The Road to Wellness . . . Step by Step, Plan by Plan

Not all steps are big steps and not all plans are big plans, and not all roads are smooth—the point is to plan ahead and take those steps. How else will you reach your goals? And, without planning ahead, without taking a step forward, how else will you move past the detours and roadblocks when you have a “misstep?”

What you do today, how you utilize the present, has a real and direct effect on how well you will meet your goals tomorrow. And yes, it does require even minimal planning. Start small.

Take a few minutes and think about what you want to accomplish—short term and long term. Be specific. Try to anticipate the roadblocks, and know that you will come face-to-face with a few. But, here’s where planning comes back in to play. If you have a “detour plan” in place, you still know where you’re going.

Commit to your plan. Whether you do it publicly or privately, make that commitment to yourself—and then stay with it. Congratulate and reward yourself when you see that your progress is moving you toward your goals. After all, it’s your plan and they are your goals and ultimately only you can make them happen—so give it all you’ve got.

Finally, don’t let the roadblocks you will face become dead ends. The temptations and setbacks provide an opportunity to prove to yourself that you can move past them. If you stick with your plan and take the necessary steps to move toward your goal, you will find you have what it takes to deal with problems that are out of your own control.

To complete the analogy, you’re on the road to wellness, potholes and all. It helps to remember that the road to wellness is always under construction.

A New Year, An Old Thought—Here We Go Again

We’ve all made resolutions, usually about once a year when January 1 rolls around, resolutions about working toward healthier habits, and ultimately, better health. And, we’ve all, at times veered away from our best intentions, usually unintentionally. This says, “we’re human. It’s what we humans do.” And, it also says we sometimes end up doing what we don’t intend to do or want to do. That’s part of what makes us human. When we make a resolution, or set our sights on a goal we want to meet—and then we don’t, that also makes us human. Maybe not happy with ourselves, but human.

So if we don’t give up, we try again, and maybe we try harder. We fall down six times, we get up seven. But, just how hard are we supposed to try? How hard is this wellness stuff supposed to be?

Actually, it’s about as hard as we make it. It’s really pretty simple. It’s just not easy. So, which is it? Well, like life, it’s a long chain of choices. There are “cues” all around us that move us toward or away from the choices we make—and the reasons why. We make certain choices because we think they are better for us. We associate the choices we make with comfort or denial, success or failure. And, sometimes we choose one thing over another without even knowing why. (Do you know that by simply believing something is good for you, or believing it tastes good, you attribute a higher value to it—and eat more of it. As an example, if you see an expensive looking name on a bottle of wine, you will tend to drink more of it.)

Now, let’s think about less . . . because less of something is also a choice. Less isn’t necessarily about deprivation. As an active choice, less of something can actually be more (no this isn’t gobbledygook, there is a point), depending on how you choose to look at it. Less food can mean better health (more health). It can mean weight loss (more health). It can mean success as you go after your New Year’s resolution (more health). You probably have the idea by now. And, where ideas are concerned, here’s a wild one . . . we know it’s socially acceptable to support each other when we’re trying to break the smoking habit. Think what we could accomplish, individually and collectively, if we made eating a less socially acceptable habit?

Here’s a final thought on the choices we make, the reasons we make them, and what we hope to achieve with our New Year’s resolution of working toward better health and healthier habits. Have you ever thought about what you can accomplish if rather than focusing on what you “have” to give up, you focus instead on what you will get in return?

Crazy as a Box of Frogs

Are you ready to take a guess at what this is all about? And, what does it have to do with wellness or well-being? Believe it or not, there is a connection.

Let’s start at the end with Box of Frogs. Can’t you picture it? These are cute little green frogs. Hundreds of them. They’re in the same box, and they’re hopping, climbing and squirming all over each other. You open the lid and you know they’re going to start hopping out, whether that’s what you intended or not. And, as fast and as many as there are, there’s no way you’re going to catch them all and put them back. That’s where the crazy part comes in (don’t even pretend to think about why someone would fill a box with frogs in the first place).

Some people might look at Crazy as a Box of Frogs to mean insanity, or even temporary insanity. But, what if we look at it as a place we’ve somehow gotten to, and one we want to “hop” on out of. We don’t like it in the box, we don’t want to be in the box, and the crazy part is staying in that box.

And, once we’re out of the box, then what? This is where wellness and well-being comes in. We don’t want to box ourselves in, or be put in a box, or have anyone else put us in a box (read, label us). We are each our own unique selves.

Who you are right now, or at any one moment of your lifetime, does not by itself define who you are as a person. And, if change is what you’re after in the broad scope of how you define yourself, you—and only you—can change your life today, and tomorrow, and each day after. You are out of the box!

Let the frogs out of the box. Taking charge of your health, wellness and well-being is a lifestyle choice.  Once you’re motivated, and determined to follow that motivation through, you’re not going to go back in that box. Obstacles can't stop you, problems can't stop you, and most of all other people can't stop you. Only you can stop yourself—and wouldn’t you agree, that would be crazy?

What Each Choice Can Mean

In case you don’t already know, each of us makes about 200 food and beverage choices every day.  That’s a lot of choices—and an opportunity—to make those choices count. And, they will count. Dr. Steven Lamm, Internist with NYU School of Medicine and Contributing Editor of the Best Life Magazine, points out that the foods we choose to eat on a daily basis contribute 80 percent to whether we will develop diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

Whether you’re shopping for food, eating at home or eating out, what you choose to eat has the potential to lower healthcare costs. Fresh, home-cooked meals with plenty of natural ingredients, vegetables and fruits tells your family their health is important.

The next time you go to the grocery store, notice the aisles of chips, cookies, candy and soft drinks (including sports drinks loaded with sugar).  The frozen cases are filled with cakes, pies, cookie dough, ice cream, and more. Then there’s the check out with still more candy—right there within arm’s reach. It’s all there, spread throughout the store so you can’t miss it even if you try. 

Now, look at the aisles of packaged, processed, boxed, pre-prepared and ready-to-eat meals, with ingredients not many of us can pronounce. Too much sodium, too little nutrition.  Believe it, every choice you make, every dollar you spend sends a message about what is important to you. 

This might be a good time to give some real food for thought to making better  nutritional choices. Your own and your family’s health depends on each bite. Since they all add up anyway, why not make them count?

Are You a Prime Individual?

Answer this question, and you’ll know if you are indeed a prime individual, or if you’re headed in the right direction. Do you want to reach your full potential and gain control over your own achievements and success? If the answer is yes, then yes—you are a prime individual.

And now that you know this is who you are, it means you have decisions and choices to make. To be prime means you set your own goals and standards for your life. You know that the best way to make the world better is to make yourself better. You want to improve your life, and you work toward that improvement. You believe in your goals, and you know you won’t reach them without consideration, effort—and action.

So,  how does this relate to your personal wellness and well-being? Simply this—wellness goals are really no different from any other type of goal you may set for yourself. By identifying your own personal motivational triggers, whatever they may be for you, you can begin to make those lifestyle behavior choices that move you closer to your goals. By being honest with yourself, you can realistically consider what changes are possible within the context of your daily life—and challenge yourself to explore the almost endless opportunities you have to make those choices that are in your long-term self-interest.

Only you can decide if your health and wellness is worth the effort, and only you can make the effort required to achieve it. Your daily wellness behaviors have consequences. If you are a prime individual you understand the consequences and choose to make those choices that will lead you to reach your wellness and well-being goals.

Would you agree that these are indeed the same behavior lifestyle changes that change lives? Now, are you primed for success?