Creating a Better, Younger, and Healthier You Starts Now!
By Dr. Tim Fargo, Chiropractor
Do you have a tape that runs on a loop in your head about losing weight, changing a bad habit, or improving yourself, but somehow you never seem to get around to doing anything about it? There are different approaches that one could take to such circumstances. One, and perhaps the most common, is to use that refrain as an excuse to invalidate or make less of yourself. “Oh, I just lack self-discipline”, or “I’m just lazy”, or “I’m not really that good a person, and I don’t deserve great things”. There are any number of permutations of these negative statements and conclusions. It is likely that none of these statements are true. If they have any truth at all, it is only because you have said and agreed with them; you have endowed them with power.
An alternative approach is to impassively acknowledge the existence of such thoughts and then make a decision. Most things in life issue from, or are significantly impacted by, the decisions that we make about ourselves and about life in general. While it is true that there are acts of God or nature, you still have the tremendous latitude to determine your destiny by simply making different decisions about your life. I am not saying that it is easy to change, but I am saying that it is possible. Sometimes, looking at the consequences of a failure to act and really confronting those consequences is enough to move you to action. Let’s hope, for example, that you do not have to develop emphysema or lung cancer in order to make a decision to quit smoking. Similarly, let’s also hope that you do not develop diabetes, heart disease, or any number of other afflictions before you are moved to change.
What I am telling you is that you can take this opportunity, Right Now, to change. You could, I suppose, overcomplicate it by doing some form of behavior modification wherein you reward yourself for doing or punish yourself for not doing, or some other variant, but such actions are generally ineffective without changing the fundamental beliefs that underlie behavior. Far better to simply make a decision, and perhaps re-make that decision every day, to be, or do, or have the things in life that will create a better present and a better future. Once a decision is made, it is usually the case that all manner of things will come to your aid in the accomplishment of that decision.
This is a rather long preamble to me simply telling you that now is the time to decide, even small things, about getting healthier. One bit of good news is that the body is preset to help you accomplish your health goals. It is easy to conclude, in the presence of declining health, that the body has somehow betrayed you. The truth is that the body, your body, is the pinnacle of evolution and is preset and programmed for survival and optimal function. What I mean is that it will always seek to do its very best. If you quit polluting it, feed it well, exercise it appropriately, and do things to enhance its function, it will readily respond and become healthier. One year from now, you will have a body that is, chronologically speaking, one year older. However, if you make the right decisions, and take the actions which spring from those decisions, and do so on a routine basis, then one year from now, despite having an older body, it will function and perform in every respect like the body and mind of a younger person.
With that being said, here are some decisions that you could make:
- I deserve to be healthy, and I am taking action every day to further that purpose.
- I am strong and vital and am doing things to become even stronger.
- I like doing things and making choices that result in me feeling better.
- I enjoy the challenge of getting healthier.
- The long-term rewards of making good health decisions are worth the minor discomfort.
- I am eating to live, rather than living to eat.
- I like healthy food because it makes me feel good.
- I like living more than I like smoking, drinking, taking drugs, or whatever your vice is.
- I have the strength and self-discipline to stick to my decisions.
Obviously, you have to make your own decisions and then, of course, you have to back up those decisions with some tangible action. It might be helpful to consciously remind yourself of what you have decided every day when you get up. To summarize, what I’m telling you is that you have an almost unlimited capacity to improve and become healthier. To begin that journey you need to use your most potent weapon, your mind. You make a decision, and then you back it up every day.
Yes, I know this was not the lightest of fare for a blog, but today is not the lightest of days. It is the anniversary of the death of some very important people in my life, and it reminds me that we have to decide to live, and how to live, each and every day. It also brings home the importance of appreciating the time we have with each other. I appreciate you.
