“The doctor of the future is you,” said Dr. John Kim when I interviewed him on the LifeBlood podcast.
We were talking about how to have great health for life, and how so much of it is about taking personal responsibility.
He spoke of the importance of doing our own research, then taking and applying our new learnings. He talked about how it’s essential to get to the root cause of our health problems.
As a society, we’ve become too reliant on others to take care of us. The government can’t help you. Western medicine alone isn’t enough. And you’re certainly not going to find solutions in the form of a pill.
You need to get in control. You need to empower yourself and become the CEO of your health.
There are six key areas of health to pay close attention to, and the areas we’re going to focus on are:
Here’s what we’ll cover
Let’s get started.
Your current patterns and limiting beliefs
If you’re in a place physically that you don’t want to be, it’s time to make some changes. 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, behaviors and limiting beliefs keeping you stuck and unhealthy.
Take some time to think through and answer these questions:
Now, let’s explore any limiting beliefs you may have.
Here is a list of prompts about health. As you read through them, write down the first thing that comes to mind; don’t overthink it.
Now that you’ve written your initial thoughts on each of these, go back through and think more deeply about the ones that we’re the most triggering.
To help you in this process, you can access our Values Course at no-cost.
The good news is this; we can get rid of limiting beliefs and create new ones.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Heather Moday on the LifeBlood podcast and she talked about how it’s not possible to change our genes, but it is possible to change how our genes act.
What’s important about that is this; even if you have cancer or some other negative condition in your family, it doesn’t mean you’re going to suffer from it.
She talked about why it’s important to think about your immune system. While all of us have one, your system is unique to you and you can strengthen it.
So whatever your current patterns and beliefs, you can move forward to the future you desire. You’re not predestined to be anything other than healthy and happy.
The life you want is available to you.
Mission and identity
Every organization has a mission, you should as well.
For our purposes, the organization I’m talking about is responsible for your wellbeing and you’re the CEO of this organization.
Here’s a sample mission statement using me as the example:
Our mission is to promote a healthy lifestyle for George Grombacher so he may live a long, happy, and healthy life.
Why are you doing this? Because you’re someone who’s worthy of being taken care of.
You’re deserving of feeling good, and living a long and happy life.
Write your mission statement out using yourself as the subject.
Identity
We think about goals the wrong way. We think, “once I get X, then I’ll start Y,” which is essentially backwards.
If you were a professional athlete and you said, “once I win the title, then I’ll start training hard,” it would be ridiculous.
What I want you to do is figure out what you want your identity to be, then start living it now. For each of these areas, write down what you want to be. I’ll share an example for each.
Mental health: “I am mentally strong and successfully manage stress when it comes into my life.”
Spiritual health: “I have peace of mind.”
Fitness: “I am an athlete who works out everyday.”
Nutrition: “I eat only healthy foods that nourish and fuel my body.”
Recovery: “I practice self-care everyday and am in bed for at least 8 hours a night.”
Environment: “I avoid toxins and only allow healthy products and foods in my life.”
We’ll work on specific goals a little later on, but I want you to adopt these identities immediately.
Why? Because there’s no time to waste.
Waiting to be happy once something happens could result in you never being happy.
That’s dumb. Be happy now.
Your future self
It’s really hard for us to imagine ourselves that way, but God willing, you will be older.
Who do you want to be when you’re older? When you get there, what do you want to be like?
Do you want to have your loved ones put you in a chair where you just sit? Or do you want to be mentally sharp and physically capable? Do you want to be someone your grandkids want to spend time with?
The decisions you’re making today will dictate what your future-self is like.
Your “why”
Knowing who you want to be now and in the future is key. Next, you have to know why.
Why do you want what you want?
Your “why” to carry you through hard times. It will help you make better decisions today and in the future. It will help you decide to drink or not to drink. To have or skip dessert. To sleep in or to get up and work out.
So, what are yours? Why do you want to have the identities you want?
Write them down.
Your goals
Can’t solve all the world’s problems, and the problem is we now know about all of them. Every terrible event happening all over the world is instantly broadcast on social media. It’s overwhelming and stressful.
How much can we really control?
All we can do is control the things we have control over. It’s wise to tend to the parts of the garden we can touch.
We do that by deciding what we want for ourselves and our health, setting goals for them, and then working to achieve them. In each of these areas, write down what you want for yourself. I’ll share an example for each:
Mental health: “I will learn stress management techniques so that I can better manage it.”
Spiritual health: “I will start journaling every morning before starting my day so I can have greater peace of mind.”
Fitness: “I will learn how to strength train so I can begin working out at least three days a week.”
Nutrition: “I will learn how to cook so I can begin meal prepping every week.”
Recovery: “I will begin waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day.”
Environment: “I will research the safety of all of my current household and personal products and replace any that are harmful.”
For each of these six areas, pick one thing you can start doing now to improve your health long-term.
We’ve all heard the wisdom of “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” I want you to have long-term goals, but they also need to be actionable. Make sure you can start working towards these immediately.
Resources needed for sustainable success
It’s not enough to know. It’s not enough to know how. You also have to make change real and sustainable.
You need to recognize this is a lot. There’s immense technical knowledge in each of the six areas.
Then there’s recognizing any emotional connections that exist. And then it’s integrating it all together.
You need to figure out how to maximize your resources of time, attention and money. And, you’ll need to take into consideration your desire and interest; do you want to spend time on this?
There has to be someone whose job it is to bring all of this together (remember, you’re the CEO).
The good news is, it’s available at every level.
But it comes down to choice. Will you choose to dedicate the resources to doing this? Will you accept the personal responsibility?
And that’s the most fundamental truth of all. The ultimate responsibility for your success is YOURS.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
Whatever you’re trying to get better at, if it’s health, relationships or your leadership skills, there are three models for doing it.
Obviously, the more you can interact with an expert, the better. But if you have the time and attention, you can most certainly piece everything together on your own.
I think self-discipline is an incredible thing and I greatly value mine. It helps me to do things even when I don’t feel like doing them. Like getting out of bed in the morning to exercise, and managing our household budget.
I also don’t think it’s a genetic thing; I think you can cultivate and strengthen self-discipline.
Do you know who David Goggins is? He’s possibly the most self-disciplined and intense human on the planet. He transformed himself from unhealthy and out-of-shape to a world-class athlete and he inspires millions of people.
I bring him up because it took David Goggins a while to get where he is today, and it may take you a while to get where you want to go with your health. You can’t get out of debt in a week any more than you can lose 100 pounds in a month.
Structure first. Then self-discipline.
As you work up to your Goggin’s level of self-discipline, putting structure in place will help you get everything that needs to get done. That’s where your SOP comes in.
A standard operating procedure is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help their people get what needs to get done, completed.
If it’s for an organization, why would an individual have one?
If you have a simple, straightforward and uncomplicated life, you probably don’t need one. Odds are, you have a complex life with a lot of moving parts. The more you can systematize and put structure around the things that need to get done, the better.
When it comes to your health, I’ve already talked about how complex it can be. Keeping on top of everything that needs to happen on a monthly basis is important.
I don’t want this to seem as though I’m doing a commercial for outsourcing, I’m not. You’re perfectly capable of doing this yourself. Again, be honest with yourself about whether or not you want to spend the time and attention it will take to get where you want to go.
If you find you need additional help, then look at outsourcing.
Handling resistance
This isn’t a question of if, it’s a question of when and in what form.
You’re going to be met with resistance both internally and externally.
Internal resistance happens whenever we’re trying to break old patterns and create new ones. Our body and minds are used to doing what they’ve always done, so change is hard.
External resistance will come from your family and friends. When they see you’re making changes, it’s going to elicit a response. Some people may be thrilled for you, others may not be.
Just like our own brains and bodies are accustomed to our behaviors, so are the people in our lives. When you get negative feedback from your loved ones, remind yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing. Remind yourself of your “why.”
Pay close attention to your thinking and feeling when resistance comes up. Especially, what triggers you and what your responses are.
If your old pattern was to eat when triggered, you’ll need to replace food with something else. Consider a healthy response like taking a walk, or doing a breathing exercise.
This won’t be easy, but very few things in life worth doing are.
Remember, you’re someone worth taking care of. You’re deserving of good health and feeling good.
Please let us know how we can better support you on your journey.
You can connect with one of our Certified Coaches for a no-cost conversation and you can check out our Courses as well.
You can also access our Goals and our Values courses at no-cost.
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