If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, like so many of us are, how did you get to this place?
It’s an important question six out of 10 Americans who are suffering with chronic conditions could be asking themselves.
How have you tried to fix it?
Wisely, a common first step is to turn to Western medicine to help solve our medical problems. We’re fortunate to have made so many breakthroughs and we continue to make more everyday.
But, I advocate you embrace the best of everything.
Our bodies have the amazing ability to heal themselves. If we let them.
When we’re overweight, overstressed, not getting enough sleep, and not taking care of ourselves, our body can’t fight back because it’s not at full strength.
Think back to when you were a kid. You easily bounced back from just about everything. Your body was strong.
It’s time to take your power back. It’s time to take ownership and personal responsibility for your health.
You do that by educating and empowering yourself. By making positive changes where they’re necessary.
Following these steps can help you to do that:
I strongly urge you to get a pen and paper so you can work through each section. Doing so will ensure you get the most out of this.
Let’s get started.
Your current patterns
You find yourself in a place where you’re unhappy. Your current behaviors have led you here, and are keeping you here.
In order to change, you’ll need to break free of the patterns and behaviors keeping you stuck and unhealthy.
Take some time to think through and answer these questions:
Identity over achievement
What will be different this time?
An important and fair question to ask yourself. Why would things change this time?
If you’re not changing the way you’re thinking, you won’t see real and lasting change with your physical body.
And we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it. We’ve been thinking about goals the wrong way.
We think, once I’m skinny again, then I’ll be happy. Once I lose that weight, then I’ll start feeling good about myself.
That process keeps us unhappy, dissatisfied, and often leads to relapses. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, “I can’t understand why I keep losing 20 lbs only to put it back on again.”
It’s because we’re thinking too much about achievement.
Once you achieve your goal of losing 20 lbs, you’ve reached the proverbial mountaintop. You then start looking for more mountains to climb, and there may not be one there. This commonly leads to giving back all the gains we made.
Instead of focusing on achievement, it makes more sense to focus on identity.
One of our superpowers is our ability to create the future we want.
Think about it, you can decide what you’d like to accomplish, set goals around it, then work to make it your reality. It’s a superpower.
Take some time to think through and answer these questions:
If you can replace your old identity with your new one, you’ll be on the right track to making the changes you want to make.
Why do you want it
Why change?
Why go through all of this? Why do all this work? Why get up early? Why pay attention to what you’re eating?
Your reasons for doing this, commonly referred to as your “why,” are what will carry you through the difficult times.
They will remind you why you’re up early, drinking so much water, eating different foods and walking so much.
Without a strong “why,” you’re susceptible of falling back into old patterns.
And that’s unacceptable.
So, why do you want to change?
Take some time to think through and answer that question.
Your health goals
Earlier, you thought about and answered these questions:
Who do you want to be? What would the person I want to become do? How would they handle this situation?
Let’s get specific about the goals you have for your health. Use these prompts to get started, but you can write down whatever you desire.
Goals for your physical body
Goals for exercise
Goals for your nutrition
Goals for your sleep
Goals for your mental health
Goals for your overall peace of mind
If you’d like to dig deeper into this, you can access our Goals Course at no-cost.
Making it real: Handling problems
Whenever we start making real and substantive changes, we encounter resistance.
It can come from inside ourselves, and it can come from outside of us.
The key to overcoming it is to have a plan for when it happens.
We do that by paying attention to our triggers. For example, when you find yourself experiencing stress or anxiety, look for what caused it. From there, if your old coping mechanism was to eat or to shop, replace it with something positive like going for a walk or reading.
You’ve got to slow down to speed up.
We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare. The lesson is this; the change you’re trying to make will take time.
You’re going to get healthy the same way you got sick. One day at a time.
Consistency is also one of our superpowers. The changes you put in place must be sustainable and must fit into your life.
Embrace your new identity. Recognize this will take time. Know you’re worth it.
Resources required
In order to make these changes, what new learnings do you need? Do you need to learn about nutrition, fitness or sleep?
Where will you get them? Will you research on YouTube, buy a course or hire someone to help? You can also check out our Courses.
Who can help you? Please consult with your physician/medical professionals on all of the changes your planning to make. They are essential partners in your wellbeing.
I’d love for you to connect with one of our Certified Coaches for a no-cost chat.
Step into ownership of your health. Take advantage of the brilliance of Western medicine. Bring together all your resources so you can start healing and feeling better.
That’s what I want for you. To get better so you can live how you want.
Let me know how we can help you on your journey.
Here are some episodes of the LifeBlood podcast that can also help.
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