Change, transformation, a fresh start—these things and similar desires to want to start something over or start something new doesn’t happen overnight and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It is a big commitment and will take a lot of work but it will be well worth it. Are you ready to take control of your life and commit to a healthy lifestyle? Read on to see how to start a healthy lifestyle with these 5 steps.
1. Change Your Mindset
Aside from your heart, your mind is one of the most important and powerful tools you own. Cultivating a positive mindset is also an important step in how to start a healthy lifestyle. Most of the time we could be our own worst enemy because we create our own misery with our mind and fail to see how our negative thoughts can affect our mood and life. Eddy from Tiny Buddha shares 10 simple ways where we can cultivate a positive mindset, which can help you start a healthy lifestyle or positively enhance your already healthy lifestyle. The top tips from Eddy would include challenging your old negative thoughts, consuming positive media and acknowledging your small successes daily.
2. Set Goals
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Goal setting helps to keep us motivated and gives us a plan for reaching our goals. Forbes states,“ you can’t manage what you don’t measure and you can’t improve what you don’t manage.” According to Forbes, setting SMART goals will trigger more positive behaviors, help us focus, sustain momentum and ultimately help us succeed.
3. Set Aside Time for Self-love
Webster defines “self-love” as “regards for one’s own happiness.” What does it mean to love self? According to Caroline Kirk, “self-love requires you to be honest about your current choices and thought patterns and undertake new practices that reflect self-worth.” What does that look like to you? Does it mean pampering yourself by receiving acupuncture on a regular basis to lower your stress and increase your health? Does it mean going to the gym regularly? What about giving yourself permission to do whatever you love without worrying about wasting time? Tiny Buddha has provided 20 ways for us to be good to ourselves that go beyond pampering physically and focus also on being present in your own life. Self-love means being able to take care of yourself so that you can better take care of those around you (pets and plants included!).
4. Practice Meditation and Gratitude
Many studies have linked meditation with both physical and mental health benefits. Meditation studies have even linked it to help reduce depression and anxiety and improve overall health and immunity1. In a video by Huffpost, Carolyn talks about how one can train the mind to do the
impossible and optimize the brain in a way that increases happiness and empathy and
changes the structure and function of the brain. Gratitude will change your life, literally and figuratively. According to Psychology Today, giving simple thanks can help to reshape your neural pathway. If practiced regularly, gratitude will help to keep you happier and healthier, lower depression and anxiety, help you sleep better, and increase your optimism2.
5. Stick With It
Most importantly, stick with it! The most important step in how to start a healthy lifestyle is to keep with your steps so that you transform your habits to success. Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, talks about how habits are not a destiny but rather a science that we can harness to transform all aspects of our lives. In case you’re still a believer in “it takes 21 days to form a habit,” read this post backed by science to see why that’s not the case.
Ready to take control of your life and commit to a healthy lifestyle or want to enhance the one you already have? Need assistance on where to start or where to go? Call or text Pure Health Alliance 858-529-1899 today so we can be a part of that process by providing you with services such as acupuncture and sound healing.
Let us help you achieve your perfect lifestyle so you can live the fulfilling life you deserve.
1. Gregoire C. How You Can Train Your Mind To Do The Impossible. The Huffington Post. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/how-you-can-train-your-mi_n_3688660.html. Published August 5, 2013. Accessed February 10, 2018.
2. Korb, Alex. “The Grateful Brain.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 20 Nov. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201211/the-grateful-brain.