Have you ever taken the time to truly define the reasons as to why you put so much effort into being healthy? Some of you may want to lose weight, improve your digestions, or avoid the daily use of medication, while others may seek better work-life balance to feel less stress, or strengthen relationships with their spouse or children. Whatever your reasons are, I encourage you to take it a step further.
It is hard to commit so much effort to achieving your goals when we, in most cases, don’t remember how good it feels when we succeed and it may seem as if we are chasing a dream. The short-term benefits of continuing your standard routine (e.g. staying in the office another 30 minutes to check one more thing off on your to-do list) or giving in to old established habits (e.g. enjoying a gooey cookie offered in the office break room), seems so much easier and enticing as we know so well the rewarding feeling associated with it. It’s easy to ignore in that moment the illusion of what may lie ahead if you break the norm and hold true to the commitment you have set for yourself. But that, in my mind, is the most important part to achieving your goals…feeling what it will feel like when you get there.
For example, if you want start leaving the office at a decent hour to have more personal time, close your eyes and visualize what it feels like when you achieved this goal. What will you do that you can’t or won’t do today? Would you start painting or learn an instrument, or would you spend more time with your children? Imagine clearly where you are, who you are with, and what you do. Really envision all the details and savor the experience as you pretend that you have already reached your objective. Do this often, perhaps adding it to your daily morning routine. Besides the fact that you will change billions of chemical reactions in your body[1] making you already healthier, that vision and feeling will be your motivation as you get to the deciding moment if you should stay in the office or go home. Setting a vision is one of the many reason I truly believe is the success of certified and experienced Health Coaches, as their guidance in this process is so eye opening and creates the needed foundation to realize your goals further down the road.
With that said, I put the question back to you…why do you bother getting healthy?