The Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Individuals:

It doesn’t matter what you are trying to become better at, if you only do the work when you’re motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough to reach the quality of life you desire.

The ability to follow your prescribed treatment plan, stick to the schedule, and do the prescribed home therapies — especially when you don’t feel like it — is so valuable that it is literally all you need to become better 99% of the time.

I’ve seen this in my own experiences…as well as observing it in my practice.

When I don’t miss workouts, I get in the best shape of my life.  When I travel and take my camera out every day, I take better photos.  When I prepare my own meals my G.I. tract is so happy.

It’s simple and powerful. But why is it so difficult?

The Pain of obtaining quality of life:

Approaching your goals — whatever they are — with the attitude of a quality of life isn’t easy. In fact, being a healthy is painful.

The simple fact of the matter is that most of the time we are inconsistent. We have goals that we would like to achieve and dreams that we would like to fulfill, but we only work towards them occasionally; when we feel inspired or motivated or when life allows us to do so. It’s just easier that way.

I can guarantee that if you set a schedule for any task and start sticking to it, there will be days when you feel like quitting. When you start a business, there will be days when you don’t feel like showing up. When you’re at the gym, there will be sets that you don’t feel like finishing. When it’s time to prepare food for the week there will be time restraints and distractions.  But stepping up when it’s annoying or painful or draining to do so, that’s what improves quality of life.

Quality of life requires sticking to a schedule.  Unhealthy individuals let life get in the way. Healthy individuals know what is important to them and work towards it with purpose, Unhealthy individuals get pulled off course by the urgencies of life.

You’ll Never Regret Starting a treatment plan.

Some people might think I’m promoting the benefits of being a workaholic. “Professionals work harder than everyone else and that’s why they’re great.” Actually, that’s not it at all.

Quality of life is about having the discipline to commit to what is important to you instead of merely saying your health is important to you. It’s about starting when you feel like stopping, not because you want to train more, but because your goal is important enough to you that you don’t simply go through the motions when it’s convenient.  Quality of like is about making your priorities a reality.

There have been a lot of sets that I haven’t felt like finishing, but I’ve never regretted doing the workout. There have been a lot of unhealthy food choices I have declined when I haven’t felt like cooking, but I’ve never regretted eating healthy. There have been a lot of days I’ve felt like relaxing, but I’ve never regretted waking up and working on the different facets of a healthy life that are important to me.

Becoming a healthy doesn’t mean you sacrifice all things. It means that you’re going to be proactive and put forth effort to reach the quality of life you desire— especially when you don’t feel like it — instead of playing the role of the victim and letting poor health happen to you.

How to Become a Healthy

Obtaining and maintaining quality of life like a pro isn’t easy, but it’s also not as complicated or difficult as you might think. There are three steps.

1. Decide what you want improve.

Purpose is everything. If you know what you want, then getting it is much easier.  Hopefully your purpose in seeking treatment with me is to improve your condition.  This sounds simple, but in my experience even people who are smart, creative, and talented rarely know exactly what they are working for and why.

2. Set a schedule for your actions.

Once you have identified what is required of you to heal , set a schedule for actually doing it.

Note: Don’t make this mistake, which is setting a schedule based on results. Don’t map out how much weight you want to lose each week or how miles you want to run this week.   To “lose 5 pounds” is not an action you can perform. “Do three sets of squats” is an action you can perform.  Or it might require you to modify your training or activities to promote the best environment to heal.  I often prescribe decreasing the intensity, duration, frequency by 50 % until your condition has improved to a Stage I.

You want to set a schedule based on actions you can do, not results that you want.

3. Stick to your schedule for one week.

Stop thinking about how hard it will be to follow a schedule for a month or a year. Just follow it for this week. For the next 7 days, don’t let distractions get in the way.

Setting a schedule doesn’t heal your condition, following it does. Don’t be a runner.  Be running.  Don’t be a lifter, be lifting.  For one week, do the things you want to do without letting life get in the way. If life gets in the way then next week start again.

To your BEST health,

drshawnie

www.drshawnie.com

918.249.1535