5 simple steps to achieve your health goals!

Have you ever felt like your New Year’s resolutions slip away from your mind after several months into the year? Does this happen every single year and you feel like you aren’t achieving your goals? In this article, we discuss the missing component of your New Year’s resolution list… Health. If your list does not include “improving my health” at the top of your list, all other goals may also fall apart, jst like every other year. Let us have a look at your list. Let us deconstruct and analyse your list objectively, and ask the question “is it possible to achieve anything else without your health?” The answer is NO. Your Health affects everything. Your work, your relationship, and most of all… your energy and will power! Life is very hectic these days. School and university life is becoming busier, work is more demanding due to increased living costs, you have to clean, cook, take your dog out for a walk, pay the bills, drag yourself to the gym, while maintaining your social status by attending parties, work functions and gatherings, which leaves very little time to spend quality time with the family, or even by yourself. The energy and motivation you managed to rejuvenate during the holidays slowly fade away, and by March you are feeling drained, needing another holiday and your New Years resolution list has disappeared into the crevices of your kitchen counter or under your bedside table. Roughly 40% of us make New Year’s resolutions, but unfortunately less than 10% actually end up achieving those goals, and I believe it is largely affected by your health. If you are tired, grumpy and unmotivated all the time, how successful do you think you will be to even look at your list, let alone follow it day by day? So how do we combat this? By reducing stress, by drinking more water, by exercising adequately, by eating fresh produce, by quitting alcohol, coffee and smoking. This is why I encourage you to put your health on top of your list. By working on your well-being, you can maintain better energy levels, mood and motivation to achieve all the other goals you desire! However, it is easier said than done. So, I have listed here 6 simple tips that will help keep you motivated and improve your success rate:

Write it down – This is one of the most important things you must do, and yet many fail to do. You may have it written “in your head”, but the transferring this list from your brain, through your arm and onto a piece of paper that is physically tangible actually helps your mind to solidify these thoughts. It also serves as a reminder as you make multiple copies (write out each of them, don’t type them on your laptop and print out copies, that’s cheating!) and stick them onto your fridge, bathroom mirror, in your office at work, etc.
Make it simple, precise and tangible – Make each statement easy to read, otherwise you won’t read them each day. Don’t make them difficult either. For example, “I want to lose weight” is not exactly simple for many people, not very precise, and whether it is tangible is questionable. A better goal might be “I will not have chocolate for 1 month” or “I will go for a run 3 times a week”. This is also a process of breaking down your ultimate goal into smaller achievable steps so that you reap the rewards along the way rather than feeling depressed about not achieving your big goal.
Anticipate road blocks – Know thy enemy. List down some of the possible things that may throw you off the wagon. For example, you may wish to quit drinking alcohol, but your best friend’s wedding is coming up in a month. Although this is a big road block, now you have a month to formulate a plan!
Tell your friends, family, coworkers – This is the best way to hold yourself accountable. Trust me, these people can be your major support, but also happily whip your backside when you slack off! By sharing your goals, you may also find others that may be interested in joining your quest. what a great way to form a strong ally!
Stay positive! – It is crucial to keep believing that you can do it. If you have been doing so well but have one bad day, don’t worry! We are all human. Get back up, dust yourself off, and start again. Be kind to yourself and keep focused on the positives rather than getting down in the dumps. On the other hand, if you continuously fail at one particular goal, it would be wise to revisit your list and consider something more achievable.
Reward yourself – Go on. You did great this month. Have a treat! Make sure there is continuous positive reinforcements to keep you motivated. However, make sure that the rewards stay true to your goals so that you don’t end up down a slippery slope.

There you have it. 6 simple tips to help improve your success rate of your New Years resolutions for 2017! Start applying these key points today and perhaps you will be able to finally accomplish the goals you have always wanted. However, if you feel like your energy levels, mood and motivation are not improving by simple dietary and lifestyle adjustments, I would recommend for you to see a naturopath to assess what is happening inside your body. A naturopath can help to identify the root cause of the issue by using multiple screening tools, functional tests, and most importantly, by listening to you throughout our comprehensive consultations. Please contact me through the website at www.waterwellclinic.co.nz if you or your loved ones require a professional help, or would like to achieve true vitality and well-being, naturally. You can also check out the Adrenal Fatigue article from the website to see if your tiredness is stemming from adrenal stress. BSc, BNatMed

5 simple steps to achieve your health goals!

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