One Way to Get Healthy
Me. Third Grade. 2nd row. 1st one.
September is here. Seems crazy soon. But my son explained, time goes much faster for a 45-year-old like me, because this year is 1/45th of my life. For him, this year is 1/15th of his life. One of the things he learned at school. You know, that place that means one thing - summer is over. Whether you have a child starting school this September or not, your inner child always knows autumn is the season to begin again. Start afresh. Get back on track. Set your goals.
Setting goals is standard practice when you set out to achieve. Write my book by May. Lose five pounds by end of the month. Hold a handstand for 10 seconds by end of year. After setting countless goals for myself and my clients, I've decided to be done with them. Goals are destination focused. Head-down, task-oriented illusions. Distracted, defeated, disappointed or wanting more is usually where I end up.
Instead, I decided to set my priorities - those things I want to focus on. Simply, identify what's most meaningful to me and drive my energy and time in that direction. It's like setting an intention in yoga. Staying focused helps me pluck myself out of a time-suck situation or simply plan my day. It's like Waze for life. Staying focused, I auto-reroute myself if I take a side road. It's a journey-focused practice, one that steers my days with intention, rather than create an illusion of success by ticking tasks off my to-do list. It allows me to ease up on myself and fosters a kinder, gentler way to be. Honoring my intention results in sustainable contentment versus the fleeting joy of meeting a goal and then needing a new one.
As a health coach, I know getting healthier can seem daunting. If you're like most, you believe you'll finally feel healthy when you reach your weight goal. But, after a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and beating ourselves up, most of us know that's not the case.
Healthy is a state - not a weight! To end the weight-goal war with yourself, simply, stop weighing yourself - or hop on just once a week if you really need to know. Then, set your wellness intention on shifting just one thing. To make it easy, I made you a list. Pick only one...
Drink more water - aim for half your body weight in ounces a day (capped at 100 oz).
Eat a protein-rich breakfast within 30 minutes of waking.
Meditate for 5 minutes daily.
Eat more colorful vegetables.
Don't eat anything from a package.
Exercise for at least 25 minutes a day.
Close your kitchen by 7PM.
Turn off electronics by 8PM.
Go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Got one? Good. Try shifting this one thing for a week and watch carefully as your wellness journey begins to move in the right direction. Think of this stage like getting your driver's permit, but without the (creepy) driver's ed teacher to pull the break. It's the first leg in setting your wellness journey in motion. As you gather momentum, staying focused will ultimately steer you where you want to go. Enjoy the ride...
If you're interested in learning more about how to drive your wellness journey in the direction you want to go, consider joining my Online 7-Day Group Detox. It's a whole-life detox where you'll learn more tools to stay connected to what you truly want. Local? Then, join me at one of my upcoming Yoga+Talk for Whole-Life Wellness workshops and group wellness journeys.
With much gratitude and heart-felt intention...
Pam
