What does your forever health look like?
You’ve joined the 28-day program and looking beyond that can be challenging at first but, sure enough, within the first week, everyone is starting to envisage a new healthy lifestyle that will last well into old age.
That’s the benefit of health – the more you have, the more you want.
In many ways your body will take care of that shifting mindset because you’ll start to feel so good that doing everything you can to safeguard that feeling will come naturally. Some mindsets are stubborn though.
What has always worked for me is to have a clear sense of my own identity. I know who I am and I have my own non-negotiables, as follows:
- I don’t do food bullies.
- I don’t snack.
- I always exercise every day.
- I always prioritise sleep.
- I prioritise important over urgent, ie I don’t bow to someone else’s timeline and know how to say No when I need to make space around myself to function.
- I’m a master of time management.
- I don’t sweat the small stuff and make a deal with myself to learn something new every day.
- I surround myself with positive people.
- I have a compelling purpose for why I live as I do that goes beyond reaching a certain number on the scales – I know I only have one set of organs and saw my parents both suffer from ill health so I’ll do everything I can to stay healthy.
- I take every new opportunity to build resilience by facing and conquering my fears.
- I remain physically strong which helps keep me mentally strong.
- I’m kind to myself – most of us wouldn’t berate a friend the way we admonish ourselves and, if we did, it wouldn’t be tolerated if we had a strong sense of self.
You’ll see that at the heart of my non-negotiables is self-awareness, self-care, understanding priorities and having a deep sense of purpose.
Some people ask me if I’ve always been like this and was maybe born tough. But my life hasn’t been without its hard emotional times with plenty of challenges and nasty surprises along the way but it’s my clear sense of direction that always carries me through.
It’s absolutely non-negotiable and is the framework to my life. Within that I can play, certainly know how to enjoy myself and live life to the full but my healthy lifestyle isn’t a hobby; it’s literally who I am.
