There are many ways to keep resolutions for a healthy lifestyle, including putting a price tag on your failure (make a bet with someone and be prepared to pay if you don’t stick to a plan), setting small goals rather than focusing solely on the end results, and finding an accountability partner who can help challenge you on days when you lose motivation.
People who live healthy lives all have seven behaviors in common. These behaviors need self-control and control over our relationships with others and our view of the environment.
1. Pick your fights
Every day, we are bombarded with potentially stressful events; nevertheless, there is a tiny window in which we have the unique human power to select our reaction. Unfortunately, we have all been conditioned throughout our lives to respond in specific ways to various situations, giving away our valuable power to pick the result.
For example, if someone is disrespectful or provocative to us, our conditioned reaction is normally to respond with displeasure and, in some cases, fury. Instead of succumbing to this conditioned response, we may choose not to be bothered by it, or, even better, we can choose to comprehend and avoid the tension. If we can pick good, or at least neutral, answers, we will be able to get closer to our objectives and expand the bounds of what we can manage. On the other hand, poorly selected answers or conditioned responses that are just unthinking reflexes will almost certainly have negative repercussions and limit our breadth of impact. This often leads to a sense of being more powerless over your circumstances, but our answers frequently affect our impressions and, therefore, even decide success or failure.
Take charge of your own health.
Poor health and illness are at an all-time high, and many of us accept it as a natural part of aging. Many individuals accept the burden of bad health and the reduced quality of life as something that “is” rather than something that can be managed. Instead of taking an active part in their own self-care, they place themselves in the hands of physicians and pharmaceutical firms. This is an excellent yet terrible illustration of a conditioned response.
Instead of accepting poor health or chronic illness as your destiny, be proactive and challenge the concept that you are a helpless victim by carving out and living a healthy lifestyle.
2. Create and imagine your “end game.”
Determine what it is that you really want. Allow yourself to be clear about what you want in your life, whether it is balanced health, more money, being more organized, or establishing a whole new life. Allowing yourself to be clear about what you want in your life can help you build a strategy to get there. Writing your end game down or making a vision board with cut-out photographs of your perfect life can help you keep it fresh and clear in your mind.
Once you’ve defined your final objective, you’ll be able to set smaller goals that will eventually lead you to your desired outcome. Taking stock of your lesser accomplishments can show you how far you have to go to reach your objective. Furthermore, having a clear grasp of your objectives helps you make better choices that will help you achieve them.
Begin by thinking about your health.
Your health as you become older will be the culmination of all of your health decisions up to that time. If you want to stay physically active, cognitively smart, and full of vitality in your old age, this goal will substantially impact your actions today and every day after.
Poor health and illness did not appear out of nowhere. Even if you don’t feel like your health is in danger, your everyday routines may be fostering illness via chronic inflammation and an acid-forming diet, and if they are, they will ultimately catch up with you. It is exceedingly difficult, but not impossible, to reverse the harm caused by bad behaviors; thus, the lifestyle you select now should be lived with the finest possible health choices to favorably affect your health in your golden years.
3. Establish your priorities.
There are only 24 hours a day, and if you don’t manage your time efficiently, many of the activities you want to do will go unfinished. Mastering the first two habits will educate you to commit to action and focus on your desired end result, but you will need a clear understanding and the discipline to match to prioritize the activities that will help you realize your objectives. Without it, you will waste time on useless things, making your objectives much more difficult to attain. Fortunately, by taking tiny efforts to enhance your productivity (such as establishing task timers, uninstalling “Angry Birds,” and defining a clear plan for Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks), you will find it easier to adhere to priorities that really matter.
Make your health your first priority.
Certain components of adopting a healthy lifestyle are often seen as limiting, time demanding, or just tough. If you try to live an excessively tight and difficult lifestyle, you will quickly grow exhausted and discouraged and most likely revert to your previous unhealthy behaviors. This is not unavoidable and entirely avoidable if you spend your time and effort properly, concentrating on putting in better activities and nutrition rather than eliminating the unpleasant components of your routines. The goodwill gradually outnumbers the wicked.
Assume you despise going to the gym. You decide to live healthier and sign up for a gym membership. You purchase sneakers, apparel, and everything else that comes with going to the gym. You may go for a week, two weeks, or even a few months. You gradually recall that you dislike treadmill jogging, standing in line for weight equipment, or jockeying for a spot in Zumba class. You reduce your time at the gym by 10 minutes, then by a day, until you discover you no longer go. What you actually want to do is be outdoors. Instead of going to the gym, schedule a 20-minute stroll outdoors after or during lunch or dinner, and choose a location you like. If you like shopping, window browsing is a terrific method to get some exercise while also planning what you’ll purchase after you drop that 5 pounds. Because you sit at a desk all day, why not set up a standing workstation or bring a pedal cycle to store beneath your desk? Building in 5-minute stretch breaks every 20 minutes of work, reaching down and touching your toes while picking up the kids’ clothes off the floor, parking your car further away from the mall entrance, or taking the stairs three flights up to your apartment instead of the lift are all great ways to get some exercise without having to step foot in a gym.
Instead of giving up all of your favorite meals, try adding a green smoothie or drink or using spinach instead of romaine lettuce in your wraps. Every week, you sample a new vegetable or fruit. You pledge to eat one vegetarian meal every week. Then you’ll realize that you’re becoming more content with meals, and you won’t have as much space for junk food as you used to. Several methods make healthy eating pleasant, so you never feel deprived. Being healthy does not have to be excruciating.
4. Create a win-win situation.
Personal gain is a major motivator for all of us in life. As a result, most issues or difficulties that impact others are best handled via a solution that benefits all parties involved.
Many individuals are simply concerned with “what’s in it for them” and pay little regard to the consequences of their actions on others. These individuals are restricting themselves, sometimes without recognizing it, since achieving objectives without the assistance and support of others is significantly more difficult. In rare circumstances, it may even be impossible. Even these individuals eventually understand they need aid from others around them, but since they are self-centered and overbearing, they are unlikely to get it.
Look for a win-win situation with your health.
With our society’s numerous distracting and harmful influences, it frequently takes a lot of discipline and drives to attain and maintain excellent health. Having the support of others around you makes things a lot simpler. Similarly, if you push your healthy living on the lives of others, you may discover that they reject your healthy lifestyle modifications or that you risk alienating them, making your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle more difficult.
Family members are your most crucial connections and have the most potential for offering support. Therefore it is critical to have them on your side. Better health is a clear victory for you, but your efforts to acquire it may cause friction among your family members. However, if you manage the issue wisely, your desire for improved health has the potential to be a huge success for your whole family.
5. Understand to be understood
The number one reason many relationships fail is stubbornness and a reluctance to recognize another person’s point of view.
When someone disagrees with your strong stance, it’s normal to want to push back even stronger. This is often greeted with further pushback, which may lead to an unpleasant quarrel or possibly a broken relationship. To prevent this predicament and transform it into a useful dialogue, make a concerted effort to grasp the opposite viewpoint before arguing against it. You’ll discover that the resistance was misguided in many situations, or you’ll learn something new.
Initially attempting to comprehend better health.
In your search for improved health, it is almost guaranteed that you will encounter a wide range of opposing perspectives and recommendations, including those from physicians and health care experts. Many points of view will be starkly opposite. Big business’s profit-driven incentives tend to exacerbate these disparities, frequently promoting additional uncertainty with each new diet book issued. Health-related ideas are sometimes heatedly disputed, emphasizing the need for competent and compassionate communication.
6. Harmonize to synergize
Synergy is often the product of the preceding two behaviors. When all parties are focused on finding a solution that benefits everyone, and when each differing viewpoint is considered, the outcome is frequently a succession of innovative alternatives and opportunities that would not have been thought of alone.
Creating a health synergy
The human body is complicated, and modern medicine has yet to solve many issues. As a consequence, many health disorders may seem intractable. A one-sided strategy for treating any health problem is never as successful as a synergistic approach to addressing the disease. Listening to the perspectives provided by health care experts, physicians, and even family and friends frequently open the door to fresh ideas and chances for enhancing or rejuvenating our well-being.
7. Maintain sharpness, concentration, and equilibrium.
Being successful is being able to make deliberate progress toward a predetermined goal. The preceding six habits provide the skills you need to encourage balance and growth in your physical, spiritual, mental, and social lives, allowing you to become more complete and productive. Maintaining this balance allows you to stay bright and focused while progressing.
Keeping our bodies healthy is essential for enjoying life to the fullest. Being spiritually at peace helps us lead our lives in the direction of what we want to experience by having a strong hold on our values and inspirations. Keeping our minds fresh and growing our knowledge improves our capacity to detect and appreciate our spirituality and keep our lives on track with the guidance it gives. Finally, social connection is one of the most fulfilling elements of life since it offers us a sense of belonging and satisfaction and, as a result, promotes improved health.
