Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Do you take the path of least resistance?

     Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and decided that one day you are going to “change” the unhealthy habits that may be causing you health problems? Was it as easy to make those changes as it was to make the decision? Most likely not!  As anyone who has decided to make a health lifestyle change, you probably figured out in a hurry that it is not an easy path to get there.

     These kinds of decisions are often based on a “life threatening” event that requires a change in behavior in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of the same bad effects that prompted the decision to change in the first place. The onset of diabetes or a heart attack from being overweight or making bad food choices would be an example of a life-changing event to cause one to rethink lifestyle changes that need to be made.

      But it is not that easy to change! You have years and years of built-in behavior patterns that are often implanted in early infancy or childhood that make it very difficult to break.  And while American mainstream media has put more emphasis lately on preventative wellness and self help care, most of us do not react to our own personal health care until a crisis is at hand before deciding to try to change the bad habits that caused the problem in the first place – treating the symptom rather than the real problem. Habits such as overeating, ingesting or inhaling substances that cause the body irreparable harm, lack of physical activity, etc.

     And even when we do initiate the changes we know that we need to make, all too often a few months down the road the tendency to slip-slide back to old habits becomes the norm rather than the exception. Which usually puts one right back where we started – choosing lifestyle choices that got us in trouble in the first place! Good choices just do not come as easily as those that are bad for you.

So how does one go about making those changes necessary for long-term good health? 

1. The first and foremost step is to make a decision with the intent of following through to reach a specific goal.

2. Consciously putting the goal on paper and creating a plan of action to achieve the steps necessary to reach those goals is the very first step to getting there.

3. Think about what situations got you there in the first place and how you can change future circumstances to avoid the same.

4. Gain the support of those closest to you to help make it easier to make those changes.

5. Take positive steps towards changing the circumstances that set you up for bad habits in order to avoid the bad decisions.

6. Know that you are going to occasionally slide back, but pick back up the positive steps that you have previously made to get back on track as soon as possible.

7. Reward yourself for making good decisions.

8. The longer you keep plugging away with the positive changes, the easier it becomes until it starts to become habit instead of a conscious decision.

     The talents you acquire, the lifestyle habits you form, the choices you make, and the way you live day to day will all mold your health, your outlook and opportunities for the future. Living a healthy lifestyle requires you to figure out which choices you make for better health and wellness fits your specific needs. You cannot just read this and study how to live healthier the way you study subjects at school. You have to decide to make health and wellness a part of your daily life and then go out and do it.