More Strategies for Heart Healthy Living
Are we destined to fail when it comes to big changes?
It is a well-known statistic that change initiatives fail 70% of the time.
If this is also the case in trying to reach a healthier lifestyle, what options exist in changing the rules of behavior and nurturing better results?
Your physician can preach the good word, and even provide you with great resources, but what really creates a better platform for change?
It may come across as a cliché, but it starts with belief.
Do you believe that you can live a healthier lifestyle? Secondly, have you adopted a set of values in line with that belief. And lastly, will your change initiative find a natural fit within this set of values?
We often think we can outsmart our own brains. And if we have done nothing to prepare for a more active lifestyle, then the 5 am morning run likely won’t stick.
The carrot and celery snacks won’t be a hit if eating raw vegetables is not something you particularly enjoy.
Holding back from that delicious burger on the menu will not fly if you still find it necessary to hang out at Smokey Joe’s Burger Palace.
It’s a strong belief in a healthier lifestyle that will help in recreating some of the norms in your daily routine. If you learn (and adopt the mindset) that “healthy” people try to keep to a more healthier sleep schedule, incorporate more vegetables in their diet, and avoid greasy spoon restaurants, then, and only then, it will get easier.
You’ll find the motivation for that early morning run, and to have more vegetable snacks during the day. And that burger urge will be a thing of the past once you’ve discovered the poke bar instead of the diner!
This tendency of jumping to an action plan without setting forth any prerequisites is commonplace in society. How often have you splurged on a new technical gadget without first making room for how it would really play a role in your life?
And three months later it sits on your shelf.
How often have you purchased a self-help book only to realize the same shortcomings that prompted you to buy the book are now the ones preventing you from reading it.
Why does this matter so much?
Because having a plan is everything.
For example, taking the first (baby) steps and staggering your wake times to work up to 5am will likely net better results than immediately trying to rise at that hour.
While the 70% fail rate may apply to the actual intended change initiative, it doesn’t apply to those smaller changes that may be all that’s needed to prime you for the “big event.”
Start today! Think about those conditions that will set you on the path to being healthy and I guarantee you will see a 70% success rate in any change you choose to make.
