We talk about freedom a lot in our country. We all have it because of some fed-up colonists and many brave soldiers that have fought for us over the years. We use it to pursue dreams and live the lives we want to live.
But, are we really using it to live the lives we want to live? I ask that question, not to point a finger and anyone’s lifestyle or say that they are not living the way they should. I have no agenda when it comes to what you do for a living, where you spend your time or what you believe in. I think this country is great because of our differences. I think we were built on this principle and as long as we can learn from each other, we will use these differences to continue our journey.
Journeys are something that fascinate our society. We like stories about them and we use them in analogies with sports teams, education and of course in business. Journeys are something that take a long time. They take perseverance. They take guts. We admire those that take journeys. We admire those that make them successfully.
But, what defines success on a journey? Is it arriving at our desired destination? Is it how quickly we get to that destination? Is it how well we navigate the trail? There are countless ways to measure success in any area and a journey is no different.
We are all on a journey today. We each have all been on at least one journey since we were born. Many months and even years of the journey are not even something we remember. We just started doing what we do and pretty soon we started to realize what we were good at, not so good at and what we liked and didn’t like. As we got more and more comfortable with all of these realizations, we started to choose other journeys.
The journey that I talk about the most is health. It is what I do and what my company does, so clearly I have been in a conversation or two with people talking about their health journey. This journey is different for everyone. We all have goals and we all have challenges, but no one is on the same journey. It’s just like taking a trip. You may be going to the same place, but you are taking different roads to get there. Even if you are on the same road, we are all in different cars and have our own experiences along the way.
These experiences remind me of the summer road trip. Many of us are getting in cars and heading to places unknown over the summer. In fact, the 4th of July ties all of these themes together. It’s the birthday of our country, which gives us an opportunity to celebrate our freedom. It is a time when many venture out to see family and friends or simply to get out for a quick break over a long weekend.
This summer, we are all free to do what we want. We can go anywhere and do anything. That is why I ask the question: Are we really using it to live the lives we want to live? Ask yourself: Am I really living the life I want to live? When it comes to your freedom, are you using it? How independent are you?
This may sound like a malicious and pointed question, but I ask because it is important to ask. If we don’t ask questions, we don’t really measure and assess ourselves. What was true about our journey years ago, may or may not be true today.
Let’s take food for example: How much independence do you have when it comes to your food? Do you know what is in it or where does it come from? Even if you can answer that or simply don’t care, can you answer the question that we all need to start asking: did I choose to eat this because I like it or because it was easy?
Many times per day, people through their independence out the window when they shuffle to the counter or roll through the drive-thru. Even at the grocery store, we buy what is on sale or what catches our attention with signage and packaging. Or we simply buy what is easy to prepare.
No matter what “decisions” we make from day to day, we are choosing not based on what we want, but on what we think is easy or what someone is telling us to choose. We are convinced on a daily basis to eat, drink and buy. We do not choose, we are told or coerced.
I’m not attacking food companies, restaurants or even the people that fall into this trap every day. I too enjoy convenience. I do things that make my life easier every day. I also enjoy business and being successful. I do things every day that help my business grow and progress. That isn’t the problem.
A large part of America’s glory is our economic prowess and the ability of people to start and grow successful businesses into national and even global powerhouses in all industries, some even creating their own industries and inspiring a whole new generation of businesses to follow.
Clearly I’m not suggesting that business or food is the problem. The problem is us. We are choosing not to choose. We are dependent on what is put in front of us. We are relying on the companies that make more money when we eat more.
This summer, do me a favor and think about that for a minute. Ask yourself some key questions and think about how you answer them. When you look at the contents of your grocery cart, ask yourself why those items are there. When you find yourself eating lunch, ask yourself why you are eating what you are eating. Did you choose these things because you like the, or did you choose them because they were easy? The most important question you can ask is: Are you making independent choices or simply letting others tell you what to eat?
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Don’t Quit Your Day
It doesn’t take long for a problem to become clear to most people. When a problem arises, it is usually obvious. You can look at a situation and know very quickly that there is something wrong. When that something starts, there is usually no denying that it is there.
Finding a problem is not hard. In fact, we often find more problems than we need to. This is true in all areas of life and it is most certainly true in health. We can find problems day and night in any activity that we are trying to do. Think about a typical day and ask yourself:
How many things could’ve gone better today?
Or
What did I see that I didn’t like?
Or
What happened today that frustrated me, made me angry or embarrassed?
Even these three questions could lead to a list of things on a normal day. We find little things in everyday life that add up and drive us crazy if we don’t manage them. Luckily, we usually get over these things pretty quickly. The little annoyances stay little and we move on. The next little thing that happens is usually associated with the last thing, so there isn’t much of a cumulative affect.
In health, there is a different story. Health is all about the little things. We try to make it about big things like diet and exercise, but it is really about the little things. Health is nothing more than a series of habits. The degree that your health is relates to the habits that you apply on a day to day basis.
When we go about your day and apply these habits, we run into roadblocks and get stuck. We get thrown off track. We don’t keep going because we get frustrated and feel like we can’t make it where we want to go.
As we get deeper into this, it is alreadysounding more and more ridiculous. I am picturing some hilarious situations where people are doing day to day activities, but getting thrown off by typical little things. What if instead of shaking it off and pushing through, they just gave up. What would that look like? What would it look like if…
- Someone walking through the airport got bumped into by another person causing them to drop their bag. The bag is heavy, so it takes some effort to pick up. “Too much effort, I guess I’ll just leave it here.”
- A person driving to work and encountering a traffic delay. They are going to be late for work, so rather than going in late, they get so frustrated that they decide not to go at all. “I can’t make it on time, so I just won’t go.”
- Another person goes to the shower and stubs their toe on the way in. This has happened before and it drives them crazy. It is frustrating and annoying and it hurts. For those reasons, they don’t want to go through this anymore, so they stop going into the shower. “I don’t want to stub my toe, so I won’t go in there anymore.”
These are just three scenarios that come to mind when I think about letting little things get to us. Sure, we complain about the day to day annoyances. Sure we get frustrated. We may even do silly things out of anger. We may let things bother us enough to feel like we are having a bad day. But we never quit. We never quit the day, just because it gets tough.
Why do we quit health? We know that we are going to do certain things during our day. We are going to work, school or events that we have on our calendars. We will be where we need to be for who we need to be there for. We will do everything that is asked of us, day in and day out. Even when things get challenging, we will find a way to keep going.
That is how important our day is. That is our life. All we have is each day. We are on a mission each day to accomplish our tasks and we take great pride in that. The key to health is making sure that it is part of the day. If you quit on a health goal, you are quitting on part of your day. We know what would happen if we quit on all or even part of a day’s tasks. On most days, we would run into serious trouble.
We know that isn’t an option, so we don’t do it. We just need to make health part of that list of “must-do” activities. We have to make health part of the day. We have to make it part of the day so we can’t skip it, pass it by or quit it. Don’t quit on your health by quitting on your day.
Finding a problem is not hard. In fact, we often find more problems than we need to. This is true in all areas of life and it is most certainly true in health. We can find problems day and night in any activity that we are trying to do. Think about a typical day and ask yourself:
How many things could’ve gone better today?
Or
What did I see that I didn’t like?
Or
What happened today that frustrated me, made me angry or embarrassed?
Even these three questions could lead to a list of things on a normal day. We find little things in everyday life that add up and drive us crazy if we don’t manage them. Luckily, we usually get over these things pretty quickly. The little annoyances stay little and we move on. The next little thing that happens is usually associated with the last thing, so there isn’t much of a cumulative affect.
In health, there is a different story. Health is all about the little things. We try to make it about big things like diet and exercise, but it is really about the little things. Health is nothing more than a series of habits. The degree that your health is relates to the habits that you apply on a day to day basis.
When we go about your day and apply these habits, we run into roadblocks and get stuck. We get thrown off track. We don’t keep going because we get frustrated and feel like we can’t make it where we want to go.
As we get deeper into this, it is alreadysounding more and more ridiculous. I am picturing some hilarious situations where people are doing day to day activities, but getting thrown off by typical little things. What if instead of shaking it off and pushing through, they just gave up. What would that look like? What would it look like if…
- Someone walking through the airport got bumped into by another person causing them to drop their bag. The bag is heavy, so it takes some effort to pick up. “Too much effort, I guess I’ll just leave it here.”
- A person driving to work and encountering a traffic delay. They are going to be late for work, so rather than going in late, they get so frustrated that they decide not to go at all. “I can’t make it on time, so I just won’t go.”
- Another person goes to the shower and stubs their toe on the way in. This has happened before and it drives them crazy. It is frustrating and annoying and it hurts. For those reasons, they don’t want to go through this anymore, so they stop going into the shower. “I don’t want to stub my toe, so I won’t go in there anymore.”
These are just three scenarios that come to mind when I think about letting little things get to us. Sure, we complain about the day to day annoyances. Sure we get frustrated. We may even do silly things out of anger. We may let things bother us enough to feel like we are having a bad day. But we never quit. We never quit the day, just because it gets tough.
Why do we quit health? We know that we are going to do certain things during our day. We are going to work, school or events that we have on our calendars. We will be where we need to be for who we need to be there for. We will do everything that is asked of us, day in and day out. Even when things get challenging, we will find a way to keep going.
That is how important our day is. That is our life. All we have is each day. We are on a mission each day to accomplish our tasks and we take great pride in that. The key to health is making sure that it is part of the day. If you quit on a health goal, you are quitting on part of your day. We know what would happen if we quit on all or even part of a day’s tasks. On most days, we would run into serious trouble.
We know that isn’t an option, so we don’t do it. We just need to make health part of that list of “must-do” activities. We have to make health part of the day. We have to make it part of the day so we can’t skip it, pass it by or quit it. Don’t quit on your health by quitting on your day.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Want to Live Healthy: Get Real
Health is a very important part of our lives. We think about it, talk about it and try to improve it every day. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t focus on our health at some point. Unfortunately, for many, this focus involves worry and doubt. For many people, health is something that they are seeing as a problem and an area they need to improve.
I don’t disagree with that. I talk to people every day that are in poor health. I see articles that illustrate our growing health epidemic. I talk to colleagues and clients daily and they are all hearing the same things from clients and employees. The fact remains: health is a problem for most people.
In this day and age, with all of the technology and education we have at our finger tips, it has never been easier to live healthy. Wait, did I say that correctly? It is never been easier? Well, that depends on how you look at health. In the old days, we didn’t focus on health, we just did what we thought was normal and it turns out that it worked pretty well. We lived good lives and stayed in good health right up until the end.
There wasn’t much education involved. Doctors were learning and sharing as they went patient by patient. People were starting to figure out what they liked and didn’t like in their own lives. Technology was starting to become a bigger part of medicine. Over the last few centuries, we have taken leap after leap forward in technology. Our life expectancy has jumped and the ways we can be treated and aided have continued to multiply rapidly.
This would make health easier, right? We have more technology to help us and we have more knowledge at our finger tips than ever before. We should all be living healthy and it should be pretty easy for us, right?
Wrong. Living healthy is not easy. It should be, but it is not. Why are we having such a hard time with it lately? There are many reasons that people are not as healthy as they should be. A better way of looking at it is: people aren’t as healthy as they WANT to be. That is the reality of the situation and that is what leads us to the biggest problem we have.
What is our biggest problem? We don’t want real solutions. We want the quick fix and instant gratification. We want results without effort. We want change to happen to us without actually making any changes in our lives. This is our big problem and it is not going away without some major changes.
There is only one way to solve this problem: Get Real.
We have to get real. We have to realize that change is something only we can do. No one can do it for you and if you don’t do it, no one can and no one else will. If we don’t realize this, we are going to keep going down the same path.
Based on conversation and our basic wants and needs, this path is not a path that anyone would choose, yet many of us are choosing it daily. When you ask someone the question: “Do you want to be healthy?” The answer is ALWAYS yes. There is not a person on this earth that would choose to be unhealthy if given the option. The strange part about this is that people are choosing to live unhealthy. They are choosing these health problems and choosing to go the wrong direction despite their desire to be healthy.
This sounds sick doesn’t it? It sounds like people are insane. It sounds like people are dumb and don’t understand. People are not dumb or insane. They are smart (for the most part) and know what they want. The problem is not their intelligence, sanity or education. Their problem is reality. They are living in one and trying to be healthy in another.
That is what we need to fix. Health needs to be a part of everyday life. If health is a part of real life, we can make real changes and see real results. That is the only way people are going to be able to do it. You have to find real solutions that work for you on a day to day basis in order to live healthy. You have to apply these solutions daily by breaking them down into simple steps. These simple steps will bring you real results.
Living healthy is not something that only some can do. It is something that we are all capable of. The results are real as long as the actions are too. In other words, in order to live healthy, you have to get real.
I don’t disagree with that. I talk to people every day that are in poor health. I see articles that illustrate our growing health epidemic. I talk to colleagues and clients daily and they are all hearing the same things from clients and employees. The fact remains: health is a problem for most people.
In this day and age, with all of the technology and education we have at our finger tips, it has never been easier to live healthy. Wait, did I say that correctly? It is never been easier? Well, that depends on how you look at health. In the old days, we didn’t focus on health, we just did what we thought was normal and it turns out that it worked pretty well. We lived good lives and stayed in good health right up until the end.
There wasn’t much education involved. Doctors were learning and sharing as they went patient by patient. People were starting to figure out what they liked and didn’t like in their own lives. Technology was starting to become a bigger part of medicine. Over the last few centuries, we have taken leap after leap forward in technology. Our life expectancy has jumped and the ways we can be treated and aided have continued to multiply rapidly.
This would make health easier, right? We have more technology to help us and we have more knowledge at our finger tips than ever before. We should all be living healthy and it should be pretty easy for us, right?
Wrong. Living healthy is not easy. It should be, but it is not. Why are we having such a hard time with it lately? There are many reasons that people are not as healthy as they should be. A better way of looking at it is: people aren’t as healthy as they WANT to be. That is the reality of the situation and that is what leads us to the biggest problem we have.
What is our biggest problem? We don’t want real solutions. We want the quick fix and instant gratification. We want results without effort. We want change to happen to us without actually making any changes in our lives. This is our big problem and it is not going away without some major changes.
There is only one way to solve this problem: Get Real.
We have to get real. We have to realize that change is something only we can do. No one can do it for you and if you don’t do it, no one can and no one else will. If we don’t realize this, we are going to keep going down the same path.
Based on conversation and our basic wants and needs, this path is not a path that anyone would choose, yet many of us are choosing it daily. When you ask someone the question: “Do you want to be healthy?” The answer is ALWAYS yes. There is not a person on this earth that would choose to be unhealthy if given the option. The strange part about this is that people are choosing to live unhealthy. They are choosing these health problems and choosing to go the wrong direction despite their desire to be healthy.
This sounds sick doesn’t it? It sounds like people are insane. It sounds like people are dumb and don’t understand. People are not dumb or insane. They are smart (for the most part) and know what they want. The problem is not their intelligence, sanity or education. Their problem is reality. They are living in one and trying to be healthy in another.
That is what we need to fix. Health needs to be a part of everyday life. If health is a part of real life, we can make real changes and see real results. That is the only way people are going to be able to do it. You have to find real solutions that work for you on a day to day basis in order to live healthy. You have to apply these solutions daily by breaking them down into simple steps. These simple steps will bring you real results.
Living healthy is not something that only some can do. It is something that we are all capable of. The results are real as long as the actions are too. In other words, in order to live healthy, you have to get real.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Change Your Actions, Change Results
Change is part of our lives. It always has been and always will be. The only thing that is certain in this life is that things will change. Health is not only changing, but it requires us to change in order to keep it, improve it or simply understand how it is affecting our lives.
No matter how healthy or unhealthy your lifestyle is today, you have experienced change in your routine. It may be on the job, at school, at home, with friends or all of the above. At some point, you had to make changes in order to keep doing things you wanted to do. Change, while it can be painful, is not difficult to acknowledge or understand.
Although we have understood the presence of change, I’m not sure that everyone has truly accepted the fact that they need to change in order to keep moving in the desired direction. Change in health is simple: it is simple: you have a path that you want to go down. As you move down this path, challenges come your way that require you to adjust in order to keep going down that path. If you don’t adjust, you won’t be able to continue. It is like a personal road block. If something is in your way, you have to change course in order to get around that obstacle.
What if we don’t change?
What happens if we choose not to adjust our course? That’s simple. If you are on a road driving and there is a fallen tree blocking the way, you have to make a choice. You can change and go another way, or you can sit and wait for someone to move the fallen tree. You still have two choices, but one is far more reasonable than the other. I don’t know too many people that would sit and wait for someone to move the tree.
Let’s think about it from a personal perspective. If your family is running into a scheduling conflict and there seems to be no way to get one event or another, you have a simple choice to make. You can adjust your schedule and change how your time is allocated, or you can keep doing it the same way and hope the situation magically resolves itself. This sounds a lot like the fallen tree, doesn’t it? If you are waiting for something to magically happen that will change the results, you will be waiting around for a long time and may never see a solution.
How do we change?
Change is a scary word to many people. In fact, many people will continue do things that are clearly not working for them because the fear of change is greater than the problems they are dealing with now. For that reason, they are ok continuing to deal with more and more problems because that feels easier than changing. After a while, they get used to doing things this way, used to dealing with problems and results that are less-than desirable. It eventually feels like there is no alternative.
Let’s be clear: There is always an alternative. There is always something you can do to make your life better. No matter how long you have been doing something, you can always change. No matter how much time you have invested in a process, you can always make it better. When you do, you will see better results.
There is one thing required for solutions to work in your routine. Action needs to be taken. No matter how badly you want that schedule to work out for you and your family, if you don’t change something, you will keep into conflicts. No matter how badly you want to that tree to be out of your way, unless you are willing to act and change course, it will remain in front of you, blocking your way.
What do we need to change?
In order to change, you need to take action. In many cases, it is easy to see that a person is not doing anything to counteract a problem, but in just as many cases there is something being done, action being taken that is actually causing the problem. Either way, you have problems if this is taking place. Doing nothing and doing things that harm your health are equal and often difficult to distinguish.
That is why the key to change is action. Not only do you need to take action, but you need to focus your action on the results you want. There are certain results you are looking for in all areas. If these results are not seen, what happens? Do you simply keep trying to do the same things and expect different results? Do you do nothing and assume that the problem can’t be solved forgo those results?
I hope you don’t do any of the above. I hope you would look at current results, realize that they weren’t the desired results and change action to get different results. That is what successful people do. They change their actions to change their results.
What does this have to do with your health?
Personal health and wellness is change. When you look at your current routine, if you are not as healthy as you want to be, you have likely been out of the habit of doing healthy things or in the habit of doing unhealthy things. The change you need here is simply to start making your actions help your health rather than hurt them. That is what healthy people do. It’s all about changing action to change results.
That is what it takes to change in any area of life. It may take time and it may take some investment, but the alternative is already happening and it is hurting you. Increasing weight and health issues are pretty big tree in the road. Poor energy and lost days are large conflicts in your schedule. So, what should you do?
I hope you will look at your current results, realize that they aren’t the desired results and change action to get different results. That is what successful people do in any area of life. They change their actions to change their results. Are you ready to be successful in health?
No matter how healthy or unhealthy your lifestyle is today, you have experienced change in your routine. It may be on the job, at school, at home, with friends or all of the above. At some point, you had to make changes in order to keep doing things you wanted to do. Change, while it can be painful, is not difficult to acknowledge or understand.
Although we have understood the presence of change, I’m not sure that everyone has truly accepted the fact that they need to change in order to keep moving in the desired direction. Change in health is simple: it is simple: you have a path that you want to go down. As you move down this path, challenges come your way that require you to adjust in order to keep going down that path. If you don’t adjust, you won’t be able to continue. It is like a personal road block. If something is in your way, you have to change course in order to get around that obstacle.
What if we don’t change?
What happens if we choose not to adjust our course? That’s simple. If you are on a road driving and there is a fallen tree blocking the way, you have to make a choice. You can change and go another way, or you can sit and wait for someone to move the fallen tree. You still have two choices, but one is far more reasonable than the other. I don’t know too many people that would sit and wait for someone to move the tree.
Let’s think about it from a personal perspective. If your family is running into a scheduling conflict and there seems to be no way to get one event or another, you have a simple choice to make. You can adjust your schedule and change how your time is allocated, or you can keep doing it the same way and hope the situation magically resolves itself. This sounds a lot like the fallen tree, doesn’t it? If you are waiting for something to magically happen that will change the results, you will be waiting around for a long time and may never see a solution.
How do we change?
Change is a scary word to many people. In fact, many people will continue do things that are clearly not working for them because the fear of change is greater than the problems they are dealing with now. For that reason, they are ok continuing to deal with more and more problems because that feels easier than changing. After a while, they get used to doing things this way, used to dealing with problems and results that are less-than desirable. It eventually feels like there is no alternative.
Let’s be clear: There is always an alternative. There is always something you can do to make your life better. No matter how long you have been doing something, you can always change. No matter how much time you have invested in a process, you can always make it better. When you do, you will see better results.
There is one thing required for solutions to work in your routine. Action needs to be taken. No matter how badly you want that schedule to work out for you and your family, if you don’t change something, you will keep into conflicts. No matter how badly you want to that tree to be out of your way, unless you are willing to act and change course, it will remain in front of you, blocking your way.
What do we need to change?
In order to change, you need to take action. In many cases, it is easy to see that a person is not doing anything to counteract a problem, but in just as many cases there is something being done, action being taken that is actually causing the problem. Either way, you have problems if this is taking place. Doing nothing and doing things that harm your health are equal and often difficult to distinguish.
That is why the key to change is action. Not only do you need to take action, but you need to focus your action on the results you want. There are certain results you are looking for in all areas. If these results are not seen, what happens? Do you simply keep trying to do the same things and expect different results? Do you do nothing and assume that the problem can’t be solved forgo those results?
I hope you don’t do any of the above. I hope you would look at current results, realize that they weren’t the desired results and change action to get different results. That is what successful people do. They change their actions to change their results.
What does this have to do with your health?
Personal health and wellness is change. When you look at your current routine, if you are not as healthy as you want to be, you have likely been out of the habit of doing healthy things or in the habit of doing unhealthy things. The change you need here is simply to start making your actions help your health rather than hurt them. That is what healthy people do. It’s all about changing action to change results.
That is what it takes to change in any area of life. It may take time and it may take some investment, but the alternative is already happening and it is hurting you. Increasing weight and health issues are pretty big tree in the road. Poor energy and lost days are large conflicts in your schedule. So, what should you do?
I hope you will look at your current results, realize that they aren’t the desired results and change action to get different results. That is what successful people do in any area of life. They change their actions to change their results. Are you ready to be successful in health?
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Every Win Counts
When it comes to sports, wins are the most important thing. There is nothing more important than winning. It’s great to think about sportsmanship and lessons learned as the season goes on, but let’s be honest, winning is the only thing that matters. At the highest levels of sports, winning is the only thing on the minds of players and coaches because their performance is judged solely on the total of wins each year.
Health is all about wins too. In sports, you can clearly define wins and losses. At the end of the game, one team has more points than the other, so it is not difficult to know who wins and who loses. Health is a little different. At the end of the day, you don’t really have a scoreboard to tell you if you won or lost the day. You don’t have a scoreboard to look at during the day to see if you are winning or losing at any point either.
The lack of a score can make health more challenging. It is hard enough to live healthy. We all know it is a challenge to eat well and make time for exercise. The lack of awareness of results can make it even more challenging. There are a number of questions that come to mind for most people as they try to make health part of their lives. Some of those questions include:
How do I know if I am winning?
What should I do to win more?
What will I do if and when I win?
Let’s address these questions and make sure that winning is not only understood, but part of your routine going forward. The first question is easier to answer than you think it is. Winning is not as complicated as we make it out to be. Winning is simple when it comes to health. The best way to answer the question is to look at it a little closer.
How do I know if I am winning?
You know if you are winning or not. When you look in the mirror and when you get on the scale, you know if you are winning. When you think about your energy level during a typical day, you know if you are winning or not. When you look at your schedule and compare how much time you want to be spending on yourself and your health, you know quite clearly if you are winning and you know quite clearly if you are not winning.
What should I do to win more?
This question is even simpler. When you look at your routine, it is easy to see what you are doing and what you are not doing. Sure, there are challenges to doing what we want to do each day. There are challenges to eating what we should, moving like we should and making time for ourselves. Winning itself is not easy. What is easy? It is easy to read the scoreboard. I know we talked about not having a daily scoreboard to judge winning or losing, but we can easily tell in long-term results or lack there-of.
What will I do if and when I win?
This is an important question that most people aren’t asking themselves. Celebrating wins is one of the most important things we can do to insure more of them. Not only is it good motivation to get your moving toward your goals, but it is also a good reminder of the joy that you feel when you get that win. When you express that joy and truly live in the moment of success, you can keep yourself focused on the win and set yourself up to get the next one.
The problem with health and winning is that the games we play are so small and often we don’t even realize where one ends and another begins. That is where the lack of scoreboard comes in. It’s not that we can’t tell if we are winning or losing, it is more about the fact that each game may be a minute step that we overlook during a busy day. During the course of a busy day, we may have hundreds of possible wins…and loses that we may or may not even think about. At the end of the day, we do not have a scoreboard or scorecard to tell us what wins we got or even what games we played.
Again, this makes things more challenging because of the lack of clarity. One thing is clear when it comes to your health: every win counts. During your day, you have hundreds of opportunities to win. You may not have the perfect diet or the perfect exercise routine or even the perfect schedule. Guess what, you don’t need any of these things. All you need to do is focus on the little wins. Big wins are nothing more than little wins added together.
When you see a team win an important game, they don’t win it with one play. They win it with a series of plays in a game-plan that is executed throughout the game. When you see a team that has a successful season, they don’t win the championship in one game. They win over the course of the entire season. Every win they get throughout the year adds up to determine their positioning at the end of the year. They don’t simply arrive in the championship game to get one win and take home all the glory.
In sports and in health, wins don’t come easy, but they all count. Every game you play during a season is important. In health, every game you play is important as well. You may think of that mid-morning snack as an afterthought, but it could mean the difference between a healthy snack and another junk-food binge that leaves you feeling like you lost the day.
It is important to focus on the big things, but the small things are equally if not more important to living healthy. The more you can do on a day to day basis for your health, the more wins you will get. Everything you do counts toward a win or a loss. Everything you do is important. Every win is important. If you want to live healthy, you have to realize one thing: Every win counts.
Health is all about wins too. In sports, you can clearly define wins and losses. At the end of the game, one team has more points than the other, so it is not difficult to know who wins and who loses. Health is a little different. At the end of the day, you don’t really have a scoreboard to tell you if you won or lost the day. You don’t have a scoreboard to look at during the day to see if you are winning or losing at any point either.
The lack of a score can make health more challenging. It is hard enough to live healthy. We all know it is a challenge to eat well and make time for exercise. The lack of awareness of results can make it even more challenging. There are a number of questions that come to mind for most people as they try to make health part of their lives. Some of those questions include:
How do I know if I am winning?
What should I do to win more?
What will I do if and when I win?
Let’s address these questions and make sure that winning is not only understood, but part of your routine going forward. The first question is easier to answer than you think it is. Winning is not as complicated as we make it out to be. Winning is simple when it comes to health. The best way to answer the question is to look at it a little closer.
How do I know if I am winning?
You know if you are winning or not. When you look in the mirror and when you get on the scale, you know if you are winning. When you think about your energy level during a typical day, you know if you are winning or not. When you look at your schedule and compare how much time you want to be spending on yourself and your health, you know quite clearly if you are winning and you know quite clearly if you are not winning.
What should I do to win more?
This question is even simpler. When you look at your routine, it is easy to see what you are doing and what you are not doing. Sure, there are challenges to doing what we want to do each day. There are challenges to eating what we should, moving like we should and making time for ourselves. Winning itself is not easy. What is easy? It is easy to read the scoreboard. I know we talked about not having a daily scoreboard to judge winning or losing, but we can easily tell in long-term results or lack there-of.
What will I do if and when I win?
This is an important question that most people aren’t asking themselves. Celebrating wins is one of the most important things we can do to insure more of them. Not only is it good motivation to get your moving toward your goals, but it is also a good reminder of the joy that you feel when you get that win. When you express that joy and truly live in the moment of success, you can keep yourself focused on the win and set yourself up to get the next one.
The problem with health and winning is that the games we play are so small and often we don’t even realize where one ends and another begins. That is where the lack of scoreboard comes in. It’s not that we can’t tell if we are winning or losing, it is more about the fact that each game may be a minute step that we overlook during a busy day. During the course of a busy day, we may have hundreds of possible wins…and loses that we may or may not even think about. At the end of the day, we do not have a scoreboard or scorecard to tell us what wins we got or even what games we played.
Again, this makes things more challenging because of the lack of clarity. One thing is clear when it comes to your health: every win counts. During your day, you have hundreds of opportunities to win. You may not have the perfect diet or the perfect exercise routine or even the perfect schedule. Guess what, you don’t need any of these things. All you need to do is focus on the little wins. Big wins are nothing more than little wins added together.
When you see a team win an important game, they don’t win it with one play. They win it with a series of plays in a game-plan that is executed throughout the game. When you see a team that has a successful season, they don’t win the championship in one game. They win over the course of the entire season. Every win they get throughout the year adds up to determine their positioning at the end of the year. They don’t simply arrive in the championship game to get one win and take home all the glory.
In sports and in health, wins don’t come easy, but they all count. Every game you play during a season is important. In health, every game you play is important as well. You may think of that mid-morning snack as an afterthought, but it could mean the difference between a healthy snack and another junk-food binge that leaves you feeling like you lost the day.
It is important to focus on the big things, but the small things are equally if not more important to living healthy. The more you can do on a day to day basis for your health, the more wins you will get. Everything you do counts toward a win or a loss. Everything you do is important. Every win is important. If you want to live healthy, you have to realize one thing: Every win counts.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Goals: Set and Let Your Habits Do the Rest
Setting goals is an important part of any part of our lives. If you want to accomplish something, you have to set goals and take steps toward them in order to be successful. That is the essence of goal-setting: taking measureable steps toward success. Taking steps toward success is more than just wanting to do something. When you set a goal it is turning an idea into action.
Goals are easy, staying aligned with the goals we set is where the challenge comes in. If the accomplishment of goals was as easy as setting them, we would all be wildly successful. Every New Year’s Resolution would come to be and we wouldn’t ever have to question it. The facts and our experience strongly show us that setting goals and accomplishing them are two very different steps in an important process.
So, what do we need to do to make accomplishing goals part of setting them? Well, once you are in the habit of setting realistic goals that work for you, it becomes that automatic. At least it feels automatic. Think about it this way:
When you get in the car and put on your seatbelt, you are doing so for a number of reasons:
1. Safety- you know that a seatbelt can mean the difference between safety and serious injury or even death if you don’t wear it.
2. Legal- you know that if you are pulled over and not wearing a seatbelt, you will be given a ticket for not obeying a basic traffic law.
These are the reasons you are using a seatbelt in your car. You do this every time you get in and drive anywhere. You do this each time, no matter where you are going and no matter how rushed you are. If you are taking a leisurely drive, you put your seatbelt on. If you are hustling to get to a meeting, you put your seatbelt on. You put your seatbelt on no matter what.
How did this become automatic? Wearing your seatbelt in the car became automatic because we know how important it is. We have two very clear motivators to keep us from neglecting this habit. Bodily harm is a good motivator and so are tickets and fines. These motivators are important and will keep us on track with our goals of not dying. They are helping us keep as much of our money as possible and keeping our driving record clean all at the same time.
The motivators behind goals are important to get you going and to help you start making changes to see the results you want. When you think about health, there are many motivators that become a factor to get us moving. Improved daily feeling, avoidance of long-term health issues, weight loss and other factors are enough to get and keep most of us setting and reaching goals to live healthier.
Motivators are important, but the biggest factor in our health is our habits. The habits of diet and exercise are what bring us the results we are looking for, or keep us from seeing them. If your habits are in line with your goals, you will see the results you want. If they are not, you will struggle and not see the results you want to see.
In other words, our habits are the most important factor in success. Remembering that success is nothing more than setting and reaching goals: our habits are what allow us to reach goals by making the actions part of our daily routine.
Often, the most influential things we do are things we no longer think about. When you put your seatbelt on, you don’t have to think about it. You do it every time, yet it doesn’t even enter your conscious thought most times because it has become so automatic. The motivators are there. You could recall in an instant WHY you are wearing your seatbelt, but you don’t have to think about it in order to do it.
That is what healthy living habits become for healthy people. You know WHY you are eating healthy foods and getting your exercise in each day. You know why you are doing this day in and day out, but you don’t have to think about it because you have set goals and made the action part of your daily routine.
It gets easy. It may be a challenge to get started, but trust me, the more you do something, the more you will be able to do it without it feeling difficult. The longer you do something, anything, the more natural it becomes. As it becomes more natural, you won’t be thinking so hard about the reasons you are doing it or the alternatives to doing it. You will just do it.
The best part about success is that you are reaching goals you wanted to reach. What is success? Success is when:
You set goals.
You are motivated to achieve your goals.
You develop habits that help you achieve your goals.
You achieve your goals.
The first step is to set your goals. If you set them, write them down and understand why you want to reach them, the habits that are necessary to reach them become clear and you can easily make them part of your routine.
As you do that and they become more and more natural for you, you will see success. Setting goals and keeping focus on the action is the best way to develop the habits you need to succeed. It is your habits that are going to help you reach your goals. So, if you want to be successful, set goals and let your habits do the rest.
Goals are easy, staying aligned with the goals we set is where the challenge comes in. If the accomplishment of goals was as easy as setting them, we would all be wildly successful. Every New Year’s Resolution would come to be and we wouldn’t ever have to question it. The facts and our experience strongly show us that setting goals and accomplishing them are two very different steps in an important process.
So, what do we need to do to make accomplishing goals part of setting them? Well, once you are in the habit of setting realistic goals that work for you, it becomes that automatic. At least it feels automatic. Think about it this way:
When you get in the car and put on your seatbelt, you are doing so for a number of reasons:
1. Safety- you know that a seatbelt can mean the difference between safety and serious injury or even death if you don’t wear it.
2. Legal- you know that if you are pulled over and not wearing a seatbelt, you will be given a ticket for not obeying a basic traffic law.
These are the reasons you are using a seatbelt in your car. You do this every time you get in and drive anywhere. You do this each time, no matter where you are going and no matter how rushed you are. If you are taking a leisurely drive, you put your seatbelt on. If you are hustling to get to a meeting, you put your seatbelt on. You put your seatbelt on no matter what.
How did this become automatic? Wearing your seatbelt in the car became automatic because we know how important it is. We have two very clear motivators to keep us from neglecting this habit. Bodily harm is a good motivator and so are tickets and fines. These motivators are important and will keep us on track with our goals of not dying. They are helping us keep as much of our money as possible and keeping our driving record clean all at the same time.
The motivators behind goals are important to get you going and to help you start making changes to see the results you want. When you think about health, there are many motivators that become a factor to get us moving. Improved daily feeling, avoidance of long-term health issues, weight loss and other factors are enough to get and keep most of us setting and reaching goals to live healthier.
Motivators are important, but the biggest factor in our health is our habits. The habits of diet and exercise are what bring us the results we are looking for, or keep us from seeing them. If your habits are in line with your goals, you will see the results you want. If they are not, you will struggle and not see the results you want to see.
In other words, our habits are the most important factor in success. Remembering that success is nothing more than setting and reaching goals: our habits are what allow us to reach goals by making the actions part of our daily routine.
Often, the most influential things we do are things we no longer think about. When you put your seatbelt on, you don’t have to think about it. You do it every time, yet it doesn’t even enter your conscious thought most times because it has become so automatic. The motivators are there. You could recall in an instant WHY you are wearing your seatbelt, but you don’t have to think about it in order to do it.
That is what healthy living habits become for healthy people. You know WHY you are eating healthy foods and getting your exercise in each day. You know why you are doing this day in and day out, but you don’t have to think about it because you have set goals and made the action part of your daily routine.
It gets easy. It may be a challenge to get started, but trust me, the more you do something, the more you will be able to do it without it feeling difficult. The longer you do something, anything, the more natural it becomes. As it becomes more natural, you won’t be thinking so hard about the reasons you are doing it or the alternatives to doing it. You will just do it.
The best part about success is that you are reaching goals you wanted to reach. What is success? Success is when:
You set goals.
You are motivated to achieve your goals.
You develop habits that help you achieve your goals.
You achieve your goals.
The first step is to set your goals. If you set them, write them down and understand why you want to reach them, the habits that are necessary to reach them become clear and you can easily make them part of your routine.
As you do that and they become more and more natural for you, you will see success. Setting goals and keeping focus on the action is the best way to develop the habits you need to succeed. It is your habits that are going to help you reach your goals. So, if you want to be successful, set goals and let your habits do the rest.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Your Health: Are You Playing to Win?
Winning and losing is clear and there is seldom confusion as to which side you are on. When you talk about a sporting event, the winning team is clear and the losing team is clear. In an individual competition, you know who wins and who loses. It is not difficult to understand who is on which side.
Health is something different. You are constantly playing, so there is winning every day and there is even losing every day. You can lose daily and still be healthy. As long as you are able to win more often then you lose, you are still able to live healthy. That is where the trick comes into play. You have to understand that in order to truly live healthy. Many people try to win all day, every day, but it doesn’t work. When it doesn’t work, they quit because they think they lost. That is where the real strategy begins.
Winning vs. Losing
Winning is easy. Winning is getting what you want and doing what you set out to do. Winning makes a day go smoothly. Winning brings you results you want. More accurately, winning is the result you want. You have to play to win in order to win. It sounds simple and even sarcastic, but it’s true. Winning is something we all want, but until we start playing to win and expecting to win, we don’t win and we will never win.
Losing on the other hand, is difficult. Losing is not getting what you want and not being able to do what you set out to do. Losing makes things rough and challenging. Losing doesn’t bring you the results you want and it means that you are getting results that you don’t want. Losing is what we dread and what we hope never happens, but it does happen. Once we realize that losing happens, we can get on with it and keep pushing forward.
Offense
In health, there is offense and defense. Just like a game, there are multiple parts in each game and you have to be able to focus on if you want to win. Just like sports, it is easy to focus on offense. The offensive part of the game is easy and fun. Some people think that exercise is like offense because they like it and it is easy. Others think diet is like offense because they are better at picking and choosing healthy foods. Whatever you think is easier in your healthy routine that is your offense.
Not only is it important to know that it is the side that is easier for you, but you also need to know how to use it to your advantage. When a team is better than another team, they are able to score more points and put themselves into a better position as the game goes on. The team is able to take advantage of each situation and build a lead to ensure that the other team can’t come back. Even if they score more as the game goes on, with a big enough lead, they won’t come back to win. The team that used their offense to build a big lead is able to hold on and win the game.
Defense
Defense is a very important part of any sport and it is certainly an important part of a healthy routine. Defense is not fun. Defense is not glamorous or pretty. Defense is gritty and takes hard work. Defense brings results because it helps you take care of important things. During a game, defense helps you keep the other team from winning. Defense allows you to establish a baseline and keep things close when the other team is on the move. If you can put a solid defensive strategy into place, you can ensure that it never gets too bad. You never get too far behind and are always able to come back when your offense is play again.
Health is really just a balance of offense and defense. If you can take advantage of opportunities to score more points and advance your offense, you can build a lead. If you can keep your defense strong and keep things under control, you can keep the game close until you are ready to go back on offense.
Putting it all together
In order to win in sports, you have to do both. You have to be able to play offense and defense at a high level. The better you are at each, the more likely you are to win each game you play. The same is true in health. You have to be able to manage both sides. The key to remember with health is that you are playing games all day every day. You are playing offense at breakfast, defense after and each time you are making an eating choice or exercising, you have the opportunity to build a lead or defend to prevent falling behind or to protect your lead.
Each day, you have the chance to win or to lose. You are making choices all day that determine whether you are going to win or lose. The choices are not always easy, but the results are clear. When you put in the effort to build you routine in all areas, you are playing to win. Wanting to win is great, but the action of putting your routine together is the key to actually getting there. Are you playing to win?
Health is something different. You are constantly playing, so there is winning every day and there is even losing every day. You can lose daily and still be healthy. As long as you are able to win more often then you lose, you are still able to live healthy. That is where the trick comes into play. You have to understand that in order to truly live healthy. Many people try to win all day, every day, but it doesn’t work. When it doesn’t work, they quit because they think they lost. That is where the real strategy begins.
Winning vs. Losing
Winning is easy. Winning is getting what you want and doing what you set out to do. Winning makes a day go smoothly. Winning brings you results you want. More accurately, winning is the result you want. You have to play to win in order to win. It sounds simple and even sarcastic, but it’s true. Winning is something we all want, but until we start playing to win and expecting to win, we don’t win and we will never win.
Losing on the other hand, is difficult. Losing is not getting what you want and not being able to do what you set out to do. Losing makes things rough and challenging. Losing doesn’t bring you the results you want and it means that you are getting results that you don’t want. Losing is what we dread and what we hope never happens, but it does happen. Once we realize that losing happens, we can get on with it and keep pushing forward.
Offense
In health, there is offense and defense. Just like a game, there are multiple parts in each game and you have to be able to focus on if you want to win. Just like sports, it is easy to focus on offense. The offensive part of the game is easy and fun. Some people think that exercise is like offense because they like it and it is easy. Others think diet is like offense because they are better at picking and choosing healthy foods. Whatever you think is easier in your healthy routine that is your offense.
Not only is it important to know that it is the side that is easier for you, but you also need to know how to use it to your advantage. When a team is better than another team, they are able to score more points and put themselves into a better position as the game goes on. The team is able to take advantage of each situation and build a lead to ensure that the other team can’t come back. Even if they score more as the game goes on, with a big enough lead, they won’t come back to win. The team that used their offense to build a big lead is able to hold on and win the game.
Defense
Defense is a very important part of any sport and it is certainly an important part of a healthy routine. Defense is not fun. Defense is not glamorous or pretty. Defense is gritty and takes hard work. Defense brings results because it helps you take care of important things. During a game, defense helps you keep the other team from winning. Defense allows you to establish a baseline and keep things close when the other team is on the move. If you can put a solid defensive strategy into place, you can ensure that it never gets too bad. You never get too far behind and are always able to come back when your offense is play again.
Health is really just a balance of offense and defense. If you can take advantage of opportunities to score more points and advance your offense, you can build a lead. If you can keep your defense strong and keep things under control, you can keep the game close until you are ready to go back on offense.
Putting it all together
In order to win in sports, you have to do both. You have to be able to play offense and defense at a high level. The better you are at each, the more likely you are to win each game you play. The same is true in health. You have to be able to manage both sides. The key to remember with health is that you are playing games all day every day. You are playing offense at breakfast, defense after and each time you are making an eating choice or exercising, you have the opportunity to build a lead or defend to prevent falling behind or to protect your lead.
Each day, you have the chance to win or to lose. You are making choices all day that determine whether you are going to win or lose. The choices are not always easy, but the results are clear. When you put in the effort to build you routine in all areas, you are playing to win. Wanting to win is great, but the action of putting your routine together is the key to actually getting there. Are you playing to win?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Healthy Eating for Healthy Living
When it comes to eating, there are many choices to be made. Every day, we have to decide what we want to eat and what we don’t want to eat. It’s not always easy to make the best choices. Factors like time, access and knowledge can make it even more difficult to make healthy choices on a day to day basis.
I have some good news: It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can make better choices no matter where you go. Whether you get food at the grocery store or you are at a restaurant, you can always choose something that is better than other options. You can also find options that are far worse. There are two keys to making these choices:
1. Know the difference between bad, better and best
2. Trusting yourself to make healthy choices even if you have to compromise
The first key: Know the difference between bad, better and best. Here are some examples of what you can choose and how these choices impact your day to day health:
Quarter Pounder w/ cheese
Calories: 510
Fat: 26 grams (Saturated fat: 12 grams)
Sodium: 1190 milligrams
Better- Roast Beef Sandwich
Calories: 350
Fat: 13 g (Saturated fat: 4.5 g)
Sodium: 960 mg
Best- Roast Beef Sandwich (homemade)
Calories: 225
Fat: 5 g (saturated fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 300 mg
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Calories: 430
Fat: 15 g (Saturated fat: 3 g)
Sodium: 1240 mg
Better- Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Calories: 300
Fat: 7 g (Saturated fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 740 mg
Best- Chicken Breast Sandwich (sliced/homemade)
Calories: 220
Fat: 2 g (saturated fat: less than 1 g)
Sodium: 260 mg
As you can see, the leaner the meat, the lower the calories and healthier the sandwich is for you. Making a sandwich at home is not only cheaper, but it is much healthier for you.
Other substitutes that can save you some calories:
No cheese: save 50-100 calories, No mayo: save 50-150 calories, No soda: save 150-500 calories!
Portion Control: take part of your food home or back to work. Even splitting a meal into smaller segments can give you a lower calorie total for each meal, but allow you to keep metabolism burning and keep hunger under control throughout the day.
The best options will always be found at the grocery store, but if you have to choose between bad and better, at least you will have some options. Try these tricks and see the benefits of eating healthier! And remember: You don’t have to be perfect to eat better.
I have some good news: It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can make better choices no matter where you go. Whether you get food at the grocery store or you are at a restaurant, you can always choose something that is better than other options. You can also find options that are far worse. There are two keys to making these choices:
1. Know the difference between bad, better and best
2. Trusting yourself to make healthy choices even if you have to compromise
The first key: Know the difference between bad, better and best. Here are some examples of what you can choose and how these choices impact your day to day health:
Quarter Pounder w/ cheese
Calories: 510
Fat: 26 grams (Saturated fat: 12 grams)
Sodium: 1190 milligrams
Better- Roast Beef Sandwich
Calories: 350
Fat: 13 g (Saturated fat: 4.5 g)
Sodium: 960 mg
Best- Roast Beef Sandwich (homemade)
Calories: 225
Fat: 5 g (saturated fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 300 mg
Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Calories: 430
Fat: 15 g (Saturated fat: 3 g)
Sodium: 1240 mg
Better- Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Calories: 300
Fat: 7 g (Saturated fat: 2 g)
Sodium: 740 mg
Best- Chicken Breast Sandwich (sliced/homemade)
Calories: 220
Fat: 2 g (saturated fat: less than 1 g)
Sodium: 260 mg
As you can see, the leaner the meat, the lower the calories and healthier the sandwich is for you. Making a sandwich at home is not only cheaper, but it is much healthier for you.
Other substitutes that can save you some calories:
No cheese: save 50-100 calories, No mayo: save 50-150 calories, No soda: save 150-500 calories!
Portion Control: take part of your food home or back to work. Even splitting a meal into smaller segments can give you a lower calorie total for each meal, but allow you to keep metabolism burning and keep hunger under control throughout the day.
The best options will always be found at the grocery store, but if you have to choose between bad and better, at least you will have some options. Try these tricks and see the benefits of eating healthier! And remember: You don’t have to be perfect to eat better.
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