Creating a wellness connection
by Fiona Cosgrove
Many of us would like to change something in our wellness. Whether it be improvements in fitness, eating habits, weight control, stress management or other health behaviours, we know WHAT to do. But we don’t do it. We struggle with the HOW.
In today’s society we are inundated with facts on what is good for us. What we should do, what we shouldn’t do (says who?). Learning how to change our own behaviour is not easy. “Just do it” might be a good slogan for a large sportswear manufacturer but may not work for complex behaviour change. We know we want to lose weight; we know we need to eat less or make better choices, so what do we do? Go on a crash diet, deprive ourselves with an eating plan that leads to low energy, demoralization, rapid weight loss and equally rapid weight regain. And we fail again, which reinforces our lack of belief in our ability to take control of our weight.
Rewind back a bit. In fact a long way. Before we begin any drastic action, it is a great idea to create a vision of where we would like to be if we were at “our best”. If it is focused on losing weight, ask yourself what you would like to look like and feel like if you were lighter? And when you are lighter, what will it be like living your life in your new body? How will it affect people around you, what will you think about yourself, about others? What else could change if your weight were to change? Take some time to write the answer to these questions.
Next ask yourself what could get in the way of you losing weight? What are the challenges that come up and have defeated you in the past? What could you do to overcome these obstacles.? What strategies can you come up with to fall back on? Again, make this a detailed analysis.
The next part of creating your vision is to think about your strengths. We are incredibly bad at acknowledging what we are good at in life. Yet we all have hidden resources that we rely on in times of challenge. Think back to what else you have achieved in your life? What did it take to reach that goal? How could you use that quality, ability or talent to help you in this new endeavour?
This is the first step to building the strong foundation of your change process. You have identified the WHY - the deepest motivators that make you wish for change in this area of your wellness. Keep these motivators in mind constantly as they will sustain you along the way. A little preparation will go a long way so rather than rushing in with a higher possibility of failure, take time out and reflect on what you need to make the change that will last.
STEPS TO CHANGE:
1. Decide what you want to change
2. Ask yourself why you want this change?
3. What else could change if this did?
4. What will your life be like?
5. What could get in the way?
6. What are your strengths?
7. What have you succeeded in before?
8. What quality/talent did that take?
9. How can you use that to help you now?
Fiona Cosgrove has over 20 years experience in the wellness & fitness industry - owning and managing clubs in Australia and Asia, including No 1 Martin Place, NSW Fitness Centre of the Year, 2006. Fiona is the author of Coach Yourself to Wellness and she regularly runs corporate seminars and workshops in the areas of healthy lifestyle, motivation and wellness.