpful tidbits about improving our diet, mindset and/or sleeping habits. Or it's another health study touting the latest discovery about what we should or shouldn't do. We can also find ourselves on the receiving end of a lecture (or subtle hints) by our doctors, family (and sometimes me 🥰) about the importance of taking care of ourselves.
We all know the benefits to a healthy lifestyle. We get it. Sometimes we are reminded ad nauseum. 🥴 We also know what we should be tweaking in our own daily habits to improve our health.
These thoughts of upping our health game, come and go, in and out of our mind like annoying flies. They come and buzz around in our head for awhile and then they buzz off. Leaving us until the next time. We know that this annoying buzzing is just temporary, so if we just ignore it, it will eventually go away and we can go back to our life.
Temporary motivators
But what if that annoying buzzing is a hint, a hint of what's to come, if we don't get our act together.
Hints can not only come from outside forces but they can also come from within. How many times have we stared at ourselves in family pictures and said 'who is that lady or guy'? Or how many times have we huffed and puffed walking up and down stairs or lifting a bag of mulch? Or how many times have we tried to get into a swimsuit or piece of clothing and said 'crap'.
The buzzing comes from all directions and sneaks up on you when you least expect it.
But what lulls us into complacency is the fact that the buzzing does eventually go. It's a TEMPORARY nuisance. And some of us are really good at being able to ignore the fly bys (no pun intended).
But what happens when the buzzing turns louder or at some point does not stop?
What would be your trigger?
Each person is motivated, disciplined, and incentivized by different things. So what would be your trigger? And how loud does the buzzing have to get before you pivot and get into gear? Is it,
a scary doctors visit?
not being able to fit into any clothes in the closet?
seeing yourself hiding behind others in pictures?
when your knees, hips, feet or ankles scream for help?
After hitting the proverbial brick wall, we usually have the best intentions to change. We are motivated, briefly, by that experience or event or ah--ha moment. We think we have the WHY to move forward with changing the way we eat, drink, sleep, and talk to ourselves. But then at the first obstacle or struggle we bail as fast our legs will carry us.
How can we be proactive instead of reactive?
We all want that magical pill that will allow us to be healthy 24/7 without the work. But I'm here to tell you that it doesn't exist (maybe someday) but right now it's hard work. So what are we to do? How do we get started or continue to be a "work in progress" without all the buzzing noise.
One way to flip the script is........
WHO, WHAT, and WHERE do you want to be in 5, 10, 20, 30+ years?
Look at your current lifestyle including your diet, sleep habits, mindset, and exercise patterns. If you continue as is with your current lifestyle what do YOU think will be the end result? Will it lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, knee surgeries, back issues, digestion issues, or some other health ailment? Take a deep REALISTIC dive into what road your on. What destination are you headed for?
If you wanted to get to Alaska and you live in Virginia, you would carefully route out your trip, knowing you have to take roads leading north into Canada. Otherwise you could end up in the Pacific Ocean, lost in the mountains of Colorado or end up south of Texas. That's if you make it that far. What if you forgot to get your car serviced before embarking on your trip? A burnt out engine from an oil leak or flat tires due to balding tires could leave you stranded for days or weeks.
Our life is a journey. We sometimes take detours that don't serve us. Each detour is different. Sometimes they are well paved so they do little or minimal damage to ourselves. Other times we travel down gravel roads which do some damage but we can self correct easily. But it's the roads that go on for miles with huge potholes, sharp turns, and washed out bridges that results in us coming to a halt, rife with sickness.
The goal in life is to travel our well marked and paved road, making appropriate pit stops along the way, nurturing ourselves day in and day out.
So what's it going to be? Are you going to envision yourself getting to the end still running smoothly? Are you going to ride that crazy and unhealthy road taking a chance with potholes, rocks, hair raising turns and all?
Life can be unpredictable. There is never a guarantee. But aren't you willing to at least manage the things that are in your control? Or are you the one that rolls the dice and takes that chance?
Envision what you want, get back onto solid and paved ground and reach every milestone happy, healthy and whole. 💖
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