How do you see your health in 5, 10 or 20 years from now? Do you expect to live a long and productive life, or do you anticipate becoming inactive, sick and bedridden well before you actually die? Its not a pointless exercise to ponder this – because the actions you take today will create the future you – vibrantly healthy or hopelessly ill.
What do people say to themselves that prevents them from taking action today? I’ll take you through some of the most popular rationalisations for poor health behaviour that I hear in clinical practice.
- “I don’t have time for exercise / preparing healthy food / relaxing” Here’s a thought provoking quote I read recently: “If you can’t make time for healthy eating and exercise, make time for illness, because it won’t be far off.” Remind yourself that expending energy on exercise will actually give you more energy and a sharper mind.
- “I’ll start in the new year / next Monday / when life slows down”. Alas, life tends to never slow down. And putting off establishing a better health habit until a magic date tends to just, well, put off the inevitable. Start today.
- “I missed training today, or goofed up with my diet, so I may as well give up on trying to be healthy” Unrealistic expectations about success trips up a lot of people. Expect to make mistakes. To have bad days. To forget training. But just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again. Start small, and be consistent, then build on it.
Although its not an excuse, there’s another factor that affects people’s health practices: Family and friends. Naturopaths ask you about your family medical history because there are genetic influences on the likelihood of you developing chronic diseases; but there are also family and social influences on your health behaviours. If you’re part of a sporty, healthy family, you’re more likely to be sporty and healthy yourself.
The best way to establish better health practices is to:
- start today
- start small, with one positive change (like taking time every day to exercise, without fail)
- set up reminders for yourself (electronic calendars are excellent for this)
- reward yourself. E.g you could mark on the calendar each day you’ve exercised, then at the end of each week buy yourself a special treat, like a CD you want.
How to you want to spend your time in the future? Enjoying the energy of vibrant good health, or spending your days in medical waiting rooms, hospitals, and missing out on life? The choice is yours – and the outcome will be all yours too.
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