5 Mindset Shifts for a Healthier Life
It is said that mindset is everything. This is absolutely true when it comes to your success in establishing healthy changes in your life. The health of your body is really only as good as the health of your mindset. With that in mind (excuse the pun), here are some mindset shifts that will support your health journey and increase your chances of being successful in maintaining lasting changes.
1. Ditch the “all-or-nothing” thinking
Healthy habits are built one brick at a time. The smallest changes can lead to the biggest results over time. Don’t think that you have to do “all the things” at once. Just because you can’t fit in an hour-long workout every day or eat healthy 100% of the time does not mean that you won’t see results. Think small and praise yourself for doing what you can, when you can. Maybe you’re only able to fit in a 10-minute power walk or some crunches and push-ups on your living room floor. Maybe you went a little over-board with the chips and gauc (and maybe the margaritas…) last night. IT’S OKAY. That’s life. In fact, it’s all part of a healthy, balanced life. The sooner that you realize you don’t have to be the picture of optimal health in order to be healthy, the sooner you will be successful in changing your lifestyle for the better- and maintaining those changes for the long run.
2. Stop the self-sabotage
Our thoughts directly influence our emotions. And our emotions influence our actions. If you are constantly speaking negatively to yourself and feeling hateful, it’s going to be hard to feel motivated to practice habits that are, at their core, acts of love towards your body. The first step is to be aware of these thoughts, then replace them with positive self-talk. It may seem absurd to go directly from “I hate my body and am lazy and out of shape” to “I love my body and am strong and fit.” Instead, try changing the thought to “I accept my body for the way it is and am making positive changes each day.”
3. Empower yourself
You have the power to choose your thoughts and actions. Yes, things happen in life that are out of our control, but how you respond to them is completely up to you. You can let situations throw you off your healthy routine, or you can identify the aspects of the situation that you CAN control and adjust accordingly. Maybe you got a flat tire and can’t get to the gym for a few days. The flat tire is out of your control, but you are in control of whether or not you fall completely off track with your fitness routine or become resourceful and find ways to workout at home.
4. Change how you look at exercise
There is no arguing that pushing yourself to exercise, especially at the beginning, is hard. But with commitment and consistency it WILL get easier. Start by focusing on how great you feel after you’re done. The fitter you become, the better you will feel while doing it. Eventually your body (and mind) will crave it. The other component of this mindset shift is looking at exercise as a celebration of your body and a way to show it love. Your body WANTS to move- even if it doesn’t feel that way initially. The human body was designed to run, play, and sweat. Get in touch with the power of movement. Your body doesn’t care how you move or how “good” you are at exercise. It only cares that you love it enough to move it.
5. Practice gratitude
Celebrate and appreciate the fact that you have the incredible opportunity to get healthy and fit. You may have to prepare your meals and change your diet, but some have no meals to prepare and don’t have the option of feeding themselves nourishing foods. You may struggle to find time to exercise with your work schedule, but some don’t have a work schedule to find time around. Lifting weights and doing cardio take effort, but some cannot lift their weight from a chair let alone do cardio. You are privileged. Never lose sight of that. Let it fuel your motivation and discipline every single day.
I hope this post gave you some helpful insight and you are able to utilize some, if not all, of the mindset shifts discussed to make (and maintain) healthy changes in your life. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or on our Facebook or Instagram platforms!
Continue to Follow Your Gut,
Erin