A decision to make a behavioral change in your life is a powerful step in transforming your health. For many people the definition of a good life isn’t about being healthy it is really about being happy.
What they don’t realize is that they need to have health to be happy. You can achieve your goals, you can reach for the stars, you can get healthy by choice and not by accident – but only when you are living this life and not simply “doing a diet”. Love who you are, where you are and appreciate your desire to be healthy. That’s the basis of health, from there on everything else is just fine tuning.
One major key to bringing about change in your life is to become present to the moment. Everything in your life affects everything else so you must be aware of what you’re thinking – both positively and negatively. Without presence, you won’t even be aware of your thoughts and that can slow down your progress without you even realizing it.
What Is Your Thought Life Like?
Look at your habitual thoughts and see how negative or positive, depressed or optimistic, happy or sad they are. It’s believed that about 90% of our thoughts are repetitive. This means most of the thoughts you have are thoughts you’ve had before.
If you consistently think negative, sad, depressed or anxious thoughts, you need to go about changing them. Thinking positively about your ability to get out of the negative situations that may be exhausting you is very important. But, positive thinking must also create positive action and momentum in your life. Above all, you must take action to create a better life and lifestyle.
"Positive thinking without action is the beginning of delusion." – Jim Rohn
When we allow the negative voice in our head to interfere we can get off track. You can flip a switch in your mind that can turn that negative chatter into positive messages. Unfortunately, we will never be able to stop the negative noise from getting into our minds. As long as we are human and alive, we will be under assault from the enemy. Whether he is using critics or our internal voices to distract us. But, we can control how much we let that affect us and how long we let it go on.
How Are You Thinking About Your Problems?
Problems are caused by how we think. If something happens and we think life happens “to us” and we are helpless, then we cannot solve this problem without changing our thinking. If something happens and we think it is an opportunity to grow, it is no longer a problem.
For example, if you have a thought of I am overweight and ugly and worthless that will lead to overeating. But if your thought is I am going to find a way to lose weight to improve my life, that will lead to healthier eating.
We can literally change our lives and our relationships by choosing to think about things in a DIFFERENT way. This is where you will get all of your power back no matter what happens to you. You can always decide. We can take the problems we have in our lives and turn them into opportunities to grow and evolve.
Keep in mind that no amount of positive thinking is going to help if you are staying in negative environments. As you change and grow you’ll begin to realize that you need to remove some things from your life: a job that you are not passionate about, a friendship that isn’t supportive, etc.
What positive thinking can do for you is give you the strength to get out of those negative environments and pursue other options and ideas. Positive thinking can give you hope, but no amount of putting a positive spin on the situation you are in – and staying in it – is going to help you. You will literally become someone else as you work to recover, reevaluate priorities and change your lifestyle and your life. To fully heal from any chronic illness is to become both someone and something new, creating a new life.
YOU have the power to change anything in your life. Whether the actual events change or you change your perception and response, both create a new experience. You can learn to manage your mind in a way that can change your life forever, and the first big step to making use of that power is owning it. Be accountable for your thoughts and actions, and change will follow.
Remember: It’s A Journey
If you are consistent and patient, if you remind yourself that you are embarking on a journey to change your life and not a short-term fix, you will embrace the right mindset to find the balance you need to produce a healthy life and a healthy body. I will be the first to admit that this is not easy. But you’re reading this, and that means you’re ready to continue learning new ways to improve your life.
Remember, this isn’t a quick fix it is a lifestyle change and it’s a journey, not a race. After years of neglecting your body or choosing the wrong things, you can’t think you will be feeling vibrant and healthy in just a few weeks. This takes choosing to make changes and then choosing again and again and again. It takes patience, persistence, courage and the ability to question all the information that is out there. It takes the ability to choose to work hard and know what to let go of and what to hold on to.
Your body will tell you what you need to know if you learn to listen and hear it. You have to focus on where you want and need to go with your body and live out your values for a healthy lifestyle. So no more excuses, no more denying that this lifestyle can work. It will work but only if you let it. Stop wishing things could be different and do something to find the answers to what works for you.
Your “healthy” might look different than mine, but you’ll know when you are there and you’ll also be in a place to find the bravery to share it with the world. Sometimes it’s really hard – even I struggle to do what is right for my body, my health, my life and my values. I think it’s mostly a struggle because what I’m doing looks so different from those around me, but this is the path I’ve chosen and I refuse to look back.
Anybody can live and eat differently for a week or two. But permanently transforming your lifestyle? That takes courage, conviction, and an arsenal of mental skills. It takes strength beyond compare in difficult situations and the moments when you just want to quit. But when you come out on the other side you won’t regret being strong enough to hold your ground because good health is always worth it, no matter what.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not to be construed as medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. These statements made have not been approved by the FDA, nor should they be taken as a substitute for medical advice from a licensed physician.
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