5 Rules For Living A Healthier Lifestyle
First things first. Happy New Year!!!
Every year, millions of New Year’s resolutions are made. A couple weeks later they’re mostly forgotten. Of course there is always the odd success story. This year, one of those success stories is going to be yours.
We usually resolve to do something like stop smoking, lose weight, exercise regularly … basically we resolve to build a better lifestyle. A healthier lifestyle. No matter what your resolution is, it’s important to look at the big picture. With a few basic tools … er, rules … you can go after your resolution and make it happen.
These are the five rules for living a healthier lifestyle:
- Make conscious decisions. All habits including the bad ones are things we do automatically. Unconsciously. It’s important to make a conscious decision if you want to create change. Write down your resolutions, your goals, your dreams. Write them all down in a notebook. And then write them down again, maybe on a sticky note. Put those notes where you’re going to see them when you need to see them most. Get a stickynote program for your computer. Part of making a strong resolution is to think about all the things you need to do to make it happen. Make a list of tasks and to-dos for each goal you’ve set for yourself.
- Moderate. Even good things are bad for you if you overdo them. Fresh fruit is good for you - but if that’s all you ate, your body wouldn’t get the other essential things it needs like protein. And if you ate fifty pounds of fresh fruit every day … that’s a lot of sugar, which fruit contains naturally. A great cornerstone of good health is balance and diversity. Change your workout schedule once in a while. Try different exercises that will affect your muscles in different ways. Moderation in everything ensures that you limit the bad stuff, create a diverse mix of good stuff, and you never hit a wall and give up completely.
- Replace bad things with good things. It’s difficult to make any progress running away from something. You’re always looking over your shoulder, and in a way, you’re still concentrating your attention on that thing you’re trying to escape. Run to things. Good things. Psychology tells us that we fill emotional holes with food or excessive alcohol consumption. We fill them with garbage which creates a cycle that’s hard to get out of. Fill your empty spaces with good things. Lots of different and good things (remember moderation?). When you run to something, that’s what you’re focused on.
- Fuel up. Move. Rest. One of these things or two of these things … is one or two things too little. Your body needs a well balanced mix of fuel, work and rest to be at it’s fittest. Make conscious decisions to get all three. Moderate each of these things to get balance. Replace the bad things (like fatty fuel) with good things. Your body is the vehicle that takes you where you want to go and you only get one. Take care of it, and it will always get you to where you want to go. When you have the strength and energy to tackle your family or career goals, you will succeed.
- Have fun. Don’t sweat the small stuff. If you’re not enjoying what you do, you won’t do it for very long. Make it fun. Make it enjoyable. Make your resolutions and goals into things that you want to do. This is how you replace bad habits with good habits effectively. It’s all about lifestyle. You don’t want to lose fifty pounds … you want to learn how to make the best chicken caesar salad on the planet and then go for a stroll along the beach with your friends so you can talk about how you’re going to take over the world.
