How did we end up where we are today, where many of us are increasingly affected by chronic disease, adrenal fatigue, and poor health? You don’t need to be any kind of expert to know that our modern, fast paced lifestyles, combined with high levels of stress, environmental pollutants and denatured foods, have made a huge contribution.
Every year, millions of well intentioned people spend their hard earned money on gym memberships, self help books and fad diets in an attempt to find a solution to their health problems. Often, changes like this are just what we need. But despite the fact that huge numbers of us are motivated to make healthy changes to our lifestyles, the sad fact is that the majority will give up after only a few days or weeks. If you don’t have the patience or commitment to see it through, these healthy changes will be for nothing.
“Motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going.”
– Jim Rohen (American entrepreneur and motivational speaker)
Let’s be clear; motivation is essential if you want to take the first steps to better health, but it isn’t the only factor that decides whether or not you achieve your goals. To make real progress you need to create new habits; it’s the only way to develop a healthy lifestyle you can enjoy and maintain.
The secret to forming good health habits
There’s no doubt about it, making changes to your daily habits is a challenge. It’s difficult to shop for healthy foods you’re not used to eating, to go to bed at a different time, or to start a new exercise program. However, there is some evidence to suggest that if you can make it past the first initial few weeks you’ll be well on the way to creating new habits which are far better for your health.
But how do you get there?
Be accountable
Without accountability the world would be in utter chaos. If nobody was held accountable for their actions people wouldn’t turn up to work on time, children wouldn’t do their homework and bills wouldn’t get paid. In fact, we wouldn’t do any of the things we didn’t like doing because there would be no consequences.
Being accountable for our own actions gives us purpose and produces positive results. The truth is, if you really want good health, you have to make the commitment to yourself to be accountable for your choices. Self discipline can get you so far, but having to be accountable when you feel like giving up can sometimes be the difference between making progress and quitting.
3 sure fire ways to stick to your plan
Start a Journal
A journal is a great way to become accountable for your health choices. Journals can be as creative or personal as you like and are an effective way of helping maintain and develop healthful habits.
A journal can be used in many ways:
- As a scrap book to store new recipe ideas
- To note down affirmations or creative ideas
- To record achievements
- To plan shopping lists
- To store positive, motivational images of the goals you want to achieve
- To log sleeping patterns or test results
- To gain insights into areas where improvements can be made
The act of journaling creates purpose. Recording your successes (or failures) makes you accountable to yourself. Looking back through your journal can show how far you’ve come since you started. For example, let’s say you lose 20 pounds and then put on ten. So what? You lost ten pounds! A journal can remind us of our past progress instead of just focusing on the here and now. There are many different types of journal available, from traditional notebooks to online journals and phone apps. It’s never been easier to find a style of journaling to suit you.
Get an accountability buddy
Realize that you’re certainly not the only person in your social circle with aspirations for better health. By joining forces with someone with similar goals, you immediately increase your chances of sticking to the plan, not to mention making the process more fun. Making yourself accountable to another person creates an added sense of responsibility to keep to your commitment than if you go it alone.
If you don’t have any willing buddies, there are hundreds of online communities devoted to helping people reach their health goals. There’s a reason why these communities are so popular; they work! People love sharing their stories of success and so achieving becomes something to work towards. Later this year I will be launching a forum on this website to help you do just that.
Find a coach
Many people labor under the belief that a therapist or health coach can only provide the same information they can find for themselves either online or from a self-help book. This couldn’t be further from the truth. A good therapist will actually save you time and money as well as being a source of accountability by tracking your progress and helping you move forward with your goals. A good therapist or wellness coach will map your achievements and help keep you on track by offering support and expertise, not just at the start of your journey, but as you continue to go forward.
If you’re serious about recovering from adrenal fatigue and restoring your health, there’s no time like the present. Write out a plan, and figure out an effective way to stick to it. Being accountable for our actions isn’t always an easy choice, but it does serve a purpose. It provides a real reason to go the extra mile, break through that wall of discomfort, and create a life of good habits and better health.
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