We recently held The Inspiring Life 2019 event to help empower people to attain greater levels of health and well-being. The discussion included how to maximize the three essentials of health (Mindset, Nutrition and Movement/Fitness) to make 2019 a year of significant health improvement. Achieving your health and wellness goals starts with identifying one thing.
Find Out What Your “Why” Is
Determine what your “why” or purpose is. When you have a strong why behind what you do it has a lot more impact. It pulls you into your purpose.
A few years back when my kids were younger the why was that I wanted to be a good role model to them. I hoped that the actions they would see would transfer over to them as they grew and developed their own health-improving habits and routines.
I’ve also said that people often make a change or a more dramatic or drastic change related to their health out of one of two reasons:
- Desperation—They may experience a health scare that shifts them to take more action or make changes. Maybe they find out they have high blood pressure or cholesterol. Or perhaps they are pre-diabetic. Getting news like that can be a big wake-up call to prompt change.
- Inspiration—That’s the crux of the Inspiring Life event that we just had. We want to provide people with that inspirational piece that they internalize. They can make those habits stick and be more successful with the changes they want to make.
Motivation vs. Inspiration
When people make a more self-motivated investment to achieve a given outcome, they’re more committed to the change. Motivation versus inspiration can be entirely different. Motivation is more external. Once that motivating factor—whether a reward of some sort—is obtained or goes away that motivation starts to drop. As a result the actions may not carry forward. So if you have that inspiration that you’ve internalized from day-to-day actions, it will carry a lot more weight.
We look forward to partnering with you on the path to achieving your goals this year and beyond!
Be Empowered to Revitalize Your Health
Excerpt: Do you know some actions you can take to improve your health and life in 2019?
Have you made an inventory of your values? We often recommend listing out your top three values. If health is one of them, then the actions you take need to support that. For example, you won’t hang out with people at the pub every week or those who eat poor quality food. Identifying your values helps to direct your actions in a significant way.
Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People
There’s considerable research about how people around you reinforce your decision-making. It’s good to surround yourself with individuals who care about the same things you do. There’s a quote by American motivational speaker Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So if you’re seeking to maintain optimal health, it’s best to spend time with friends who eat well, move well and think well.
The Importance of Proper Recovery
While I’m good about fitting in regular workouts, I could do better in other areas, particularly recovery and getting good quality sleep. There is much research supporting the value of recovery. No matter how hard we work, we won’t experience the benefits if we don’t have a proper recovery. One of the steps I’ve taken to improve recovery is to shift my workout times to midday. I also make it a priority to get to bed earlier as well.
What inspired me to incorporate these changes was the reading and research I’ve done. Speaking about my own sport of triathlon, I’ve been following the pros and certain podcasts of those who are successful in the sport. There is convincing evidence that recovery needs to be a priority in any training program.
The Value of Scheduling
Scheduling is essential; you can’t just assume something will happen on its own. Those who are successful make scheduling a big part of their training routine. That and the fact that I’m getting older inspired me to integrate scheduling into my training routine.
Patients often come to me who have overloaded their systems. I understand the value of rest and recovery. Making it a scheduled part of your day or week is extremely important.
The Significance of Being Still
Though I don’t take a nap, I do try to make time in the middle of the day just to lie down and be still for 10-15 minutes. As a Type A person, that doesn’t come easily to me. I recognize, however, that I’m more productive when I take that time to be in the moment and let my thoughts evolve.
I’ve shifted away from the need to always be doing something. A lot of times my meditative moments are when I’m out in nature going for a walk or going for an easy run. Those are the times when answers often come to me. These moments by myself have promoted mental clarity and allowed me to connect with myself.
3 Ways to Help Make Change Happen
If you want to develop good habits you want to make three thing happens:
- Make the good habit obvious. One example relates to working out. If your workout clothes are set out the night before, you see them easily and are reminded to work out.
- Avoid setting your expectations too high. Try not to do too much too soon; make it easy. As an example, if you haven’t run in a long time, don’t set a goal of running five miles your first day.
- Establish a reward system. Even if your workout is 5-10 minutes recognize that you were successful.
When you have a consistency of action, ultimately you will achieve success!
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