If you asked me what the ONE thing is that you can do to get moving towards being healthier the fastest…without getting stuck or staying stuck, it would be this:
In creating habits that support and grow your personal health and wellbeing it’s important to understand where you’re at in this process, and where you need some work. Then you can decide if you need to focus on internal, external, or both means of demonstrating personal power in being healthier, because creating new habits when you do not understand where you come from is always a bad idea in any format.
· Start from a place of honesty
· Assess your current situation
· Build a plan Bnest With Yourself
That's the most important thing. Figure out why you have difficulty in forming healthy habits. Conduct an audit of your most recent health behaviours.
This will require some time dedicated to this task so that you can focus on yourself for just a few minutes.
· What was my most recent opportunity to make a decision about my health?
· Did I make a decision using facts available to me and my personal skill set?
· Did I rely on someone else to make the decision for me?
· When was the last time I took time out for personal care or exercise?
· Do I ask for help when I need it?
· Do I have a routine that I can rely upon?
These are very simple questions to ask yourself, and it’s a quick assessment. This step of taking inventory of your most recent actions is one that you will want to learn to do and repeat periodically because it will help you fine tune future behaviours as you continually develop and grow your personal healthy habits. Your Current Situation
· Do you practice the same sort of advice you offer?
· How reliant are you on other people?
· How well do you demonstrate gratitude?
· How often do you exercise?
· When you are presented with a situation that influence your wellbeing, how often do you focus on the problem?
· How often do you focus on the next step in working on the solution?
· What are your long-term health goals?
· When you eat, are your choices healthy or convenient?
· How many times in the recent past, or in your past in general, have you talked yourself or someone else out of a goal that impact on health or wellbeing?
· Do you treat your body like it’s a holy temple, or a replaceable product?
Take a few moments for self-reflection and answer each question honestly. Each and every one of the components within the questions above aren’t just measures of your personal wellbeing. They’re external and internal components that you feel, as well as project outwardly to people around you. Find out what other people think about you in relation to some of these questions by asking them.
Use the answers you gave, or the answers others gave you, to know your existing strengths, to pin point where you fall short, miss the mark, or otherwise just need to develop a bit more.
Personal health and wellbeing is kind of like a knight’s sword. This is your personal weapon of choice in defending yourself. It’s a unit of measurement that we all feel when we weigh our self-worth. It’s a life skill that needs to be developed and sharpened over time, but also, it has to be maintained.
Whatever you choose as your first wellbeing goal to conquer, you should take consistent small steps towards it to achieve it. Why small steps? Because they are a proven way for you to succeed, and are not so overwhelming that you give up without ever really even getting started.
Small steps also help you build positive habits, routines, and schedules which is at the heart of wellbeing.
This post is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered therapy. This blog is only for informational and educational purposes and should not be considered therapy or any form of treatment. We are not able to respond to specific questions or comments about personal situations, appropriate diagnosis or treatment, or otherwise provide any clinical opinions. If you think you need immediate assistance, call your local doctor/psychologist or psychiatrist or the SADAG Mental Health Line on 011 234 4837. If necessary, please phone the Suicide Crisis Line on 0800 567 567 or sms 31393.