When we make a decision to make a positive lifestyle change it is not so easy to make it happen. There are challenges that we must overcome on a constant basis if we want to be successful. Some of the challenges are changing our habits and behavior. We have programmed ourselves to act in a specific way. This programming took place over a long period of time in which we repeatedly kept performing the same action over and over again. We kept doing it until it became automatic. Just as most people have a set regiment that they follow every morning when they get up, we program ourselves to automatically do this or that. When we are programmed to automatically perform certain functions we don’t even think about it, we just do it. We don’t question why we are doing the same thing over and over again. We simply do it because it is comfortable.
The first step to changing our programming is to make up our mind that we want to do something different. We must make a decision! It cannot be a decision that has been forced on us. It has to be a decision that we want to make this change in our life style. When we make changes to please others and not ourselves, we are usually not successful in permanently making that change. If you are going to make a positive lifestyle change, do it for yourself. Another challenge that people are faced with is the constant back-and-forth that they go through while striving to make the change. People are successful for awhile and then miss the mark from time-to-time during the process. Some days they are successful and some days they may fail. This can be very discouraging and often causes people to give up and go back to doing what they were doing before. In order to be successful people need a support group and a plan that will help them get back on track if they should begin to slip into their old behavior.
It is important to identify if we are really ready to make a positive lifestyle change. One indication that we are ready is the moment we have concluded that we have self-determination. When we are so motivated to change that we are looking for ways to make the change and are passionate about getting it done. We are really ready to make a lifestyle change.
Change happens when we are inspired to change. When we see others making positive lifestyle changes, we are inspired to make positive lifestyle changes, too. When we notice other people are being successful and meeting the challenges of their positive lifestyle decisions, we examine our lives to determine what changes we would like to accomplish. Besides being inspired to make changes in our life, we have to be motivated to be successful. We have to come up with a plan that will keep us motivated so we don’t become discouraged in the middle of the process. We have to be self-disciplined! Look for ways to strengthen your discipline muscle. It takes discipline to maintain control over the things you want to stop doing. One thing is absolutely for sure, you don’t have to continue in your current state. You can change and reinvent yourself whenever you really decide to make this change. The question is how bad do you want it? There are a lot of resources available for people to read, learn and be supported and encouraged to meet our lifestyle challenges.
When making a lifestyle change we can expect that the challenges will be hard to conquer but if we have the support and self-determination, we can do it! People will often find that when they make up their mind to make a change that some people will not be on board with their decision. Especially if the thing that they are trying to change means they can no longer participate in some activities with their friends. There is a saying that misery loves company. Just because our friends are not willing to change, we cannot let that keep us from making positive lifestyle changes.
As people go through the ups and downs of trying to make positive lifestyle changes, they probably wonder if they can make a positive lifestyle change permanent or will they be going through this up and down battle forever. A permanent lifestyle change is possible. We have to be patient because it will take time to make the change permanent. We have to keep working at the positive lifestyle change until it is automatic for us to act in a new way. We need to understand from the beginning what it means to make this change. It may mean a loss of friends and family because they can no longer relate to your new lifestyle. It may mean a change in employment because the work environment does not match with the lifestyle change we are trying to implement. It may mean that you have to bring your lunch to work every day to eat healthier. We have to understand what changes need to take place in order to make a positive lifestyle be successful. We have to realize that change requires work and sacrifice. We should look for positive role models who have already accomplished what we want to accomplish and distance ourselves from those who would sabotage our success.
There are challenges when making positive lifestyle changes but people will find that with the will power to succeed, we can make a change in our behavior that is just as permanent as the current behavior we are experiencing. It just takes time, patience and perseverance. You got this!