If you could start making the steps toward the best version of yourself today, would you? Where would you begin? Every time we watch or listen to current events and something else pops up that elicits a reaction, we feel frustrated and overwhelmed when it comes to taking care of our health as a higher priority.
When will things REALLY return to normal and what will that ‘new’ normal look like? If you’ve thought of waiting to resume taking care of your health, my question to you is what are you waiting for? Every day you neglect your health only negatively impacts your mood, your energy levels and increases your risk for a worse situation than where you are now.
So, take a breath and regroup.
Let’s walk through an exercise that you can use for any aspect of your life. In this case, we’ll use it for health and nutrition.
Describe, in action words, the best version of yourself. Zoom out to the future, say 2-5 years from now. This vision should be palpable to those in front of you. It’s not a hope, it’s a forward glimpse of the life you’ll be living.
While examples such as ‘I want to eat healthier’ or ‘I want to lose 20 pounds’ are reasonable desires, dig deeper! If you stay on the surface these may look simply like a wish list. Choose words that depict living your vision in your head right now. Use phrases such as ‘I am confident in my clothing’ or ‘I am doing daily activities without pain’ or, ‘I am free from the mental anguish of worrying about my weight’. They sound different, right?
A more broad, but specific, vision allows you to stay connected to why your health is important to you. Imagine the vision as an umbrella. The spokes supporting it are what you do, in the present, to get toward your vision. So, in using the example of ‘I am confident in my clothing’, maybe losing 20 pounds is a shorter term goal toward your vision. You can break that down further TODAY with a goal of, for example, ‘I’m going to stop snacking after dinner on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.’ Taking that action now will get you on your way toward your vision (especially if you’re currently snacking every night after dinner).
Another advantage to a broader vision is that your journey may evolve along the way. Today you may be able to enjoy longer walks or running with a dog but tomorrow it might be swimming or a group class. Either option takes you one step closer to your vision.
So, let’s recap:
– Set your wellness vision. Look further into the future, 2-5 years or beyond.
– Choose action words to describe how you’ll be living that vision.
– Work backwards from there to choose small, manageable, steps today that move you forward toward the vision. As the world develops a new normal, if you take these steps you won’t be adding ‘clean up my health’ on that to-do list!
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In good health,
