Making change with healthy living is easiest when you are able to view positive lifestyle choices as a means to self-fulfilment in all areas of life.
Many people take a proactive approach working out how to succeed in life and work, with family and friends, but aren’t always so proactive when it comes to achieving everything they’d like to with their health and wellbeing.
This exercise helps create success in every area of life. Answer the following 5 questions:
1. If you could have anything in life, what would you like to have?
2. If you were living your ideal life, what would you be doing?
a) Every day?
b) Every week?
c) Every month?
3. What does success mean to you? Not to society or to your friends, family or those around you, but what does it mean to you? What would be your greatest success or achievement in life? What is the higher purpose of your life?
4. What single thing would make you truly happy?
5. If you were to live your life again, knowing what you know now, what might you do differently?
Now write down all the ways in which success with your healthy living goals will support you in your quest towards your higher purpose in life.
Finally bring all of your observations on the above together to form a mission statement, which you can use to drive your daily behaviour. For example:
‘I make good choices because it’s important to me to feel in control of how I feel at work and at home. I know that if I take breaks, prioritise sleep, stay on track with my healthy eating routine and get out running I’ll be calmer, have a clearer head and work more effectively.
This also gives me more time and energy for the things I love in life. I have a lot of responsibility and I feel frustrated if I’m not able to make thoughtful and appropriate decisions so I don’t want to put myself in a position where I might compromise my effectiveness. I also want to be a role model for my kids and for my colleagues.
Oh, and I love being known as “the healthy one” at work and amongst my friends.That gives me a little lift every day’.
You can now use this mission statement to create a short mantra that can be used to keep yourself on track throughout each day. Something like:
Make good choices
Invest in tomorrow
No regrets
Make the most of every day
Be a role model for my family / children
Find out what I’m really capable of
Be my best self
What would xxx do?
What would I want xxx to do?
Perfection or good enough?