The Secret Weapon in Acheiving Your Health Goals

When I was in college,  I got caught up, like so many other young women, in the goal of “getting healthy.”  I’d go to the gym, try the diet of the day, read the health magazines, buy the exercise gizmos on the infomercials, …all for this vague goal of getting healthy.  I never really questioned if this was even a true goal of mine (which is exactly what the media wanted, by the way) it just naturally seemed like the noble thing to do…just get healthier. 

What I know now is that considering this one question, “Why do I want to be healthy?”  is the difference between acheiving better health and forever striving for it.

You don’t have to convince most Moms that focused attention is the key to effectively using time (for us, it’s getting the chance to focus through the day that is the hard part), but if we apply this principle to how we approach health and wellness, change starts to happen at unexpected rates.   

If we are not clear as to why we want better health, then we are doomed to expend a tremendous amount of energy seeking it, but not possessing it.  Because health is a vehicle, not a destination. 

Our health goals may include weight loss, eating more vegetables and whole grains or getting to the gym 3 times a week…but our health purposes are what we would do or how we would feel if those goals were accomplished. 

Your health “purpose” is a tremendous motivator, and it is a very useful tool to keep you in line with the vision you want your life to become.  As a stay-at-home Mom I was not prepared for how quickly my own purposes got knocked off the priority list.  Intentionally putting my health back into the “very important bucket” was the first step– but to keep myself working at it, I had to be very clear as to WHY it was so important to give precious time and energy toward keeping myself well.

Goals are important, for example, wanting to loss weight is a legitimate health goal for some people, but if we focus on what we will DO and how we will FEEL when our body is at an ideal weight, then we will usher in that reality with much greater success. 

Photo by zsuggs10

For me one of my health purposes is to keep a clear mind, a calm and steady mood, and an ache-free, energized body so that I can be fully present and engaged with my children and productive with my time spent at home.  With that in mind, I can set up measurable goals that will get me there.  Now staying hydrated makes sense for my clarity of mind and body support.  Now maximizing restful sleep connects to restoring my body’s energy.  Now I know why getting excellent nutrition is worth the effort and preparation.   This week keep your purposes in your thoughts, in fact, imagine yourself actually doing and feeling those things– and watch your motivation shift toward reaching your goals!

Try it out, then let us know what you came up with!  What are 1 or 2 of your health purposes, then explore the measurable goals that will get you closer to acheiving those purposes.