EASY LIFESTYLE CHANGES FOR HEALTH, WELLNESS, & VITALITY
What keeps us healthy and vital? What can we do to be kinder to ourselves and add more self-care to our daily lives? How can we protect ourselves from toxins and disease in a rapidly-changing environment? How do we not only cope, but thrive and enjoy life to the fullest? The flood of information on health and wellness can seem overwhelming. What we always tell our clients is, start with the basics, the five non-negotiables: Mindset, Movement, Diet, Stress, and Sleep. When you create an easy, holistic approach for yourself you can make health more enjoyable. This is at the heart of what we teachto rebuild and restore the COR foundation of your health.
The Five Non-Negotiable Pillars of Health
MINDSET
First, look at your mindset. This governs your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Try a simple mindset assessment, to gauge where you are at right now. Carol Dweck’s book is a good place to start. As she explains, you can make a decision to change your thoughts. Don’t worry about how, just yet. Just know that it’s possible. The decision itself will start the ball rolling.
MOVEMENT
Movement is essential and you are in a body that thrives on it. Get out of your chair and go for a walk. Even something as simple as walking into another room can get you out of a negative mindset. You’ll see how movement and mindset changes go together. What would it feel like to put on some music you like and do some stretching? Or, maybe dance around the room? Do you have four minutes to spare? Try this easy workout, to get you up and moving.
Consciously decide to move every day, preferably at the same time. When you find something you like, try doing it several times a day. It doesn’t have to be an intense workout. Whatever your skill level, start there. The key is to add more movement to your daily routine.
DIET
Diet is a big factor in self-care. We all have our guilty pleasures, those treats we just don’t want to give up. But there are ways to tweak your diet to make healthier choices. Again, it doesn’t have to be a huge change. Look at where you are in your health journey. Sometimes baby steps, what the Japanese call kaizen or “good change,” can have long-lasting effects. Here are the basic principles of kaizen.
Pay attention to where your time and energy go. Are you satisfied that it’s time is well spent? If not, what changes would improve your situation? Speak up about them, right away, talk them over, write it down. When you find something that works, keep repeating it so it becomes a built-in good habit.
Document and journal these changes, so you can look back and see what worked and what was successful for you. When you note progress, celebrate it and feel good about it.
Compare what you hoped to achieve with what you actually achieved. Did you make some progress? For example, if your goal was a mindset change, do you see it bearing fruit?
Keep looking for new ways to achieve these small successes, so it doesn’t feel stale and keeps you interested and involved. You are on a health journey and with these baby steps you will evolve.
Remember to be gentle with yourself. Your circumstances will change and your methods will evolve over time, but let that happen. When you observe, accept, and respond to these changes, you can make wellness not only attainable, but enjoyable.
Note, I’m not saying “follow this diet that worked for someone else,” or “go here or there.” If you’re at the beginning of your health journey, pick out a few simple lifestyle changes and focus on how they will improve your life. Can you include more vegetables in your diet? Pick out something simple, something you’ll do and works for you. Find a friend to share your journey. As you work together, you’ll see the progress you make. You’ll see what helps you. Those successes build your confidence. With increased confidence comes more success and you’re on your way.
STRESS
How does your body handle day-to-day stressors? Too often, our own expectations and the expectations of others put us in a fight-or-flight state. That’s fine, if we’re in an emergency situation, but if we find ourselves habitually snapping at others and complaining about our situation, we’re overstressed. If we’re mentally boxing in the ring with your thoughts night after night, we’re not handling stress well and not letting go.
Relaxation is an essential skill to get through our busy lives. We make an effort to be kind and loving to others, how about practicing that same skill on ourselves? Learn to breathe. Look at where stress is leading you and change your direction. Choose to take it easy. Let go of unreasonable expectations. Practice the art of being still, being in the moment. Accept where you are right now and just let yourself be. This will give you a place to start from.
SLEEP
We know life can get busy and it can feel like there isn’t enough time in the day. But we’ve all heard the statistics about sleep-deprivation. When you can implement lifestyle changes in the areas of mindset, movement, diet, and stress - sleep will naturally come more easily. That’s the good news. When you can learn to let go, your body can get the rest it needs. So, good, deep sleep depends on the five non-negotiables and how we use them. It’s up to us to be kind to ourselves, to let go. Here are a few tips to help each one of us fall asleep easily and give our bodies what they need most.
These are the basics, the easy, go-at-your-own-pace lifestyle changes that help you:
Pick out some new thoughts
Write yourself a better story
Get up off the couch
Be aware of what you’re putting in your body
Let go of stress
Reward yourself with a good night’s sleep.
The only tool you’ll need to work on these skills is a pen and paper. Write down the changes you’d like to see. Pick a few of them, maybe some of the ones we’ve suggested here. Journal your progress and keep at it, one step at a time. Learn to listen to your body’s inner wisdom.
COR HEALTH is all about inspiring others to make health a priority to live the life you desire. Whether it is to lose weight, feel better, play with your children, walk with your spouse, we want to make wellness not only attainable, but enjoyable. By working on all these pillars of health we can create a holistic approach and make life more fun.
To learn more about our Online Vitality Program, please click here: https://www.corhealthsolution.com/onlinevitality