Health is simple. There are two things you need to know. 1. If
you exercise, you will be healthy. 2. If you eat healthy food, you will
be healthy. Is that all you need to know? Of course not. Health may be
simple, but it certainly isn't easy.
We all know what to do in order to be healthy. We all know what not to do to avoid being unhealthy. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it. That is where health throws us for a loop. It isn't the knowledge we have a problem with, it is the application.
Why is health so hard?
Well, the hardest part about health is not knowing what to do or even how to do it. The hardest part about health is finding a way to make it part of your life. We all have busy lives with many things to do, places to go and people to see. We have long to-do lists and short attention spans. We need more time just to get what we already have on our lists done, let alone adding anything to them. Healthy habits seem to get left off the list a little easier than most things. It is hard to get them on the list as it is, and it is just as hard to keep them there.
What can you do?
It is actually simpler than you think it is. Living healthy is simple by nature. We have made it more complicated than it needs to be. That doesn't mean it's easy, but it doesn't have to be as hard as we are making it. If you want to live healthy, there are a few simple steps you can take to make it work for you:
1. Select One Habit
It can be walking, running or going to a class at the gym. It can be packing your lunch at home or substituting with a healthy item at dinner. It doesn't matter what you do. If you are able to something healthy, you will improve your health. The bottom line is that if you don't do anything, you will not be healthy. You don't have to change your whole routine overnight. Something is better than nothing, so just pick one thing that you can do and start doing it.
2. Track Your Progress
How do you know if you are successful or not? You have to look at your progress to determine success or failure. You can write down your goal in a journal, on a napkin or track it an online app. With exercise you can get as detailed as you want to get by tracking time, intensity and frequency, or you can keep it simple and just track the days you are doing it. With diet you can just pick one meal to focus on and write down what you are eating. You can get as elaborate as you want and it doesn't have to be difficult if you use an app that does the work for you. It doesn't matter how you track as long as you track.
3. Give Yourself a Chance
We all know that health is not easy. Why do we expect it to be easy when we start something new? We expect to be able to change overnight without any challenges. With this expectation often comes failure and discouragement. Give yourself a chance by putting some realistic expectations on your new goal. Focus on the long-term habit rather than the results, that way you are able to build yourself up rather than being frustrated that the results aren't coming fast enough for you.
4. Don't Quit
It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? In fact, this is the simplest part about health. If you quit, you get nothing. If you don't continue, you don't get results. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Keep going on your goal. If it is a realistic goal, you know you can do it. It may take planning, patience and motivation, but you know you can do it. That is why it is your goal: because you want to do it. If you didn't want to do it, you wouldn't set the goal in the first place. So, keep going and remember that any progress is positive. You can't get where you want to go in one step, so don't quit when step one or two are a little challenging. You certainly can't get where you want to go without taking some steps. So keep taking them even if they are difficult. It is the only way to get there.
Health is that simple. If you set a goal, track your progress, give yourself a change to reach it by setting realistic expectations and commit to keep going even if it is difficult, you will be healthy. It's all about habits. If you can get into the habit of doing one thing, it will become easier and easier as you go. When that goal becomes habit and you don't have to strain to get it done, you can start on another habit and start making that part of your routine too. The more healthy habits you have in place, the more healthy you will be. That is all you have to do. Start with one and work on it until it becomes part of your routine.
So, when you are you going to start?
There is no perfect time to get started on anything. If you are waiting for the right day or for things to slow down for you, you are going to be waiting a long time. Let's be honest, when you are "waiting for the right time", aren't you really just putting it off? It is just an excuse to go one more day without taking action on your goal. The best time to start is right now. The best way to get started is to simply look at your calendar and put something down at a time that works for you and do it.
Health is simple. It may not be easy. If it were easy, we would all do it without any challenges. If it were easy, we wouldn't be talking about it like this. We would all be up and running with no issues and in perfect health. If you can remember that it is simple, it will feel a lot easier. Pick a goal and start working on it now. It won't get any easier to get started.
We all know what to do in order to be healthy. We all know what not to do to avoid being unhealthy. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it. That is where health throws us for a loop. It isn't the knowledge we have a problem with, it is the application.
Why is health so hard?
Well, the hardest part about health is not knowing what to do or even how to do it. The hardest part about health is finding a way to make it part of your life. We all have busy lives with many things to do, places to go and people to see. We have long to-do lists and short attention spans. We need more time just to get what we already have on our lists done, let alone adding anything to them. Healthy habits seem to get left off the list a little easier than most things. It is hard to get them on the list as it is, and it is just as hard to keep them there.
What can you do?
It is actually simpler than you think it is. Living healthy is simple by nature. We have made it more complicated than it needs to be. That doesn't mean it's easy, but it doesn't have to be as hard as we are making it. If you want to live healthy, there are a few simple steps you can take to make it work for you:
1. Select One Habit
It can be walking, running or going to a class at the gym. It can be packing your lunch at home or substituting with a healthy item at dinner. It doesn't matter what you do. If you are able to something healthy, you will improve your health. The bottom line is that if you don't do anything, you will not be healthy. You don't have to change your whole routine overnight. Something is better than nothing, so just pick one thing that you can do and start doing it.
2. Track Your Progress
How do you know if you are successful or not? You have to look at your progress to determine success or failure. You can write down your goal in a journal, on a napkin or track it an online app. With exercise you can get as detailed as you want to get by tracking time, intensity and frequency, or you can keep it simple and just track the days you are doing it. With diet you can just pick one meal to focus on and write down what you are eating. You can get as elaborate as you want and it doesn't have to be difficult if you use an app that does the work for you. It doesn't matter how you track as long as you track.
3. Give Yourself a Chance
We all know that health is not easy. Why do we expect it to be easy when we start something new? We expect to be able to change overnight without any challenges. With this expectation often comes failure and discouragement. Give yourself a chance by putting some realistic expectations on your new goal. Focus on the long-term habit rather than the results, that way you are able to build yourself up rather than being frustrated that the results aren't coming fast enough for you.
4. Don't Quit
It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? In fact, this is the simplest part about health. If you quit, you get nothing. If you don't continue, you don't get results. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Keep going on your goal. If it is a realistic goal, you know you can do it. It may take planning, patience and motivation, but you know you can do it. That is why it is your goal: because you want to do it. If you didn't want to do it, you wouldn't set the goal in the first place. So, keep going and remember that any progress is positive. You can't get where you want to go in one step, so don't quit when step one or two are a little challenging. You certainly can't get where you want to go without taking some steps. So keep taking them even if they are difficult. It is the only way to get there.
Health is that simple. If you set a goal, track your progress, give yourself a change to reach it by setting realistic expectations and commit to keep going even if it is difficult, you will be healthy. It's all about habits. If you can get into the habit of doing one thing, it will become easier and easier as you go. When that goal becomes habit and you don't have to strain to get it done, you can start on another habit and start making that part of your routine too. The more healthy habits you have in place, the more healthy you will be. That is all you have to do. Start with one and work on it until it becomes part of your routine.
So, when you are you going to start?
There is no perfect time to get started on anything. If you are waiting for the right day or for things to slow down for you, you are going to be waiting a long time. Let's be honest, when you are "waiting for the right time", aren't you really just putting it off? It is just an excuse to go one more day without taking action on your goal. The best time to start is right now. The best way to get started is to simply look at your calendar and put something down at a time that works for you and do it.
Health is simple. It may not be easy. If it were easy, we would all do it without any challenges. If it were easy, we wouldn't be talking about it like this. We would all be up and running with no issues and in perfect health. If you can remember that it is simple, it will feel a lot easier. Pick a goal and start working on it now. It won't get any easier to get started.
Business Health Expert Joe Byrd uses his passion and expertise to
bring business and health together. His team integrates health
education in lifestyle topics such as Stress Management, Weight
Management, and Smoking Cessation into businesses in order to accomplish
the following:
Improving Employee Health
Decreasing Health Care Spending
Increasing Your Employee Productivity
Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention
The Wellness Division applies this craft in the business world by making health part of business strategy. As they help companies invest in their employees, together they create healthy and successful cultures.
Web: http://www.TheWellnessDivision.com
Email: info@TheWellnessDivision.com
Twitter: @josephrbyrd and @wellnessdiv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewellnessdivision
Toll Free: 866.851.7961
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_R._Byrd
Improving Employee Health
Decreasing Health Care Spending
Increasing Your Employee Productivity
Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention
The Wellness Division applies this craft in the business world by making health part of business strategy. As they help companies invest in their employees, together they create healthy and successful cultures.
Web: http://www.TheWellnessDivision.com
Email: info@TheWellnessDivision.com
Twitter: @josephrbyrd and @wellnessdiv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewellnessdivision
Toll Free: 866.851.7961
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