Do more

We’ve covered the first 3 steps in the process of health. There is a fourth and final step that that needs to be done. This is a very important step. In fact, if this step isn’t taken, the rest of it just goes to waste.

Let’s go through all of the steps you took along the way to your successful routine:

Thinking

You sat down to think about what you wanted to do. You have thought about it long and hard and now have a good idea of what you want to do. When you started this process, there were many options, but you narrowed down based on what you thought would be most realistic.

Doing

Once you found the most realistic option and decided to go for it, you did just that. This is the step where your thoughts turned into action. You got out and started doing and this is what brought you the results you were looking for.
Adjusting

The action steps you took were good. You got started, saw some good results, but eventually things became more challenging. As you progressed, there were things that were more difficult. Maybe it was a schedule change. Maybe it was the season. Maybe it just got boring for you to do the same thing over and over again. Being able to adjust is what allowed you to overcome these difficulties and keep things going.

That is where the fourth and final step comes in. You have gone through the first three and now it is time for the all-important fourth step. What is this step? What makes it so important? I’m glad you asked. Let’s take a look!
Doing More

The fourth step in the process is a lot like the second. It involves action. When you were thinking about what you wanted to do, the only way to get it done was to take action. Now that you have adjusted to some of the challenges, you have do the same.

Action is always going to be the key to results. This step is about more action.
It is only natural to start doing your routine again after you adjust. At least it should be natural. It doesn’t always happen automatically. That is why I laid things out this way. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking too hard. Just like in the thinking step, adjusting takes thought.

It also takes a decision. Once you make that decision, you can begin doing again. Now you are back on track!
Why is this so important?

Well, it is easy to see why action is important. Without action, nothing happens. The fourth step is nothing more than re-entering the action or doing stage. As you do this, you will notice that things get easier again. It will always be like this right?

Wrong. I wish I could say that once you got started, there was never going to be another challenge. Unfortunately, in any area of life, we have to go through the process. We have to go through the whole process in order to succeed. If don’t, we are just stopping and deciding that nothing more will get done.

That is why I call it the fourth step. It may come at the end of the process and feel like it should be the last step, but it is not. Doing more is not the last step and should not be considered a final destination. As soon as things get difficult or you want to make a change for another reason, the process starts over again.

That’s right, the process of health is not a one-time thing. You have to go through it many times. In fact, it is constant. As soon as you are doing something that you thought about, you are in need of some adjustment. Once you have made that adjustment you can get back on track and do more. When you run into other reasons to change you have to adjust and do more continuously as you go.

Hopefully you don’t have to go all the way back to the thinking step. That would mean that you were unsure of what to do. That is the beauty of this process. Once you have thought about the options and start doing your routine, you don’t really have to go back. Sure, there can be some adjustment, but as soon as you adjust, you just start doing it again. No thought required.

Good luck in your own process. That is the key: It has to be your own! As soon as you have put in the thought, taken action and adjusted, you are ready for the fourth and most important step…doing more!

Adjust to Succeed

We’ve covered the first 2 steps in the process of health. Let’s recap quickly before we get into the third.

The first step is thinking:
You have to know what you want in order to accomplish any goal. You also have to know how to get there before you can get anywhere. It takes thought to get here. You need to take some time to think about your goals.

The second step is doing:
This is pretty self-explanatory. You have to do something to reach your goal. If you do nothing, you will accomplish nothing.
The third step is adjusting:

You have thought about what you wanted to do and how you would do it. You started doing it, so you are well on your way. That is it right? Not so fast. There is more to the process of health than that. What happens when you get a few weeks, months or years down the road? What happens when you get into the routine and you find things to be more challenging?

You have to be able to adjust. When you start on a new habit, things are rarely going to look the same day after day. We all know that life throws us curve balls and we have to be able to adjust in order to stick with our routines.

Many would argue that the hardest part about health is getting started. We’ve discussed the issues with people being able to start doing and the tendency to get stuck in the thinking step. Getting started is a challenge. Doing is a challenge.

There is another challenge that often gets overlooked. I believe that this challenge actually derails more people than just not being able to get started does. Many people have gotten started and even seen some success. Down the road, things change and now its hard to get back on track.

That is where the adjustment step comes in. In order to reach any goal, there is going to be a need for adjustment. If we didn’t need to adjust than everyone would be healthy. Everyone would be reaching every goal that they ever set. Do you know anyone that has never failed? Do you know anyone that has never had to adjust in order to accomplish something?

Adjustment is the key to success. It doesn’t matter how you start, as long as you finish strong. You can start strong, but if you can’t adjust than you will only succeed for so long. If you live in the real world, it may not be a very lengthy time period for you.

Without adjusting, we are simply doing the same thing over and over again. The definition of insanity is doing the same things expecting different results. Jumping into a routine and expecting that we won’t have to adjust is no different. When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle by sticking to goals, the only thing certain thing is uncertainty. If you are confident in your plan and have been doing it for a while, you can find yourself in a much better situation. When you get to a difficult point, you can simply adjust and be back on track.

Adjusting is like the tactics within the overall strategy. A strategy is only as good as your ability to apply and adjust the tactics. General Patton had a quote about this: “Good tactics can save even the worst strategy, but bad tactics can ruin even the best strategy.”

Think of your routine as a strategy. Think of what you do on a day to day basis as tactics. When you think about your routine and start doing these things you also have to take the outside circumstances into account. Just as General Patton had to adjust based on what worked or not. He had to change his approach depending on what his opponents did or didn’t do.

Just as your routine is your own, so are the adjustments. You have to make them based on what is happening now. No matter how well things went last week or last month, if things are different now, you have to adjust. If you don’t, then I guess this is as far as you can go.

I know that you didn’t set out to get halfway or to change a little. In health, we want it all. We all want to feel good every day. We want to be active and eat good foods and see all the benefits from these habits. Not every day is going to be perfect, but if we can stick to the plan, we can keep moving forward. What does it take to stick with the plan? It takes an adjustment. Minor or major, you have to be able to adjust in order to succeed.

What are you doing?

In a previous article, I asked the question: “What are you thinking?” When it comes to health, most of the time we are thinking too much and not getting anything done. We all want to be healthy, but how many of us are taking action and living as healthy as we want to be? That is why I think the more important question is: “What are you doing?” That is the next step in the process.

What is the process I am talking about? This is the process of health. As I illustrated in the article¸ “The Process of Health”, it takes more than just wanting to be healthier. Simply wishing to be healthier is not going to get it done. It sounds funny, but without realistic goals and a plan, we are wishing we were healthier.

What is the right plan? The plan has to be yours. No two people have the same plan, but there are some similarities in the structure. That is the process of health. If you use this process you will be able to see success on your journey toward healthier habits.

Thinking
Doing
Adjusting
Doing more

These four steps sound simple enough right? The trouble is not getting into one or another. The problem is getting from one to another. Often we get stuck in one stage and can’t get going on another. When this happens, we either stay put or quit. Staying put is
not going to get us anywhere and quitting is the definition of failure.

No one sets out to fail. We all want to succeed. In order to succeed, we need a plan and a process. This process works for everyone. No matter what your goals are, you need to have this in place in order to reach them.

Now that we have revisited the process, let’s take a look at the next step in it. Doing. We covered thinking and why it is not enough. Now let’s cover doing and why it is so important.

What is the first question you ask when starting something new? The first few questions should involve what you want to accomplish and what you will do to accomplish it. This takes some thought, which is why that is the first step in the process. If you jump into doing without thinking, you don’t know what you are doing. Without thinking, what are you going to do?

Hopefully that is something you’ve already decided on. As soon as you make that decision, you can start the next step: doing! What you do is what determines everything. Are you going to be successful? Are you going to make progress at all? It all depends on what you do.

If you don’t do anything, you know what will happen. Taking the time to think about what you want is a big step. That is how you determine the right action. Thinking doesn’t lead you to do nothing. Thinking leads you to action and now you can decide what that action should be. What should that action be? It all depends on your goals. No matter what your goals are, there are specific actions that will lead you to the desired results.

If you’re trying to lose weight, what are you going to do: Watching your portions is a good action. Exercising more is also a good action. We all know that without really thinking. The actions you take will be more accurate and successful if they fit your routine. More specifically, what do you need to do to watch your portions more consistently? What do you need to do in order to get more exercise?

It is these steps that are going to make the difference. You’ve thought about the ways you can be successful. Now you have to do them so that you can make it happen. Until you start doing something, you are not making any progress toward your goals. Until you start watching portions and exercising, the weight will not come off, no matter how badly you want it.

So, you’ve thought about what you want. What are you doing to get it?