With the new year approaching we usually look at making resolutions, changes, and overall a fresh start on a clean slate. This is good if we actually take action and make changes that benefit us.
Improving our health and fitness is a great place to start as I believe this carries over into all aspects of our lives.
If we are healthy and we eat better, we have more energy, we carry around less fat, we are less prone to disease and sickness, we have greater mental clarity, we are more relaxed, we manage stress better, and overall we just feel better. This carries over into our professional lives, our personal lives and affects not only us but those around us.
Greater health begins with the decision to change-but doesn't stop there. The next step is to take action. While taking action is very important-and sadly a step most never take-it is not the most important aspect of making a change. The most important aspect is taking the second step, the third step, the thousandth step and to keep going. To keep on keeping on is the key to success in anything.
With this in mind here are ten things you can do to ensure 2012 is your healthiest and happiest year ever.
1. Take Responsibility
In my opinion Jack Canfield's best book is "The Success Principles". In it Jack's first principle of success is to take 100% responsibility for your life-and he's right. Too often people blame others, circumstances, not being dealt a "fair deck", the weather, the market, and so on and so forth-yet I've never heard anyone blame themselves. This might be a little rough-but where you are now is the culmination of all the decisions YOU made. Period.
Are you sick? It's because of what you ate, what you did or didn't do, what you breathed, what you thought, what YOU did.
Are you overweight? It's because of what YOU ate. It's because of the workout YOU decided to skip. It's because you decided there wasn't enough time in the day to make healthy foods and exercise. No-one else did this for you.
I'm sorry-but save your "It's too hard to eat healthy" excuse. It takes the same amount of energy to put an apple in your mouth and chew as it does a cupcake. The difference? YOU made the decision what to pick up and put in your mouth.
Addicted to sugar? Ok-here's a radical idea. STOP eating it, make the decision and do it.
Are you not happy with your body, with your energy levels, with your career, with where you live, etc? Then change. Move. Start an exercise program. Buy and eat healthy foods. Change careers. It's simple, but most people are too afraid to make changes.
If you want to improve something, continuing to do the same thing that is not currently working for you is the absolute worst thing you can ever do. Make a small change today. Then make another tomorrow and the day after. Continue doing this and taking a step in the direction you want to travel and eventually you will get there. AND don't forget to enjoy the ride!
2. Exercise Every Day
Don't tell me you don't have time to spend 30-60 minutes a day on yourself. You do have time. Make the time. Cut our an hour of TV. Get up earlier. Say no to friends, family or happy hour occasionally. We give so much of our time to other people already-it's ok to be a little selfish for your health, fitness and sanity.
By exercising daily you don't need to run yourself into the ground every workout. Just polish yourself a little every day. Strive for perfection of your body and mind a little every day. Don't try to do it all at once.
3. Do Strength Training and Cardiovascular Training
Lift weights, walk, jog, run, swim, bike - it's all good. Don't neglect one area. Focus on developing all of the bodies' systems.
4. Stretch - Gain More Flexibility and Mobility
Do you want to feel better almost immediately? Stretch. Do joint mobility. Improving your flexibility will help you relax, will release tension in your muscles and help reduce the chance for injury. Do it today and you will feel better tomorrow.
5. Eat Better
Your body rebuilds it's self on what you eat and what you do. If you eat well and exercise you will have a healthy body to show for it. You do not have the same body you had last year or the year before. The body you have now is a reflection of what you did in the past.
Want a healthier body tomorrow? Do healthy things today.
Every day are cells die and new ones form. What type of fuel are you providing for the rebuilding process? Healthy, fresh, raw whole foods? Or processed, sugar and trans-fat laden crap? Look at where and what you eat then look in the mirror. There is a direct correlation. Change it. Now.
Forget diets-eat fresh, raw, whole unprocessed foods whenever possible. Don't count calories-just don't overeat. If you are eating the correct things you won't get fat.
Eat live foods whenever possible, I recently switched my nutrition to 60-80% raw vegan foods, and the other 20-40% vegetarian foods with the occasional cheat meal and in two months I lost just over 30 pounds, have a lot more energy and overall just feel better. It is a good idea to fuel your body with higher quality nutrients.
6.Enjoy Your Life
Occasionally enjoy whatever it is you want-just don't use it as an excuse to binge. Have a beer, a slice of pizza or a piece of cheesecake without feeling guilty. Enjoy it then get back to eating healthy.
7. Drink More Water
You will feel a difference if you drink more water. Forget energy drinks, sodas, or other high calorie crap. Drink clean fresh water and your body will thank you for it.
8. Relax More
Going balls to the wall on a fitness program will wear you down fast-particularly the older we get. At 30, 40 and 50 years of age we don't recover like we did when we were in our teens.
Make sure you are taking time every day to focus on energy producing activities like Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation, relaxtion, prayer, breathing fresh air, long deep breathing exercises-whatever floats your boat-just do it.
Learn to breath into your belly-focus on the area about an inch and a half below your navel. The Chinese call this the dan tien-our center of qi or life force energy. Don't know how to breath into your belly? Watch a newborn baby-they do it perfectly.
9. Read Less-Do More
Stop reading and watching about fitness, the latest fad diet craze, and what the celebrities are doing. None of this will improve your health and fitness. The only way you will make changes is by doing. Start doing now.
10. Make a Lifestyle Change NOT a Resolution
I think resolutions just doom you to failure. Sure we must set goals and have an idea of where we are going and what we are trying to accomplish-but look at it as a lifestyle change-something you do every-day to bring you closer to your goals.
Do something daily that will bring you a step closer to living the healthy lifestyle you want to live. Start now and don't stop.
Make 2012 your healthiest and happiest year, set and accomplish all your goals and allow that momentum to build and carryover into the rest of your life!
Wishing you nothing but health, happiness and success in 2012!
-Scott
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