Health Doesn’t Just Happen

Health is something we all have. Each and every one of us has health. If you are alive, you have some degree of health. In fact, you were born with it. Everyone was given a clean slate to start life out and it was up to us to keep it or lose it.

The more stories I see about our nation’s health, the more I see that we are losing it. We are losing it rapidly, which brings me to the question: Are we even trying?
It would appear that most Americans have simply thrown in the towel and given up on their health. This just leads me to more questions:

What made them feel that there wasn’t any hope?
What made them think that they couldn’t live healthy?
What does it take for everyone to live healthy?

These questions are difficult to answer, but I feel like I see the answers to them every day. The answers may be difficult, but they are possible. In fact, they are only difficult at first. Once you are used to living this way, it becomes second nature and there is no problem sticking with it.

What makes people feel that there isn’t any hope of living healthy?
This question, as bleak as it sounds, is all too real. Many people have decided that health is not something that they can have. Many have given up on living a healthy lifestyle because they think it’s too hard, they don’t know what to do, or simply because they don’t think they are the “type of person” that can do it.

No matter what the reason, there is a huge problem arising from this mindset. The mindset is that they can’t do it, so why try? Why would they try if it’s not going to happen?

Every time we see one of the statistics about American obesity, it reminds people that they aren’t doing what they should be doing. Every time we share the guidelines on how much you should be exercising or what you should be eating regularly, people are reminded that they are not exercising enough and they are not eating the right foods. This is what makes people feel that there isn’t any hope. What happens when they see this? They just keep doing what they are doing because that’s what they know how to do.

What made people think they couldn’t live healthy?
This is a similar question t our first, but I want to clarify as I answer. The hopeless feeling people feel when they see that they are off track is painful. It is painful because it is often the first blow they receive when trying to get themselves going. Even if it is just a mental battle, it is difficult to overcome when you see how far you really have to go.

That is where the repeated blows come in. Every time you set out to do something, there will be some obstacles in your way. In health, there are many challenges that can be difficult to overcome. The more we try to overcome them without the proper support or without a clear game plan, it keeps getting harder and harder. Not only do we fall down on this path, but it gets more and more difficult to get backup as we see just how much further we really have to go in order to reach our goals.

When I mention goals, I am reminded of a bigger problem. In our society we are taught to set goals, but we are not taught how to set them. Everyone knows what a goal is and could tell you the reasons they are important. But very few are able to set them and reach them on a regular basis.

In health, the goal is simple, at least it seems that way. Be healthy seems to be what we all want to do. For some it’s to lose weight. For others it is quitting smoking. The point is, we have these broad, general goals that no one has any real way to measure. The more you try to reach these broken goals, the more you fail and the more difficult it gets to try again.

What does it take for everyone to live healthy?
This is not a difficult question. It feels like it may be a challenge to answer, given all problems we have with health, but it is not. Health is simple. Living healthy is nothing more than doing healthy things more than you do unhealthy things. It is difficult to do this when you think that you can’t. It is difficult to make changes when you don’t know how or feel that they are not possible for you to make.

That is the first change that has take place: We have to believe that we can do it. Health is within the reach of every person on the planet. No matter how long you have been telling yourself that you are stuck in a certain way, you can change. You can live healthy.

Believe
The next change that has to take place is the actual process of living healthy. It starts with habits. If you can develop healthy habits, you will live healthy. It doesn’t have to happen overnight, in fact, it rarely does.

Set Goals
This brings us to realistic goals. Set small goals and make small changes. As you take small steps, you will achieve small pieces of success. These pieces will help you get used to the habit of succeeding. Set goals as the actions you will take. The rest will take care of itself and you will keep doing it because it feels good. You have more energy and a sense of accomplishment, so there is no reason to go back to any other way of doing things.
Do it

The goals you set are your goals, which means two things:

1. You can do what you want and how you want to do it.
2. No one else can do it for you. Only you can make it happen

The best part about health is that we are in control. You can set goals and achieve whatever you want to. You can lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, eat vegetables and everything else that leads to good health. That is the good news.

The bad news (or we can call it the “real news”) is that if you don’t take action, nothing happens. Nothing changes if you don’t make it change. When it comes to health, nothing happens on its own. You have to do it. That means asking how things are prepared at restaurants if you are uncertain. It means shopping and cooking. It means planning ahead. It means setting time aside for yourself to get some exercise. It may even mean doing less of some things that you are comfortable with and more of some things that you are not as comfortable with.

No matter what your goals are, no matter where you are starting from or want to go, you have to be the one to do it. You have to put in the effort that it takes to live healthy. You have to make it happen. In other words, health doesn’t just happen.