BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

You are ready. Everything you require to create the bright picture you hold in mind is within you. All you have to do is move forward with your ideal and deeply felt destination in mind.  

This may sound like a hard thing to do, and it is if you lose the vision you created. Nevertheless, your decision to change has created this moment. You are in position to create dynamic health, but this is life and you’ll need to adapt to the ebbs and flows along the way.

Discover Your Why

Change is going to happen, whether you like it or not, and you won’t be “perfect,” so let’s forget about that right now. Holding onto some idea of what you think you “should” be is also a sure path to disappointment. Worst of all is trying to be what someone else says you should be. You decide for yourself. The key is to know why you are materializing your dream.

Just to be clear, when I say, “you are perfect,” I do so because you are exactly where you need to be right now. This is not based on superimposed aesthetic values or judgments.

You need clear and resonant reasons to sustain your efforts when life happens. These emotion-stirring keystones will sustain you through the potential excuses to abandon your self-care. Seriously, it’s only a matter of time before you have to work late and feel too tired to workout, or your son misses the bus and you’re tempted to grab a drive-thru breakfast, or you have a fight with your spouse and a pint of ice cream seems like a good idea. Yeah, the rain’s gonna come. A strong why is your high ground.

Understand This First

The reason you stay on the path you envision is important, but you can’t pull it out of thin air. Your “why” is the foundation of the structure of healthy behaviors you are building and, like the foundation of any building, needs to be deep and strong. Reasons such as, “I want to look good at my class reunion,” or “I want to fit into my skinny clothes this summer,” might work in the short term, but are too weak and unstable a surface on which to build a lifetime of wellness.

This is where trust and integrity come into the picture. Your personal integrity is the keystone of this process because the more important your intentions are the more likely you are to follow through with the thoughts and behaviors needed to transform your health. Every time you respect yourself by acting in accordance with your desire to be vital, you reinforce your foundation. 

On the other hand, pledging to not eat all day and then eating the whole bag (!) in front of the television at 9 pm, only serves to weaken your belief in yourself. The same goes for maintaining a gym membership you never use or buying another diet program. You must have a strong purpose behind your intention to be healthy, or you will keep running through the maze of diet and fitness frustration. Taken one step further, you must understand, the only way out is in. 

You Already Know

So, what does that mean? The only way out is in? Out of what? Into where? The external motivators and appearances which have dictated to you what to eat, how to exercise, what you “should” look like and why you aren’t enough are outside of you. They pander to the always-searching-and-never-finding/magic pill/end-all-be-all/new-and-shiny-object fascination human beings have. This leaves you forever waiting for the solution to a problem someone else says you have. 

The only way out of this insanity is inside of you already. Who wants to feel like they are constantly fighting to fit the expectations of others? The latest diet always promises to make you look like the photoshopped models in the ads. This year’s fitness craze is the fool-proof way to finally get fit. Buy this expensive supplement and lose fat fast! What if it doesn’t work for you?

It’s not your fault. Really, it is not your fault. Any system of eating or exercise which tries to dictate to everyone the same approach to wellness, regardless of age, lifestyle, medical history and personality is doomed to fail. 

A Better Way

The great news is you don’t need another program or pill. You may not have any idea of what to eat or how to exercise, but you have everything you need to achieve optimal health. That is, you have inside of you the tool of meaning. 

Why do you really desire (I’d say deserve) vibrant health? The stimulus for achieving this is inside of you – and I’m not just being optimistic. Over 30 years of research from the National Weight Control Registry indicates no specific diet, exercise protocol or pill has been found to manifest long-term weight loss. Instead, changes in thoughts, behavior and lifestyle are by far more likely to create lasting changes in health. 

So, change your thoughts and your ass will follow – but it will be smaller J You must first discover your internal motivation before your behavior will change. Simply adopting an imposed structure will ultimately let you down. Be honest! You’ve been down that road before and you know where it leads. There is a better way.