I often refer to the quote by Lily Tomlin – “I always wanted to be someone; I just wish I’d been more precise.”
Many of us would like to change something in our wellness. Whether it be improvements in fitness, eating habits, weight control, stress management or other health behaviours, we know WHAT to do. But we don’t do it. Perhaps we need to focus on WHY we want the change.
In today’s society we are inundated with facts on what is good for us. What we should do, what we shouldn’t do (says who?). Learning how to change our own behaviour is not easy. We know we want to say, lose weight. We know we need to eat less or make better choices, so what do we do? Go on a crash diet, deprive ourselves with an eating plan that leads to low energy, demoralization, rapid weight loss and equally rapid weight regain. And we fail again, which reinforces our lack of belief in our ability to take control of our weight.
Rewind back a bit. In fact a long way. Before we begin any drastic action, it is a great idea to create a vision of where we would like to be if we were at “our best”. First, write down what that would look like. Then ask the deeper question, “Why is that important to me?” You will find that the answer to this question can be quite revealing and it will always be connected with something you value in life. It might be as simple as “good health”, or it could be, “to be a good role model for my kids”, or even “to walk the talk”.
