Focus On Health
When it comes to discussing a health plan, understanding ourselves, and then picking the best disciplines needed to generate a successful mindset is a great place to start. Therefore, I would like to state up-front getting healthy has NOTHING TO DO with WILLPOWER.
Why do I say this? Let me provide a quick example to show you what might appear to be the opposite of what you believe in order to achieve success. As I clarify this key point now, you will feel uplifted on your journey to health, receive the results you envision for yourself, as well as, eliminate a lot of frustration along the way.
“Don’t think of a BLUE RINO. Don’t think of a BLUE RINO. Don’t think of a BLUE RINO.”
Well, what happened? When you read this, you began to think about a BLUE RINO and the strange thing is you even saw the BLUE RINO clearly in your mind, right?
If you had simply changed your FOCUS and thought of something else, then impressively you would NOT have been thinking of a BLUE RINO and you would NOT have seen it in your mind’s eye.
This undisputed fact that WILLPOWER is an ineffective tool when deciding to make a change for the better has been known by a few. Now that you have this knowledge you can take a huge step forward.
Understanding this truth will help you integrate ways to manage and control your way toward a healthy life. Accepting this reality on its own will give you the awareness necessary to expand your chances to make the major shifts in life and health.
This point is so important, I would like to present one more example to make sure we bring its impact home for you. Go ahead, say this, “I don’t want to eat the chocolate cake. Don’t eat the chocolate cake. Don’t eat the chocolate cake.”
Well, what happens? If you like chocolate cake, your mouth might have even watered a bit when you said it a few times, and of course ironically you wanted to eat that chocolate cake, which is the opposite of what you said.
Therefore, approaching a plan in an alignment to how your mind works, helps you build a strategy that supports your process, and will allow you to have a smooth transition to achieve your aim in health and life.
So, let’s focus on what we want to do, rather than, what we don’t want to do. This will help us take action, and allows us to find a purposeful way to break the negative pattern and transform it into a good habit. As we FOCUS on doing something we would like to do because our subconscious mind doesn’t make a judgement of whether it is good or bad, we can achieve our desired results.
Just make up your mind. Then once you do this it is straight forward. Save time while you accomplish direct outcomes by simply following through with your plan.
One of the characteristics of growth requires repetition. You may have heard how “repetition is the master of skill.”
Choose your affirmative action, commit to it, then do it over and over again. This can help build a positive response to form a better habit.
It is our choice to create ways of being and thinking about our health, so dig in and make good choices over and over again. When we shift over to the behavior we would like to have, repeat it, so your new WELLNESS pattern can override any negative one.
The idea of building WELLNESS rather than treating DISEASE might seem obvious but is news to some. Acknowledging you have dis-ease within, is a huge clue, and one we must take seriously, so listen and then let that be your guide to action. The ability to trust yourself in this way will help you recognize these types of red flags that are telling you it is time to make a change.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
In my last article I had discussed lifestyle. I had mentioned there are several key areas we must be aware of so we do not wonder off our desired health track. A Western Lifestyle can absolutely influence our perspective, and we must weed out those areas that are outright bad for us.
To avoid a lot of distractions, we must acknowledge what is noise which can interfere with our idea of WELLNESS. Therefore, be smart by taking care of YOU.
In short, as we move forward with our own commitment to a proven health routine that embraces self-control with realistic baseline outcomes, we can absolutely gain the desired benefits and strengthen our core purpose. We can include contemplating and processing life in a positive, growth-oriented way to nourish and sustain our body, mind, and spirit for health. When we personalize our commitment, we actually reward ourselves by living a life that helps us thrive, which can feel effortless, and youthful.
If I asked you to define WELLNESS, I am hopeful you would recall a positive state or condition of being when you were in your best physical and mental health. When I ask you to think of ILLNESS, I would not be surprised if you reflect upon an old image of a sick relative who was diagnosed with a disease or when you personally had a period of sickness that had dramatically affected your life in mind and body.
If given a choice, most people claim they would take WELLNESS over ILLNESS. Therefore, the goal of a health plan should be to build upon WELLNESS as the main objective, with the hope to avoid ILLNESS altogether as a winning focus. This might not align with society’s messaging therefore; the moment you recognize you have the strength to FOCUS on your own personal health plan you can celebrate your first step and keep moving forward.
There are positive impacts that health has on our happiness. When someone is physically healthy, they may experience increased energy levels, improved self-esteem, and a greater sense of well-being, which will absolutely contribute to that feeling of being free from dis-ease.
As you customize your own health plan, it is important to take a holistic approach. Stay with the basics and recognize that happiness surfaces from within as you improve your health.
The idea of living in joy is not superficial. It resonates a life that is deeper within and goes beyond that one off temporary external ecstasy one might receive when eating a sugary piece of chocolate cake.
When we make these type of core distinctions, we can recognize we may not be perfect all the time, and that is okay to forgive ourselves or reward ourselves on occasion. I would only like to highlight the significance of your ability to FOCUS on both constructive mental and physical steps toward health, and how that will allow you to achieve the overall feeling of well-being necessary to lead you into a deeper sense of joy in life for long haul.
Strong scientific evidence has backed all of these thoughts. Science continues to study a variety of links between one's physical health and their overall happiness. Research documents that positive mental states absolutely contribute to better health outcomes, and vice versa.
Essentially, being happy can positively impact your health, and being healthy will contribute to your overall happiness in life.
I just touched on some key points to help ground your journey so you can focus on whole health. These were meant to be a few reminders of some common-sense pathways necessary for a smooth process as you integrate health and achieve happiness.
People who are happy tend to have lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease, better sleeping patterns, healthier eating habits, and a stronger immune system.
“Begin today to acknowledge the positive impacts you can have upon your own health and uncover a life of joy. FOCUS upon the goal, and build a DOABLE plan.” --- Harvey J. White, MD
For those interested in being the first to know about my soon to be released book called DOABLE, get access here.