WHY Will You Keep Your Healthy Lifestyle Going?
If you are interested in transitioning to healthy lifestyle and STICKING to it, I promise you that doing ONE STEP will make all the difference in your success, so please read to the end even if it doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with getting a bikini body by summer. That’s a delightful side effect 😉
The number one reason I see people fail in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is they don’t have big, powerful reasons to stay the course when temptation strikes (and it always does). Newsflash: Getting a bikini body for summer wont be a big enough WHY for most of you when the third happy hour drink, late night doughnut, or bag of salty, crunchy, delicious Doritos comes a knockin’.
People are often amazed at my “willpower” to not eat unhealthy food. Its not willpower. I actually used to LIVE FOR junk food. If you don’t believe me, ask my mom. My high school “rebellion” was 2 daily trips to McDonalds: Sausage McMuffins with hash browns before school and Big Mac’s and fries afterwards. Thankfully, I grew up. It didn’t happen overnight, but as I have come to discover why I was put on this earth, the contribution I’m here to make, eating junk food was simply inconsistent with my mission. See I believe that we were all given life on purpose. That it isn’t an accident that any of us are here, in the bodies, countries, families we were born into. That we each have a unique contribution to make here that only we can make.
I have developed such a BIG WHY for myself and my life, that the thought of a Big Mac or a hot fudge sunday isn’t even appealing. For me, eating healthy = energy, clarity & vitality, which = being able to express my love and contribution to the world on a consistent, ongoing basis. Since I am here to make a HUGE difference, I want to live as long as possible to help as many people as possible. And dealing with aches, pains, and sickness does not fit into that equation. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that much of the world is going in a bad direction, and fast. I choose to first see and acknowledge, yet not dwell on the negativity. Given the war, poverty of mind, body and spirit that is all around, it takes something to step outside of this conversation, and create one that leads to love, peace, and health. Having a sexy body it isn’t my end goal (again, nice by-product). My body is my vehicle for expressing the possibility of love and contribution that I was created for.
To get your juices flowing onto your WHY, ask yourself some version of these questions:
Will drinking juice each morning give me more patience and love for my kids? And will that impact their self-esteem and the way they relate to their peers? And will that impact things like bullying, teenage body image, etc?
Will exercising each day give me more energy, presence, and mental clarity at work? Would that make a difference in your relationships with your boss and coworkers? Make the day go by with a smile on your face? Have the mission of your workplace be fulfilled?
Will choosing to prepare a healthy meal at home with your husband and kids and sit around the table together connecting and sharing about your day increase love and reduce divorce? Give your kids a model for a healthy, happy home?
Next, take some time alone in a quiet place and ask these questions:
What makes me really happy? (Hint: Your mission is wrapped up in the things that make you happy.)
What are the top 3 things that bring me joy each week?
If money and time were not a concern, what would I spend all of my time doing?
You may then have an opening to ask:
What was I put on this earth for?
Then today’s million dollar question:
How will eating healthy, clean foods support me in bringing my purpose into the world?
If you haven’t gotten a clear answer, or the answer seems to change, keep looking. And you don’t have to get it right first time up to bat. What I’m sharing with you has been many years in the making. Since you inhabit a body, you also have a spirit and a purpose. You are here for a reason. Get connected to that reason. Have it be so alive in you that it becomes you. As that happens, you will naturally share it with others. This is the miracle of transformation. Understanding that you have the power to shift your habits, shift your life, and then support others in doing the same. And day by day, we see people living longer, healthier lives, caring for and supporting one another, choosing love instead of hate, peace instead of war. That’s why I feed my body well. What about you?
